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Book: Children’s education included ‘mechanical literacy’ in the industrial age
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As Great Britain began to industrialize at the end of the 18th century, teaching children to read and write expanded to also include lessons about the material world and how things worked. In her new book, “The Education of Things,” University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professor Elizabeth Hoiem examines how children’s […]

What does the death of Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny mean for the future of opposition movements in Russia?
Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny died Feb. 16 while serving time in a remote Arctic prison. Navalny was the main political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an anticorruption activist who survived being poisoned in 2020, which many believe was a state-ordered assassination attempt. He was serving multiple prison sentences on what were widely […]

Where do we stand at the two-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Nicholas Grossman is the author of “Drones and Terrorism: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security” and specializes in international relations. Grossman spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At the two-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where […]

What should US policy be toward Venezuela?
University of Illinois political science professor Damarys Canache is a native of Venezuela and studies its politics. She spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the Biden administration’s decision to ease sanctions on Venezuela, the migration crisis and the upcoming 2024 Venezuelan presidential election. What is the backstory behind nearly two […]

Book examines role of famous forgeries in Czech cultural revival
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Two manuscripts, purportedly from medieval times, played a large role in the 19th century Czech National Revival, serving as an important source of the nation’s mythology. But these influential documents that helped revitalize the Czech language and culture were fake. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Slavic languages and literatures professor David Cooper writes […]

Database expands to document police uses of lethal force across US
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Cline Center for Advanced Social Research and an interdisciplinary team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts have expanded upon their statewide registry on the use of lethal force by police officers in the state of Illinois to include national data. The Systematic Policing Oversight Through Lethal-Force Incident Tracking Environment project, called “SPOTLITE,” identified […]

What will be the impact of the decision to no longer name birds after people?
The American Ornithological Society recently announced that it will change all English language common names of birds that honor people, to avoid recognizing historical figures with ties to slavery, racism and colonialism. In 2020, the society renamed the McCown’s Longspur – named for John Porter McCown, a bird collector and Confederate general who also fought […]

How can Illinois better preserve its cultural identities?
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently announced new funding to support communities working to preserve and celebrate their unique cultural heritage. The “State Designated Cultural District” initiative will provide $3 million to selected cultural districts to aid such efforts. U. of I. anthropology professor Helaine Silverman, whose work focuses on the ways that nations and communities […]

Illinois English professor writes children’s biography of pioneering Black botanist
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Charles S. Parker was a pioneering Black botanist who traveled all over the country collecting plants. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign English professor Janice Harrington wrote a children’s biography of Parker, “Rooting for Plants: The Unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black Botanist and Collector.” It is Harrington’s second children’s biography. The first, “Buzzing With […]

Library’s 15-millionth volume is influential manuscript on agricultural management from Middle Ages
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A medieval manuscript by an English agronomist describing the agricultural management of a manor is the 15-millionth volume of the collection of the University Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The manuscript is a 14th-century copy of the text of Walter of Henley’s 13th-century work “Hosbondrye,” one of the most influential […]

Science historian Naomi Oreskes to talk about how free market ideology blocks climate action
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Climate change is a crisis that has resulted from the massive failure of the energy market, and free market ideology and the rejection of government’s role in correcting such market failures has stymied efforts to address it, says scientist and historian Naomi Oreskes. A leader in examining the efforts to undermine the […]

History professor Rosalyn LaPier featured in Ken Burns’ ‘The American Buffalo’ documentary
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When huge herds of bison roamed the Great Plains, the animals were not only a source of livelihood for Native Americans. They also were a vital part of the ecology and a religious icon. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Rosalyn LaPier is featured in the forthcoming Ken Burns documentary “The American […]