Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Title of course: “What is Mindfulness?” What prompted the idea for the course? As a professor of…
Category: Religion
Calls for a ‘green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long tradition of sustainability and care for the planet
For many Muslims breaking fast in mosques around the world this Ramadan, something will be missing: plastics. The communal experience of iftars – the after-sunset meal that brings people of the faith…
Ramadan finds greater recognition in America’s public schools
Ramadan – the Islamic month of fasting – is set to begin on March 22, 2023. Amaarah DeCuir, who researches Muslim student experiences, offers insights into how public schools are moving toward…
AI isn’t close to becoming sentient – the real danger lies in how easily we’re prone to anthropomorphize it
ChatGPT and similar large language models can produce compelling, humanlike answers to an endless array of questions – from queries about the best Italian restaurant in town to explaining competing theories about…
Nazi orders for Jews to wear a star were hateful, but far from unique – a historian traces the long history of antisemitic badges
Growing up in Belgium, I’d hear the story of how my grandparents married during the Nazi occupation. It was not a time for celebrations, particularly for Jewish families like theirs. Naively, though,…
Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? A religion scholar explains the history of the often misunderstood group
Six adults were killed March 9, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany, in what police described as a “rampage” after an evening religious service. Several others were wounded during the attack at a Jehovah’s…
Francis is the first Jesuit pope – here’s how that has shaped his 10-year papacy
Since Jorge Mario Bergoglio first stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis on March 13, 2013, he has made no shortage of statements that attract attention. “Who am…
Robots are performing Hindu rituals — some devotees fear they’ll replace worshippers
It isn’t just artists and teachers who are losing sleep over advances in automation and artificial intelligence. Robots are being brought into Hinduism’s holiest rituals – and not all worshippers are happy…
The women who stood with Martin Luther King Jr. and sustained a movement for social change
Historian Vicki Crawford was one of the first scholars to focus on women’s roles in the civil rights movement. Her 1993 book, “Trailblazers and Torchbearers,” dives into the stories of female leaders…
Discrimination based on caste is pervasive in South Asian communities around the world – now Seattle has banned it
Seattle became the first city in the U.S. to outlaw caste-based discrimination against immigrants from stigmatized groups in South Asia’s traditional social hierarchy. The ordinance, adding caste to Seattle’s existing anti-discrimination policies,…