Author: TheConversation

By David H. Jernigan, Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University Alcohol is still the most commonly used drug among high school students. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year approximately 3,500 people under 21 die because of alcohol use. I have studied the relationship between alcohol marketing and youth drinking behavior for the past 20 years. In 2011, my colleagues and I performed what to our knowledge was the first and only survey of what specific brands of alcohol underage people drink. We asked 1,032 young drinkers about 898 brands of alcohol...

By Brad Bushman, Professor of Communication and Psychology, The Ohio State University; and Sophie Kjaervik, PhD Student in Communication, The Ohio State University A recent review of 437 studies on narcissism and aggression, involving a total of over 123,000 participants, found the narcissism is related to a 21% increase in aggression and an 18% increase in violence. Narcissism is defined as “entitled self-importance.” The term narcissism comes from the mythical Greek character Narcissus, who fell in love with his own image reflected in still water. Aggression is defined as any behavior intended to harm another person who does not...

By Anna Swartwood House, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of South Carolina The portrayal of Jesus as a white, European man has come under renewed scrutiny during this period of introspection over the legacy of racism in society. As protesters called for the removal of Confederate statues in the U.S., activist Shaun King went further, suggesting that murals and artwork depicting “white Jesus” should “come down.” His concerns about the depiction of Christ and how it is used to uphold notions of white supremacy are not isolated. Prominent scholars and the archbishop of Canterbury have called to reconsider...

By Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University President Joe Biden began his presidency by memorializing the 400,000 American lives that had been lost up to that point to COVID-19. The ceremony, held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, was arguably the first official moment of nationwide public mourning in the United States. “To heal, we must remember,” Biden said. “It’s important to do that as a nation.” But how do we acknowledge our collective suffering as the toll of the pandemic continues to grow, with hundreds of thousands possibly undercounted? How do we talk about healing...