Tag Archives: Creative Commons

28Mar/24

Why is Jesus often depicted with a six-pack? The muscular messiah reflects Christian values of masculinity

Chris Greenough, Edge Hill University

Have you ever wondered why so many images depicting the crucifixion show Jesus with a very defined, slender and toned body? Either slim, but with a six-pack, or displaying muscles and brawn. While these images are hardly a reflection of what little can be surmised about the historical Jesus, they certainly reflect social and cultural ideas about masculinity and idealised notions of manhood.

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18Mar/24

Half the world will vote in 2024, but how many elections will be fair?

Toby James, University of East Anglia and Holly Ann Garnett, Royal Military College of Canada

This year has been widely proclaimed to be the year of elections, with national elections expected in at least 64 countries. This means that half of the world’s population will have the opportunity to change their government, choose their representatives and indirectly shape policy. It began as a year of hope – and the prospect of democratic empowerment.

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14Mar/24

The abuse of Diane Abbott by a top Tory donor should have us all thinking about how we normalise racism against women MPs

Orly Siow, Lund University and Sofia Collignon, Queen Mary University of London

Yet again a black woman in British public life has been subjected to racist and sexist abuse. This may be shocking, but it is not surprising.

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11Mar/24

‘Bengali Cockney, Black Cockney, East End Cockney, Essex Cockney, Jewish Cockney, Sylheti Cockney’: why community languages matter

Christopher Strelluf, University of Warwick

In response to a community petition, Tower Hamlets council in east London has designated Cockney as a “community language”. This recognition paves the way for the borough to actively challenge the linguistic discrimination that speakers of “non-standard” English dialects face.

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29Feb/24

The leap year is February 29, not December 32 due to a Roman calendar quirk – and fastidious medieval monks

Rebecca Stephenson, University College Dublin

Have you ever wondered why the extra day of the leap year falls on February 29, an odd date in the middle of the year, and not at the end of the year on December 32? There is a simple answer, and a slightly more complex one.

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23Feb/24

Dating apps are accused of being ‘addictive’. What makes us keep swiping?

Dr Anastasia Hronis, University of Technology Sydney

A class-action lawsuit filed in the United States against Match Group – the parent company of dating apps Tinder, Hinge and The League – is making headlines around the world.

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19Feb/24

History’s crisis detectives: how we’re using maths and data to reveal why societies collapse – and clues about the future

Daniel Hoyer, University of Toronto

American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

I’ve been working as a historian and complexity scientist for the better part of a decade, and I often think about this phrase as I follow different strands of the historical record and notice the same patterns over and over.

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12Feb/24

How AI could change our relationship with religion

Sreevas Sahasranamam, University of Glasgow

Science and faith are often kept in two distinct boxes that hardly ever intersect. However, I believe that as AI becomes more mainstream, it will fundamentally alter our engagement with faith and spirituality.

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11Feb/24

conspiracy theories are the result of two sets of hardcore fans colliding

Melissa Avdeeff, University of Stirling

At Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor Swift will appear on the field at Allegiant Stadium after her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, wins the game. But she won’t be performing. Swift’s appearance will be a Pentagon-backed psy-op to turn the rigged game into a calculated political endorsement, to secure the 2024 presidential election for Joe Biden.

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10Feb/24

The rise of African prophets: the unchecked power of the leaders of Pentecostal churches

Josiah Taru, Rice University

Over the last 20 years there’s been an unprecedented increase in charismatic Pentecostal prophets – or men of God as they’re called in Pentecostal parlance. Across Africa their unchecked influence has spread into social, economic and political institutions.

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