Sandra Knispel
Sandra Knispel's Latest Posts
The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, through medieval and Renaissance eyes
In medieval and Renaissance Europe and in the Arab world, it was widely believed that “when Saturn and Jupiter are found in the same area of the zodiac—in other words when they are in conjunction—there are profound effects on Earth,” says historian Laura Ackerman Smoller.
How to be happier in 2021
Toss out your usual list of New Year’s resolutions and do things that make the world a better place, says a Rochester expert on motivation and well-being.
American child welfare system has lost its way, says Rochester historian
A shift starting in the late 1960s has targeted poor families with unnecessary investigations and child removals at the expense of services, argues Rochester health policy historian and physician Mical Raz.
What does it mean if most Republican voters still think Biden lost?
A new Bright Line Watch survey finds that fewer than a third of Republican voters have confidence in the national vote count.
What’s the secret ingredient that makes a happy couple or family?
Analysis by University of Rochester researchers shows that psychological flexibility can shape how individuals interact with the people closest to them.
What does East Germany’s rise and fall have to do with pigs? A lot, actually
The communist state’s approach to industrial pig farming foreshadowed its demise, a Rochester historian argues in his new book.
Rochester historian recognized with third book award
Brianna Theobald scores unusual ‘hat trick’ of academic accolades for her book on Native women’s reproductive histories and activism.
Watchdog report: Experts see substantial danger to democratic stability around 2020 election
The latest Bright Line Watch surveys find experts concerned about multiple risks to the legitimacy of the election, while many Americans believe in the prevalence of voter fraud.
Should secret voting be mandatory? ‘Yes’ say political scientists
In a new book, two scholars argue that making voting more convenient does not combat low voter turnout but instead jeopardizes the integrity of the ballot.
The politicization of the CDC was under way before Trump
The CDC’s vulnerability to political interference is rooted in its role working in health risk assessment, write University of Rochester health policy historian Mical Raz and her coauthor in a Washington Post op-ed.