Yaxchilán, Maya ancient city

Why Civilizations End

Scientists studying fallen civilizations suggest that the culprit is overshoot in combination with climate change. What does this mean for our current era?
Diego Rivera sketch

The Jewish-American Writer Who Transformed U.S.-Mexico Relations

How did Anita Brenner, a Mexican-born, American Jewish writer and journalist use art to try to bridge the gap between the United States and Mexico?
Lourdes Grobet

Mexico’s Radical Women Artists

Art by Mexican "Radical Women" artists capture the turbulent times of the feminist movement in Mexico in the 1970s and still ring true today.
Children at US-Mexico border

Inventing the “Illegal Alien”

What's an illegal alien? The idea that the most important question about immigrants is their legal status is a relatively new one.
Cairo street scene

Is it Smart To Cut Foreign Aid Because of Human Rights Abuses?

Recently, the US denied Egypt nearly $96 million in international aid, as chastisement for the country's abysmal human rights record.
Nogales Arizona Mexico

The Case for Open Borders

Is a world without borders an idea so crazy it just might work? Scholars weigh in on how open borders might solve the world's immigration problem.
Carlos Mondragon

Carlos Mondragón

Welcome to Ask a Professor, our series that offers an insider’s view of life in academia. This month: Carlos Mondragón, professor at the Colegio de México.
Mexican-American studies protest

How Arizona Banned Mexican-American Studies

An Arizona court is hearing a case that could roll back a 2010 ban on teaching Mexican-American studies in the state.
Los Angeles taco truck

When Tacos Become a Political Flashpoint

In 2008, the “Taco Truck War” broke out in Los Angeles. Taco trucks again became a hot-button issue in the 2016 presidential race. Why?
Avocado

The Illustrious History of the Avocado

Avocados had an important place in Mesoamerican peoples’ diet, mythology, and culture. It’s possible that they were eaten in Mexico 10,000 years ago.