Expert Request – Thursday 20 March

If you are interested in writing an article for a request below, please email the contact listed in the request to find out more. Please note, article requests are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis. You can pitch an article directly to The Conversation via the detail listed here.

World: Donald Trump’s phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky included a suggestion that the US own and operate Ukraine’s power plans, including Europe’s largest nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhia. We’d like a historian to look at any colonial parallels to this – perhaps with the Dutch or British East India Companies.

Timescale: early next week | Contact: Jonathan Este

Science + Technology: [REPEATED] We’re looking for an expert to write about how different people perceive colour and a new studyon young children showing the human colour experience may be more universal than previously believed.

Timescale: next week | Contact: Jenna Hutber

World: The Guardian is reporting sightings of a Shuqiao ships, what appears to be a new generation of Chinese landing barges, fuelling speculation that these are being developed with a view to a possible invasion of Taiwan. We’d like an expert in maritime technology or military strategy to write about this, either about the craft themselves or about what this might tell us about China’s plans for Taiwan.

Timescale: next two weeks | Contact: Jonathan Este

Arts + Culture: We’re looking for a Jane Austen expert to break down why her leading men are so enduringly popular. This should also delve into their reception at the time of publication and how that has changed or persisted.

Timescale: ongoing | Contact: Anna Walker

Arts + Culture: The National Portrait Gallery will be holding the first major museum exhibition in the UK dedicated to the work of Jenny Saville in June. We’re looking for an academic who has researched her work to attend and review.

Timescale: ongoing | Contact: Anna Walker