Which discipline should survive the end of the world?
Five professors from across campus will advocate that their discipline is the most important to save for the future in the annual Apocalypse Debate Nov. 6.
Your October 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include short stories, a fantasy book for tweens, and a scholarly look at Carmen adaptations – all by Arts & Sciences alumni and faculty.
Remembering Prof. Debra Castillo, champion of Latinx students, community
Professor Debra Castillo, Stephen H. Weiss presidential fellow and Emerson Hinchliff professor of Hispanic Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences, died Oct. 5 at the age of 72.
Writers, translators consider ‘Ukraine in Translation’ Oct. 18
The symposium responds to a new urgency to Ukrainian culture of the past, present and future both inside and outside the country.
Culler receives 2026 Wayne C. Booth Lifetime Achievement Award
A specialist in literary and cultural theory and French literature of the 19th century, Culler will receive the award in June 2026 during the International Society for the Study of Narrative conference in Denmark.
Four-day event celebrates 70 years of Toni Morrison’s Cornell legacy
A four-day event featuring films, panels, workshops, the unveiling of a mural and other activities will celebrate the 70th anniversary of her degree, life and work. “Toni Morrison: Literature and Public Life” will take place Sept. 18-21.
‘Odyssea Americana’ art exhibit opens at The Soil Factory Sept. 4
Photography, drawing, maps, calligraphy, installations and audio recordings depict a trip by three scholar-artists in honor of Odysseus’ epic voyage, but in North America.
2025 Nexus Scholars talk about academic growth, transformation
Ten students who participated in this summer's Nexus Scholars Program share their stories..
Documentary produced by professor Natalie Melas premieres at the BlackStar Film Festival
Possible Landscapes, a feature documentary made by Comp Lit professor Natalie Melas in collaboration with professor Tao DuFour (Architecture) and documentary filmmaker Kannan Arunasalam ,as part of a Mellon-funded research project, will have its world premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia on August 3, where it is one of 90 official selections out 2277 submissions.
Engaged Opportunity Grants connect students with hands-on community projects
The David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement awarded nine grants to a diverse array of projects that connect classroom learning with hands-on collaboration.
From posters to precedent, humanities scholars showcase their research
Projects spanned topics from Confederate cemeteries to Korean textiles.
'My path is not predetermined and I am always in flux'
Hanako Yamasaki is majoring in comparative literature and philosophy.
“We are La Voz” event highlights Latine artists
A collaboration between Cornell faculty, students and Ithaca community members is bringing together a monthlong event in downtown Ithaca, focused on Latine artists.
Celebrated bonobo Kanzi honored in workshop
Kanzi's legacy and the relation between great apes and language will be explored in a Humanities Lab Workshop on April 19.
Biblical scholar: Parables in Luke parallel Genesis stories
Prof. Carmichael identifies how parables unique to Luke were composed as a response to, and reframing of, problems attributed to the earliest of biblical times.
Book plumbs AI’s potential to reinvigorate the humanities
In his new book, “Humanities in the Time of AI,” professor Laurent Dubreuil argues that the arrival of AI may present an opportunity to “re-create scholarship.”
French university honors Jonathan Culler for literary contributions
On March 26, the University of Paris 8 on March 26 recognized Culler for his contributions to literary and theoretical studies and his close ties with French intellectual movements.
Culler to be awarded honorary doctorate in Paris
Jonathan Culler, Class of 1916 Professor of English and Comparative Literature Emeritus, who taught in the department from 1977-2020, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the President of the University of Paris-8, Annick Allaigre, for his work on French literature and critical theory.
University Lecture examines ‘The Narrative Brain’
Our minds and the ways we tell stories are closely attuned, research shows, and scholar Fritz Breithaupt will explore how that connection works during a March visit as University Lecturer.
Remembering William Kennedy, professor emeritus in comparative literature
Kennedy taught the history of European literature and literary criticism from antiquity to the early modern period.
Frederick Ahl, innovative classics scholar, dies at 83
A scholar of Greek and Roman epic and drama and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, Ahl was a member of the Cornell faculty for more than 52 years.
German studies hosts evening with ‘Rosa and Blanca’ playwright
Rebekka Kricheldorf will talk about writing comedy and more with Samuel Buggeln, the play’s director and artistic director of Cherry Arts, on Nov. 12 – one of several collaborations.
Crowdfunding launch supports Ways of Knowing podcast at Cornell
A crowdfunding campaign launched Nov. 1 to support a Cornell-based season of "Ways of Knowing,” a new podcast created by The World According to Sound.
A&S announces membership in MLA Strategic Partnership Network
“We felt this is an important resource that should be available to our humanists at all levels, whether they have the resources to pay for membership or not,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author from Jerusalem to speak Oct. 10
Nathan Thrall will talk about his most recent book, “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy.”
Professor’s feature-length documentary film debuts at Cornell Cinema
“Possible Landscapes,” a new feature-length documentary film exploring the lived experience of landscapes and environments in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, will have its debut screening on Sept. 25 at Cornell Cinema.
Language ‘Sustainability through Collaboration’ Conference at Cornell
Cornell, the only institution offering regular multilevel instruction in all six of the major Southeast Asian languages – Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Filipino (Tagalog), Thai and Vietnamese – will host a conference on the teaching of these languages on Sept. 19-21.
From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields
"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."
New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’
Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.
A&S honors 10 faculty with endowed professorships
With these new appointments, the number of A&S faculty appointed to endowed professorships since fall 2018 has reached 76.
Dubreuil questions the creativity of AI
Laurent Dubreuil, Professor of Comparative Literature & Romance Studies, and Director of the Humanities Lab, recently published an essay in Harper's Magazine ‘Metal Machine Music’ questioning AI’s ability to write creatively.
A giant crater in Siberia is belching up Russia's past
As the world warms, permafrost is thawing across two-thirds of Russia, writes Sophie Pinkham, professor of the practice in comparative literature, in a New York Times opinion piece.
Peter Loewen named dean of Arts and Sciences
Coming from the University of Toronto, where he was the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Loewen began his five-year appointment as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Aug. 1.
Outstanding A&S teachers, advisors honored with 2024 awards
Among the faculty members being recognized this year for exceptional teaching and mentorship are Liliana Colanzi, Durba Ghosh, and Nick Admussen.
'I am proud to have continued the cultivation of The Lodge'
Pareesay Afzal is a comparative literature major.
‘Adventurous’ classical scholar Pietro Pucci dies at 96
Pietro (Piero) Pucci, an influential classical scholar who spent more than 50 years in the Department of Classics in the College of Arts and Sciences, died in Paris on April 7. He was 96.
Summer Experience Grant applications now open
The grants provide funding for students in unpaid or low-paying summer experiences to offset the cost of taking on those positions.
Nabokov celebrated for crossing arts/science boundaries
An avid lepidopterist since childhood, Nabokov was known to spend most of his free time on campus in the Cornell University Insect Collection.
Events celebrate Nabokov as butterfly scientist
On March 15 the College of Arts & Sciences took over the Mann Library for the semester's Arts Unplugged, "Nabokov, Naturally," celebrating esteemed Cornell faculty member, Vladimir Nabokov as writer and "butterfly man."
Grants available to fund rural humanities projects
Funding is available for faculty and students with projects related to rural humanities.
Diabate named 'African scholar to watch in 2024'
Associate professor of comparative literature, Naminata Diabate, was named one of ten 'African scholars to watch in 2024' by The Africa Report.
Pinkham wins British Journalism Award for feature on migrants
Pinkham’s winning story follows migrants from Syria “wandering in a cold, wet purgatory” on the Polish border of the European Union.
Tracing Indian Ocean slavery through Iranian cinema
In a new book, Professor Parisa Vaziri explores how Iranian cinema preserves the legacy of Indian Ocean slavery.
Class explores Nabokov as writer and ‘butterfly man’
Writer Vladimir Nabokov spent much of his time on campus in nature and in the Cornell Insect Collection.
Undergraduates celebrate Latinx history through Rockefeller Hall exhibition
The collaborative mixed media projects, showcased online and in Rockefeller Hall, explore how culture strengthens and uplifts communities.
Classes, events show 'Ukraine is not only a country at war'
Cornell's Ukrainian program is bringing the country’s culture to campus through language learning, folk tradition and history.
Banerjee named Mellon Fellow in diversity network
Banerjee will participate in a two-year academic leadership and governance fellowship.
Book reexamines scholarship, teaching in the era of COVID-19
Three years after the disruptions of 2020, teaching and research continue to be immensely different from pre-pandemic times, according to scholar Debra Castillo.
Rethinking the history of enslavement through the lens of Iranian cinema
A new book by assistant professor of comparative literature and near eastern studies, Parisa Vaziri, exams African enslavement in the western Indian Ocean through the lens of Iranian cinema.
‘Desdemona’ celebrates Morrison’s Nobel Prize anniversary
The performance will feature singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré, who wrote the music for the original production.