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The College of Arts & Sciences
Welcome! Literatures in English as a department teaches students how to read and write about literary cultures. Supported by excellent libraries and in connection with a number of interdisciplinary programs at Cornell, Literatures in English invites students and scholars to engage in conversations about global cultures as they develop skills for the future.
Cornell’s influence on the art and academic discipline of poetry has been deep throughout the university’s history and continues on campus today, where scholars and poets discuss and refine this art form in graduate seminars, gather for open mic nights and study the craft of creating beautiful and meaningful work in undergraduate classrooms.
Discover Cornell poets and the experiences that have shaped them.
College of Arts & Sciences poet James Byrne examines how power normalizes violence and injustice in his new collection, "The Banality of Power." The poetry links history, politics and institutional harm while emphasizing moral attention, accountability and resistance.
Carlin Reyen ‘25, an English major in the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University, reflects on her experience as a Nexus Scholar.
Cornell College of Arts and Sciences alumnus Matthew Berk says his specialty coffee subscription service Bean Box is fundamentally about connecting people and telling stories. The Seattle-based company emphasizes freshness and curated selections.
The College of Arts & Sciences' Society for the Humanities Fall Fellows’ Conference on Survival takes place Oct. 30 at Cornell University’s A.D. White House. Fellows will present interdisciplinary research on resilience, climate change, literature, history and culture.
Cornell University Winter Session 2027 registration is now open for online courses running Jan. 4–22. Students can earn credits, fulfill requirements, and explore subjects ranging from business and biology to history, psychology, and design.
Public policy and sociology professor Matthew Hall will examine examining aging populations in the Phi Beta Kappa Distinguished Lecture at Cornell University Oct. 28. He will address impacts on work, housing, schools, politics and migration issues.
Department faculty continually publish important works of criticism, fiction, poetry, and essays. Visit Literatures in English Faculty: Recent Books to learn more.
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.
This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leadership.
We, the faculty and staff of the Cornell Literatures in English department, pledge to support and do our utmost to protect members of our community who are discriminated against, unjustly treated, or otherwise targeted because of race, religion, gender identification, sexuality, immigration status, ability, and other forms of difference.
Recognizing that words and symbols can be manipulated into violence, we renew our commitment to direct the force of language toward large and small acts of learning, alliance, imagination, and justice.