Honors Students Write Prize-Winning Theses
Each spring, undergraduate honors theses granted Distinction in English are considered for the M.H. Abrams Honors Thesis Prize and for The Guilford Honors Thesis Prize.
New Award for Writing Portfolios
The Collected Writings Portfolio Award recognizes students’ writing accomplishments in diverse types of composition, including critical, creative, and public writing.
Your May 2026 reads
Books featured by the alumni website Cornellians for May 2026 include, y Cornell College of Arts and Sciences alumni and faculty, a ‘poetic memoir,’ a study of the Gospel of John, and the final mystery from a genre luminary.
Stage combat group wields swords, staffs – even lightsabers
Founded by Cornell College of Arts and Sciences alumnus Jacob Lehman '06, student group Ring of Steel trains members to stage fight with weapons including steel swords, wooden staves, and even lightsabers. The group performs at campus events and on May the 4th, a.k.a. “Star Wars Day.”
Reclaiming experience: Approaches to trauma
Scholars in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences are redefining trauma research across humanities, examining delayed memory’s effects on individuals, culture and history. Their insights from many different academic disciplines, including literature, history, archaeology and psychoanalysis connect trauma, testimony and collective witness.
'My research reflects my exploration and discovery'
Max Nam is an English major.
'I learned to approach questions from multiple angles'
Thej Khanna is an English major.
'My research shed light on important stories and perspectives'
Louisa Howe is majoring in sociology and English.
Haynes, Levine elected to the American Philosophical Society
Two faculty members in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences have been named to the American Philosophical Society (APS) in honor of extraordinary accomplishments: Martha Haynes in astronomy and Caroline Levine in literature, humanities and climate change.
'Cornell taught me to never take no for an answer'
America Casanova is majoring in English, American Studies, Government and History
Humanities scholars tackle research across disciplines
Seniors in the Humanities Scholars Program (HSP) in the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University will showcase their research at an all-day conference May 1 at the A.D. White House. Their work spans across humanities fields and also highlights intersections with science, technology, business, law and other disciplines.
Kotlikoff among four faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Cornell College of Arts and Sciences professors Cathy Caruth and Francesca Molinari are among four Cornell faculty, including Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, elected in 2026 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for their excellence and leadership. The academy announced 252 new members April 22.
‘Built by alumni, sustained by community, driven by purpose’
An anniversary gala will mark the Cornell Black Alumni Association’s 50th anniversary April 24-26 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by alumni of Cornell University, the event honors leading alumni and launches a $1.5 million legacy fund.
April 23 event explores death penalty in America
Cornell’s College of Arts & Sciences hosts a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary “I Am Ready, Warden” on April 23, 5 p.m. The film’s co-producer, journalist Keri Blakinger ’14, and faculty experts will discuss death penalty impacts.
Ask an ambassador: A senior looks back on study abroad
A Cornell University student reflects on a transformative Oxford semester abroad. Student Ambassador Sarah Mittleman, an English and psychology major in the College of Arts & Sciences, recounts Oxford tutorials, travel across 11 countries and advocates studying abroad.
Donor’s fund enables dedicated humanities research
Jonathan Zhu, J.D. ’92, whose A.D. White Fellowship allowed him to attend Cornell, has established the Zhu Family Graduate Fellowships supporting humanities doctoral students at Cornell University. Each of the three 2025 fellows – who are pursuing art history, anthropology, and science and technology studies, appreciates that the fellowship’s financial support paired with release from…
Admitted Class of 2030 seeks real-world impact
Cornell admits the Class of 2030 emphasizing real-world impact, enrolling 5,776 students from 102 countries. At Cornell University, the diverse cohort reflects the land-grant mission and applied learning goals across multiple colleges.
I studied English, am pursuing an MD – and cherish the humanities
Serin Koh ’26, BA ’25 is pursuing a career in medicine after majoring in literatures in English in Cornell's College of Arts and sciences. She writes that she values interdisciplinarity, which universities often hail as the future of higher education.
Course introduces students to constructive disagreement
The new class, dean Peter John Loewen said, for students to be able to confront and move through disagreements at work, at home, in their communities and in society.
Your March 2026 reads
This month’s featured titles by A&S alumni and faculty include an evolutionary look at dating, a Christian work on inner peace and a queer love story.
World According to Sound offers immersive audio experience March 23
A sonic experience where the audience sits blindfolded is returning to Cornell March 23 for a 6 p.m. performance in Sage Chapel.
Literary critic Biodun Jeyifo dies at 80
Biodun “BJ” Jeyifo, a leading literary critic and cultural theorist known for his analysis of modernity and its attendant social and cultural crises, died Feb. 11 in Lagos, Nigeria. He was 80.
Historical marker commemorates Toni Morrison’s time in Ithaca
Cornell faculty, staff, students and community members celebrated the 95th birthday of Toni Morrison, M.A. ’55, by unveiling a new historical marker in front of 513 N. Albany St., where she lived while in graduate school.
2024-25 Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism winners announced
Masi Asare of Northwestern University and arts journalist Billy McEntee have been named winners of the 2024-25 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism.
LaFeber-Silbey Lecture considers “A World Without Law?”
Scholar of law Philippe Sands will give the LaFeber-Silbey Lecture in History on March 5, considering "Lessons from History and Literature, from Nuremberg to Pinochet and Beyond.”
CAU Summer Courses: From wine pairings to town-gown history
Registration is now open for the two sessions of weeklong offerings, with the option to stay in a newly renovated Balch Hall
Three Distinguished Visiting Journalists head to campus
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, New York Times White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs and ProPublica investigative reporter Keri Blakinger ’14 will visit Cornell this spring.
College of Arts and Sciences announces 2026 Klarman Fellows
The 12 early-career scholars will pursue research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Faculty event to highlight how teaching about climate change can move beyond discourse and despair
On Jan. 28, the Center for Teaching Innovation and Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art will co-host “Teaching About Climate Change: Art, Action and Reflection,” a faculty panel, teaching workshop and exhibit tour exploring how instructors can engage the humanities, climate change and community in their teaching.
Your December 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include fiction from A&S alum Thomas Pynchon ’59, an award-winning poetry collection and a study of a small town.
Undergrads launch magazine featuring in-depth stories
A new student-run magazine focuses on long-form journalism that reflects the culture of Cornell and Ithaca.
Your November 2025 reads
This month’s titles featured in Cornellians include poetry, a famed restaurateur’s memoir, and a chronicle of the 1929 stock market crash
Professor emerita Stephanie Vaughn, ‘writer’s writer,’ dies at 81
Vaughn taught creative writing and literature at Cornell for 39 years, retiring in 2022 as professor of literatures in English emerita.
How fiction and film are shaping the Occupation narrative in France
In two new books, Daniel R. Schwarz considers France and the Holocaust – and how literature and film can correct erroneous depictions of history.
Nexus Scholar alumni profile: Neel Mehta '23
"The skills that you pick up in the lab are always going to stay with you."
Combining humanities and tech for research gains
An interdisciplinary project is sparking collaborations among those interested in digital approaches to the study of history, languages and culture.
New digital collections preserve, examine Cornell history
Newly published digital collections at Cornell University Library explore areas of Cornell history. Freely accessible online, the three new collections were digitized from materials held in Cornell University Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Civil War still haunts American attitudes toward democracy
A new book by Shirley Samuels examines the story behind today’s divided America in literature and art created during and soon after the Civil War.
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.
Bulawayo wins 25th anniversary Best of Caine prize
NoViolet Bulawayo, M.F.A. ’10, assistant professor in A&S, has won the Best of Caine Award as judges have chosen her short story, “Hitting Budapest,” as the best to have won the Caine Prize for African Writing in the award’s 25 years.
Prolific children’s author offers some halloween-season chills
The latest book from Heather Alexander ’89 is Haunted USA, which compiles spooky tales from all 50 states.
Teens’ portraits celebrate Toni Morrison as community-builder
High schoolers from Ithaca and Brooklyn produced the artworks depicting Morrison and a local student, a collaboration that promises to introduce Morrison's work to new generations of New Yorkers.
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.
Animals are dashing, stampeding, gliding into contemporary fiction: Book explores how
Elisha Cohn's second book, “Milieu: A Creaturely Theory of the Contemporary Novel,” also explores the methods authors are using to give animals a voice.
Jean Blackall, first woman tenured in English at Cornell, dies at 97
Jean Frantz Blackall, a Cornell faculty member from 1958-94 who in 1971 became the first woman to receive tenure in what was then the Department of English, in the College of Arts and Sciences, died July 15 in Williamsburg, Virginia. She was 97.
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.
Dual-campus visit highlights A.D. White Professors-at-Large lineup
Best-selling writer and technology blogger Cory Doctorow will make the A.D. White Professor-at-Large program’s second dual-campus visit, ending his week at Cornell Tech in New York City. Four other professors will visit Cornell this fall.
