Arts Unplugged

The College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series brings research and creative works into the public sphere for discussion and inspiration. These engaging events invite a broad audience to explore the work of scholars, faculty and creative luminaries across disciplines in arts and sciences to celebrate the impact that work continues to have on humanity.

Promo image for "The Iliad in Ithaca" event

The Iliad in Ithaca: Re-reading the Trojan War

Wednesday, March 12 and Thursday, March 13

Virtual kick-off panel Wednesday, March 12: 4:30-6 p.m., eCornell, featuring Emily Wilson in conversation with faculty and students Register here.

Reading Thursday, March 13: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Groos Family Atrium, Klarman Hall

Please join us for an all-day public reading of portions of Homer’s “Iliad,” in a translation by Emily Wilson. The cast of readers will include students, faculty, staff and community members. You’re welcome to drop in when you can or stay for the day!

You’ll also be able to:

View items from this period from the library and anthropology collections
Create your own piece of writing on papyrus
Listen to student responses to the text interspersed between passages

The Iliad in Ithaca

All photos by Chris Kitchen

News about Arts Unplugged

Greek statue broken up with words "The Iliad in Ithaca"

Public engagement

War, love and loyalty: The ‘Iliad’ in Ithaca on March 12-13

2/26/2025 A&S Communications

Person speaking into a microphone — Sreang Hok/Cornell University. Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute, associate professor of astronomy and author of “Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos,” said the thousands of exoplanets detected to date suggest there are “billions and billions” of possibilities for life beyond Earth.

Astronomy

Sagan celebrated for scientific mind – and imagination

11/12/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Arts Unplugged

Celebration of Carl Sagan’s 90th birthday being held Nov. 9

10/9/2024 A&S Communications

person creating a butterfly from paper and natural objects — Chris Kitchen Attendees at the event created butterflies to be part of a giant mural.

kid working with art materials to make a butterfly — Chris Kitchen Members of the Ithaca Community visited campus for the March 15 event, creating butterflies under the guidance of entomologist/artist/Cornell doctoral student Annika Salzberg.

Arts Unplugged

Nabokov celebrated for crossing arts/science boundaries

3/27/2024 A&S Communications

A sketch of a butterfly labeled, "To Véra" — Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections/Cornell University Library In first printings of his books, Vladimir Nabokov often inscribed dedications to his wife, Vera, and made drawings of butterflies. For the dedication page of Look at the Harlequins, he drew an imaginary species of butterfly, Arlequinus arlequinus.

Historic black and white image: a person sitting at a desk, writing — Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections/Cornell University Library Vladimir Nabokov taught Russian literature at Cornell, where he had an office in Goldwin Smith Hall.

Arts Unplugged

Events celebrate Nabokov as butterfly scientist

2/29/2024 Cornell Chronicle

three men on stage — Chris Kitchen Austin Bunn, associate professor in performing and media arts, left, talks with Scott Ferguson, middle, and MIchael Kantor, right.

Alumni

With 'Succession,' another Emmy for producer Scott Ferguson '82, BA '83

1/18/2024 Cornellians

two women sitting on stage — Chris Kitchen Anderson, left, and Peraino, right traced the arc of Anderson's multi-decade career.

Arts Unplugged

Laurie Anderson visit offers a glimpse of her world

10/3/2023 A&S Communications

Arts Unplugged

Artist Laurie Anderson visits campus Sept. 26-27

9/12/2023 A&S Communications

Past events

Carl Sagan's 90th Birthday: A Celebration

On what would have been Carl Sagan's 90th birthday, Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute (CSI) celebrated his legacy in an interdisciplinary weekend of science, music, family activities and more as part of the College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series. Sagan’s longtime collaborator and widow Ann Druyan, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning writer, producer and director, opened the event.

In addition to tributes from loved ones and admirers, the four-hour program in Call Auditorium -- streamed live to an audience of more than 2,000 – presented CSI researchers’ latest interdisciplinary research on the search for life beyond Earth that is advancing Sagan’s legacy, musical performances and, fittingly, a greeting from NASA astronaut Don Pettit from the International Space Station.

Nabokov, Naturally: An exploration of Vladimir Nabokov as writer and “butterfly man”

Click here to view a recording of the keynote presentation

Click here to view a recording of the live panel discussion

Vladimir Nabokov's legacy at Cornell is not limited to the world-famous literary works he produced here. The university's natural and built environments also provided powerful material for his lifelong pursuit of butterflies within their geo- and biodiverse ecosystems.

Our one-day event offered hands-on ways to discover Nabokov through his butterfly collection, his writing and other relics of his time at Cornell contained in the university’s Rare and Manuscript Collection and the Cornell University Insect Collection. We discussed his scientific, literary and artistic pursuits.

Building an Ark: A Conversation with Pioneering Artist Laurie Anderson on Innovation and Storytelling

Click here to view the event recording.

The College of Arts & Sciences was thrilled to host multimedia artist Laurie Anderson for our fall Arts Unplugged event, which brings research and creative works into the public sphere for discussion and inspiration.

Our Sept. 26 event featured a conversation between Anderson and Music Professor Judith Peraino. The pair explored the arc of Anderson's creative career, discussed the intersection of technological and artistic innovation, and offered some glimpses into Anderson’s next project.

From the Big Red to the Red Carpet: A two-day visit with alumni filmmakers Scott Ferguson ‘82 and Michael Kantor ‘83

Cornell alums Scott Ferguson and Michael Kantor reflected on their award-winning careers in film and television production. The pair — Cornell classmates — discussed their parallel paths in narrative and documentary filmmaking from their student days at Cornell to their current roles as executive producers of HBO’s “Succession” and the PBS series “American Masters,” respectively.

Ann Simmons, the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow Bureau Chief and the fall 2022 Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellown, participates in a panel Sept. 22 in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.

Aftershocks: Geopolitics Since the Ukraine Invasion

Watch the event recording!

As the war in Ukraine raged on, we hosted a panel of leading journalists and scholars covering Russia, Europe, China and the global political landscape, who discussed how international relations, security, trade and economics are shifting in ways not seen since World War II.

Science of the Very, Very Small

Watch the event recording!

The “science of the very, very small” offered possible solutions for everything from the energy crisis to disease. Ideas that once existed only in science fiction are becoming reality and Cornell scientists are leading the way in nanoscale and quantum materials research. In this virtual Arts Unplugged, we explored some of these exciting innovations – and their ramifications for human society.

Sam Harnett, left and Hoff, right, install sound equipment in a phone booth on the Arts Quad, one of five “listening stations” installed around campus as part of the event

Cornell According to Sound

Our third event in the series featured a sonic look at campus, brought to us by Chris Hoff ’02 and Sam Harnett, creators of The World According to Sound. The duo spent the fall semester finding and recording sounds across the university – from fish and frogs, to Latin speakers and dirt. Along with four performances at the Schwartz Center, listeners were able to visit five pop-up listening stations across campus to help them become more aware about the role and impact of sound in their lives.

Cornell Celebrates Toni Morrison

The College hosted a yearlong series honoring our beloved alumna and literary icon on the 50th anniversary of her first book, "The Bluest Eye." Events included a “Toni Morrison at 90” colloquium to honor Morrison’s 90th birthday, a reading of “The Bluest Eye,” which included authors Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tayari Jones and Edwidge Danticat, activist Angela Davis, poets Sonia Sanchez and Kevin Young, as well as U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. Other events virtual screening of “The Pieces I Am,” a documentary of Morrison’s life at Ithaca’s Cinemapolis theatre, an exhibit at Cornell University Libraries and a quilting project.

Words from a Bear

Cornell’s newest film professor, Jeff Palmer, shared advice for creating a Sundance documentary and screened his latest feature film during our second Arts Unplugged event at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. “Words from a Bear,” Palmer’s first feature film, explores the creative works of N. Scott Momaday. Our event also included a talk by Gus Palmer, professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma, and one of the narrators of the film.

Odyssey in Ithaca

From tales of sinking ships to murderous fights to bedroom shenanigans, a cast of 75 readers told the story of Homer’s “Odyssey” during a daylong event in Klarman Hall, our inaugural Arts Unplugged event. The reading, spearheaded by Athena Kirk, assistant professor of classics, featured speakers from the community and local colleges, state and local representatives, as well as special audio segments from Annie Lewandowski, senior lecturer in music.