Africana studies is a tradition of intellectual inquiry and study of African peoples. Using a transdisciplinarian approach, Africana scholars document the global migrations and reconstruction of African peoples, as well as patterns of linkages to the African continent (and among the peoples of the African Diaspora). Having perhaps the most international faculty on the Cornell campus, all professors represent the three regions of the African Diaspora: Africa, African America, and African Caribbean - the three foci of Africana Studies. In addition to the faculty, the Africana Studies and Research Center is comprised of nationally and internationally-recognized scholars and educators; socially-conscious intellectuals; and students representing each of Cornell's undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges.

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The Department of Classics at Cornell is one of the oldest and largest in the country. It offers training at all levels in the languages, literature, philosophy, culture, art, archaeology and history of ancient Greece and Rome.

The department promotes first-hand involvement in the ancient world, ranging from productions of ancient plays through participation in Cornell-sponsored archaeological projects. Courses involve direct engagement with material culture using Cornell's collections of ancient coins and of reproductions of sculptures, inscriptions and other ancient objects. Many students participate directly in the discovery and study of ancient material cultures by working in the dendrochronology laboratory on campus, or on material from Cornell-sponsored excavations in the Mediterranean region.

The Department of Comparative Literature provides a broad range of courses in European and non-European literatures, offering a full, rich, global view of world literature and cultures. In cooperation with related departments in the humanities, the departmental offerings reflect current interdisciplinary approaches to literary study, such as hermeneutics, semiotics, deconstruction, cultural criticism, Marxism, reception aesthetics, feminism and psychoanalysis.

The department benefits from close ties with Cornell's Society for the Humanities, a center of teaching, research and lectures that provides a unique, historic catalyst for critical and theoretical reflection on campus. The department also has vital connections to the School of Criticism and Theory, a six-week summer program based at Cornell that features leading figures in critical thought, as well as to the Institute for Comparative Modernities (ICM), a Cornell research institute dedicated to reflection on the global and plural nature of modernities.

The Department of German Studies offers students a wide variety of opportunities to explore the language, literature and culture of German-speaking countries. Courses are offered in English translation as well as in German, with subjects ranging from medieval to contemporary literature and include studies of film, visual culture, intellectual history, music, psychology and women's studies. The department also offers opportunities to explore Dutch and Swedish language.

The department is home to New German Critique, a leading journal that is devoted to publishing research on German culture in the 20th and 21st centuries, with particular focus on the history and theory of literature, theatre, media, intellectual history and the graphic arts. Students also have the opportunity as part of Cornell's Study Abroad program to attend the renowned Berlin Consortium for German Studies. The department works closely with the U.S.A.-Interns program to provide qualified students summer internships with German companies and agencies. All Cornell students are eligible to apply for a Certificate in German Language Study, which formally recognizes their study beyond the third semester (GERST 2000) of German language in the Department of German Studies.

The Department of the History of Art and Visual Studies at Cornell University prepares students to undertake journeys into visual culture through traditional areas of study such as ancient, Medieval and Renaissance art, as well as through the integration of recent fields of theory and research. Students explore the history of cultural interactions as manifested in visual culture both inside and outside the West, from antiquity to present. The department encourages the crossing not only of geographic but also disciplinary borders through exploration of a wide range of fields including architecture, urban planning, critical and post-colonial theory, media studies, the sciences and social history.

Courses are offered in conjunction with the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, such as The Museum and the Object and the Exhibition Seminar. In addition, the History of Art Majors' Society provides undergraduate art history majors or prospective art history majors the opportunity to organize an art exhibition. The group coordinates an exhibition annually at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Students curate, work on funding and compose a catalogue. Each year the department sponsors the Visual Culture Colloquium, a research and discussion forum; the Graduate Student Symposium; and The Ruth Woolsey Findley and William Nichols Findley History of Art Lecture Series.

The Department of Literatures in English embraces new approaches to literary study while maintaining traditional strengths in creative writing and the history of literature in English. In seminars and lecture courses, the department seeks to foster critical thinking, close reading, and lucid writing, while offering instruction in a wide range of genres, periods and traditions, from Medieval and Renaissance literature to contemporary US and global fiction.

The professors of Literatures in English include scholars, theorists, poets, and novelists. In addition to having access to a world-class library system, students can participate in many interdisciplinary opportunities on campus. Lively series of speakers, readings, colloquia and conferences provide a context for sustained learning and debate within the humanities.

The Department of Music at Cornell provides opportunities for the study, creation, and performance of music under the guidance of a distinguished faculty within the broader framework of a B.A. degree in the College of Arts & Sciences, or as part of a degree in another college. In addition to the music major, a minor in music is offered. The Department of Music is renowned for research and scholarship in music, represented by three graduate programs: musicology (Ph.D.), composition (D.M.A), and critical keyboard studies (D.M.A).

Our recently redesigned music major enables undergraduate students to explore music covering diverse historical periods, styles and geographical areas. Students can study subjects ranging from 18th-century and 21st-century performance practices to Asian music, jazz, rock and composition. Hundreds of students participate in large performing ensembles such as orchestras, wind ensembles, gamelan, jazz ensembles, the Glee Club and Chorus, as well as chamber ensembles of all kinds. Our world-class facilities include the Sidney Cox Library, Bailey Performance Hall and the Electroacoustic Music Center.

The Department of Performing and Media Arts follows a liberal arts program that emphasizes creative thought, intellectual growth, and performance skills. The faculty and staff are accomplished professionals who embrace a philosophy of training and mentoring within the context of a liberal arts education. Faculty teach courses and train students across the following areas: theatre, performance studies, acting and directing, design (lighting, sound, scene, costume), stagecraft, cinema and media studies, film and media production (analog and digital), dance, spoken word, voice and movement, and other areas in performing and media arts.

The department is housed in Cornell’s elegant Schwartz Center, which boasts three theatre performance spaces, a dance theatre and studios, film editing and production suites, film forum, classrooms, and scenery and costume shops. Opportunities abound for students to present their work through the department’s Student Laboratory Theatre Company, Dance Program and student film screenings, as well as via numerous student organizations on campus. Students can also take advantage of Cornell Cinema, which has been cited as one of the best campus film exhibition programs in the country. Cornell Cinema includes a media study library with extensive reference materials, publications, a film collection, and frequent workshops and presentations by guest artists and critics.

Founded in 1891, Cornell's Sage School of Philosophy offers students the excitement that comes from understanding intellectual problems and the satisfaction involved in finding theoretical and applied solutions. Students become familiar with classic texts and theories in the history of thought while also developing analytical skills that are valuable in academic, professional and everyday life. Small classes and a collaborative, communal atmosphere are among the distinguishing features of the Sage School. In addition to coursework, extracurricular activities and events offer abundant opportunity for philosophical exchange within Cornell and the wider philosophical community. The university's extensive library system, with its nearly five million volumes, provides excellent coverage of scholarly works in all branches of philosophy—historical, analytical, phenomenological, Continental and comparative.

The faculty of the Sage School edits The Philosophical Review, also founded in 1891, and generally regarded as the best journal in philosophy. Logos: The Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy at Cornell is run by a group of undergraduate majors who work with an advisory board of professionals to solicit papers, award cash prizes for the best submissions, provide critical comments on drafts, publish an annual volume, and organize additional colloquia and undergraduate conferences.