In international relations, democracies including the United States have long claimed to have several advantages over authoritarian regimes – such as sound governance and effectiveness in wartime – based on the open marketplace of ideas and freedom of expression. And what could be more open and free – more democratic – than social media?
Points made in “Entitled” have particular resonance with events unfolding in 2020, such as the systemic inequalities being revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How contagious is COVID-19, and how severe is the virus for those who’ve caught it? Everyone wants firm numbers as schools make decisions about in-person versus remote learning, as local and state governments grapple with reopening, and as families care for sick loved ones.
August 17-20, Cornell will host the 30th meeting of Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT), one of the world’s leading conferences on the scientific study of meaning in natural languages. Originally scheduled to take place on the Ithaca campus in April, the meeting will be held virtually.
The Politics of Race, Immigration, Class and Ethnicity (PRICE), a new initiative in the College of Arts and Sciences, will bring together scholars, researchers and the public for conversations that just might make everyone a little uncomfortable.
An interdisciplinary group of scholars is exploring “Unsettled Monuments, Unsettling Heritage,” through a grant from the provost's Radical Collaboration task force focused on the arts and humanities.
Michael Stillman, professor of mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has received the 2019 Richard D. Jenks Memorial Prize for “excellence in software engineering applied to computer algebra” for his work on the Macaulay and Macaulay2 computer algebra systems.
Tudorita Tumbar, professor of molecular biology and genetics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has received a Humboldt Research Award “for outstanding academics at the peak of their careers” to pursue a promising collaboration with researchers in Germany.
Gender differences in plans emerge very early in students’ academic careers, “even among students who do well in math and science and have similar orientation to work and family.”
COVID-19 may help us “think of a new turning point” in overturning established power structures and compelling people to reconsider borders, N’Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba, professor of Africana studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, said May 13 during a United Nations online forum.
“Our instructors have shown extraordinary dedication and leadership this year, teaching, advising and inspiring our students despite unprecedented challenges.”
Essential processes in mammalian cells are controlled by proteins called transcription factors. For example, the transcription factor HIF-1 is triggered by a low-oxygen situation to cause the cell to adapt to decreased oxygen. Transcription factors operate in healthy cells, but cancer cells can co-opt transcription factors such as HIF-1 into promoting tumor growth.
Men participated more in an active learning course in science, technology, engineering and math, while women reported lower perceptions of their scientific abilities, were more aware of gender identity and more likely to feel judged based on gender, a new Cornell-led study has found.
So-called “white lies” – telling a spouse you like their sub-par cooking, or praising a friend’s unflattering haircut – serve a purpose. But they can cause problems in the workplace, where honest feedback, even when it’s negative, is important.
Cornell thought leaders discussed the balance between public health and economic health, and the role government plays in finding a path forward during this worldwide crisis.
Before the Ithaca campus closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of Cornell’s Asian American community enjoyed strong connections to each other.
Aaron Sachs, professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, nearly dropped out of graduate school because he found the assigned reading lifeless.
Social distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 canceled the last two shows of the spring 2020 Cornell Concert Series, challenging organizers to connect performers with fans in new ways.
Although not as well-known as the ruins of Athens or Rome, the remains of the ancient city of Sardis, capital of the Iron Age empire of Lydia in what is now Turkey, offer a wealth of clues to Greek, Roman, Byzantine and other cultural histories.
Radiocarbon dating, invented in the late 1940s and improved ever since to provide more precise measurements, is the standard method for determining the dates of artifacts in archaeology and other disciplines.“If it’s organic and old – up to 50,000 years – you date it by radiocarbon,” said Sturt Manning, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Classical Archaeology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Cells depend on signaling to regulate most life processes, including cell growth and differentiation, immune response and reactions to various stresses.
Insurgent nakedness is the most universal and yet the most highly context-driven mode of dissent, writes Naminata Diabate, assistant professor of comparative literature.
After times of major conflict, such as the civil wars in Liberia from 1980 to 2003, peace often leaves a power vacuum, especially in remote areas not yet reached by a developing government.
Writer Jacqueline Kahanoff was born in 1917 to a French-speaking Jewish family in Cairo, and came of age intellectually in New York City and Paris.When she settled in Israel in 1954, she brought vast cultural experience with her. She also brought an opinion, unpopular with Israel’s ruling elite, that the culture of Jews from the Eastern Mediterranean region – known as the Levant – should be celebrated alongside those from Europe.
Six of the world’s most promising early-career scholars will pursue leading-edge research projects across the sciences, social sciences and humanities during three-year terms.
Elizabeth H. Kellogg, assistant professor of molecular biology and genetics in the College of Arts and Sciences, considers herself an explorer. She devises and refines techniques for looking at the unmapped terrain within cells so she can discover molecular structures so small they are challenging to detect – yet essential to understanding cell function.
Kate Manne, associate professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, has won the 2019 American Philosophical Association’s Book Prize for her first book, “Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny.”The biennial prize is awarded in odd years for the best published book written by a younger philosophy scholar.
by :
Kate Blackwood
,
Alumni Affairs & Development
Folk musician Peter Yarrow ’59 played solo during his Reunion 2019 concert, but his voice was not the only one filling Call Auditorium, not by a long shot.The crowd joined Yarrow, formerly a member of the trio Peter, Paul and Mary, in several familiar tunes from the 1960s. The hour-long sing-along was based on the same theme that has driven his career: using music to make the world a better place.
Mary McDonald ’78 discovered her voice at Cornell.Originally a French horn player, McDonald joined the Cornell University Chorus, the women’s vocal ensemble, during her sophomore year and won an audition for free voice lessons.“I had never had formal voice lessons,” she says. “One day, I asked, ‘What about these notes up here?’”
