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A new look at early Christianity

Rich social and cultural transformations came to the classical world in Late Antiquity, roughly 250 CE to 750 CE. Moving away from the paradigm of decline and fall, historians have taken a new look at the period, including the rise to prominence of Christianity.

Alumna spotlight: Valeria Dani, Ph.D.

Dani is the new community engagement director at the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.

Silver linings: Innovation, kits, tech animate a hybrid semester

Elora Robeck ’24 couldn’t find rubbing alcohol. She needed alcohol to preserve the soft-bodied insects she’d collected near her home in Missouri, for her entomology class at Cornell. But it wasn’t included in her box of supplies, because alcohol is too flammable to ship. Her local drug store was all sold out. So at her professor’s suggestion, she asked her father to buy a bottle of 190-proof Everclear instead.

Smile, wave: Some exoplanets may be able to see us, too

Three decades after Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan suggested that Voyager 1 snap Earth’s picture from billions of miles away – resulting in the iconic Pale Blue Dot photograph – two astronomers now offer another unique cosmic perspective:

SCOTUS nomination battle could sway independent, religious voters

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vote on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Thursday, with a possible final vote on her confirmation as soon as Monday, Oct. 26 – a week in advance of the election.

Efficacy, politics influence public trust in COVID-19 vaccine

… an efficacy, or effectiveness, of 50% – the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s minimum threshold for a COVID-19 …

Conference to explore tactile approaches to media, virtually

“Media Objects,” a media studies conference originally scheduled for March 2020 at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, has been reconfigured into a virtual event, with the first panel scheduled for Oct. 23.

Undergrad women artists of color lead ‘Virtual Vibrance’ shows

Three collaboratively crafted online performances led by undergraduate women artists of color will be offered Oct. 30–31 by the Cornell University Department of Performing and Media Arts (PMA), Cornell Ambassadors for Media and Performance (CAMP), and Graduate Researchers in Media and Performing Arts (GRMPA). The series, titled “Virtual Vibrance: Making, Shaking, Breaking Performance,” is funded in part by the Cornell Council for the Arts.

Democracy 20/20 webinar to examine U.S. polarization

With Election Day just around the corner – and millions of ballots already cast in early voting – the next installment of the Democracy 20/20 webinar series will tackle polarization and how tension between the political parties and the social groups they represent is redefining American democracy.

Michael Morley, emeritus professor of math, dies at 90

Michael D. Morley, professor emeritus of mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), died Oct. 11 at Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pennsylvania. He was 90.

Religion: less ‘opiate,’ more suppressant, study finds

“Contemporary American religion – and Christianity in particular – suppresses what would otherwise be larger group differences in political ideology.”

In linking COVID-19 apps, EU to face adoption, privacy risks

The European Commission has launched a new system designed to link national COVID-19 tracing apps across the European Union — starting with Germany’s Corona-Warn-App, Ireland’s COVID tracker and Italy’s immuni. With the system — known as the interoperability gateway — the apps can work in all participating countries.

COVID could reinvent how we go to the movies

Arrest of general in U.S. boosts AMLO’s fight against corruption

On Thursday, a former Mexican defense minister, General Salvador Cienfuegos, was detained in Los Angeles on drug charges. The arrest prompted President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to vow to punish other military officials involved.

Thai protests reach ‘tipping point’, king yet to respond publicly

Thousands continued to protest in Thailand in the wake of an emergency decree issued Thursday by the government limiting gatherings to groups of five and the arrest of key protest leaders. Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says the events of this week indicate that Thailand has reached a tipping point, with widespread protests necessitating a response from the regime and monarchy.