Society for the Humanities celebrates 60 years as incubator for innovative research

Cornell's Society for the Humanities celebrated its 60th anniversary Sept. 18-19 with two days of events. Panel discussions, receptions and a formal dinner highlighted the role of the Society, which is based in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), as an innovative platform for diverse humanities research that integrates scholars from Cornell and from external institutions.

"The Society has been an important incubator for humanities research since it was founded in 1966," said Durba Ghosh, director of the Society for Humanities and professor of history (A&S).

Established at the forefront of a national movement to lift humanities studies, the Society has hosted more than 800 fellows, 600 of whom are living. Nearly 100 came to Ithaca to join the weekend's events. This year, 18 scholars are working on the theme "Survival" as Society Fellows (from outside Cornell); Faculty Fellows (from within Cornell); Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows; Cornell Graduate Student Fellows and Humanities Scholars Postdoctoral Associates.

Saturday's program began with a conversation among three of the Society's former directors: Jonathan Culler, the Class of 1916 Professor Emeritus in the Department of Literatures in English; Brett de Bary, professor of Asian studies, emerita; and Timothy Murray, professor of comparative literature and literatures in English, emeritus (all A&S) followed by several former fellows discussing the impact of the Society on their work. Saturday's sessions were recorded and will be archived. A focus of the weekend was collecting archival materials, such as books, papers, emails and event posters, to be added to Cornell's archives. Fellows were also invited to record oral histories capturing the research they accomplished and the experiences they had while at Cornell.

Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.