Twenty-three Society for the Humanities fellows will focus their scholarly and artistic talents on the theme of improvisation this academic year.

On Sept. 17, Judith Butler, A.D. White professor-at-large and professor of rhetoric and of comparative literature at the University of California-Berkeley, joined Denise Riley, professor of literature with philosophy at the University of East Anglia in Norfolk, England, and a Society for the Humanities fellow-in-residence at Cornell this semester, for a discussion titled "A Conversation on Conversation" to kick off a series of events sponsored by Cornell's Society for the Humanities. The series brings together scholars from universities around the world to research and discuss a central theme over the course of an academic year.

"This theme [of improvisation] exemplifies what the society does best," says Brett de Bary, director of the Society for the Humanities. "By looking at the interaction between spontaneity and form, accident and design, we raise questions about the nature of the human that lie at the intersections of the humanities, arts and sciences."

Nineteen fellows were chosen from dozens of applicants in disciplines ranging from English and comparative literature to music, anthropology and science and technology studies to participate in the society's endeavor this year. In addition, four fellows were invited by the society to "offer classes and lectures at Cornell, while participating in weekly colloquiums that give them a chance to present their research in an environment that fosters discussion and creativity. The colloquium is really the heart of the discussion between the scholars," says de Bary.

Invited fellow Jerrold Levinson, a philosophy professor at the University of Maryland and a jazz musician, will join the society Sept. 26-28 to lecture on "Philosophical Reflections on Jazz Vocal Improvisation" and to perform on the tenor sax, accompanied by members of the Cornell Jazz Ensemble. Other invited fellows include Rustom Bharucha, an independent writer, director and cultural critic based in Kolkata, India, who will be on campus Oct. 5-19, and Paul Berliner, professor of ethnomusicology at Duke University, who will arrive in spring 2008.

Information on lectures and performances, as well as on the other Society for the Humanities fellows and the society's focal theme, can be found at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/sochum/.