Lecture in modern Indian literature

Kiran Nagarkar, award-winning Indian author and Fulbright visiting scholar at Ithaca College, will speak Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m., the Kahin Center, 640 Stewart Ave., Ithaca. His lecture, "You Cannot Choose Your Parents but You Can Choose Your Ancestors," is part of Cornell's second annual Rabindranath Tagore in Modern Literature Lecture Series. Information: http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/SouthAsia/calendar/.

Laver on organ

Annie Laver, second-place winner of the 2010 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, will present Louis Vierne's complete Symphony No. 3, op. 28, and other compositions, Sept. 11, 8 p.m., Sage Chapel. Free and open to the public.

Folk singer Ellis Paul

The Cornell Folk Song Society kicks off its fall season with a concert by Ellis Paul, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Paul took the folk scene in Boston by storm in the 1990s, winning an unprecedented 13 Boston Music Awards. He is ranked with Billy Bragg, Shawn Colvin and Ani DiFranco and builds a bridge between his populist heroes Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and contemporary issues and outlook. Ticket prices and outlets: http://www.cornellfolksong.org/.

Listen to the radio

Hosts Tommy Bruce, vice president for university communications, and David Murdter, WVBR staff member, start a new season of "Sunday Forum," Sept. 12 at 6 p.m., WVBR FM 93.5. An hour-long talk show for and about the Cornell community, "Sunday Forum" airs twice each month, is live-streamed on http://wvbr.com/, and can be heard shortly after the air date on CornellCast at http://www.cornell.edu/video.

Jazz with Maria Schneider

The 2010 Cornell Concert Series opens with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Sept.12, 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall. Acclaimed by critics as "evocative, majestic, magical," Schneider -- a two-time Grammy-winning composer -- excels in orchestral jazz. Tickets and ticket prices at http://www.CornellConcertSeries.com and http://wwww.BaileyTickets.com and in-person/by phone at Ticket Center Ithaca (The Commons), 607-273-4497.

PBS on campus

WSKG public radio's public affairs program "Community Conversation," moderated by Crystal Sarakas, will record a broadcast from Uris Auditorium (G1 Uris Hall), Sept. 13; doors open at 6:30 p.m., and program begins at 7. No seating will be allowed after the program begins. The free program will focus on the challenges that freshmen face in their first year of college, with panelists from Cornell addressing these issues and answering questions from the audience.

Lecture on Obama

Horace Campbell will speak about his latest book, "Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics: A Revolutionary Moment in the USA," Sept. 14 at 4:30 p.m., the Africana Studies and Research Center. Campbell is professor of African-American studies and political science and director of the Africa Initiative at Syracuse University. Campbell has also written about Zimbabwe, African liberation, Rasta and resistance. Information: http://asrc.cornell.edu.

Poetry at the Johnson

Award-winning poet Mary Gilliland '73, a retired faculty member of the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, will read from her work Sept. 14 at 5:15 p.m., Johnson Museum.

Race conversations

Two Stanford University professors, Paula M.L. Moya '98 (English) and Hazel Rose Markus (psychology), will discuss their new book, "Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century," Sept. 15, 12:30-2 p.m., 258 Goldwin Smith Hall. This work considers eight common conversations that people in the United States have with one another as they make sense of daily events in which race and ethnicity figure prominently. Information: http://mitws.arts.cornell.edu/.

CU Music: Midday Music for Organ

David Yearsley opens the Midday Music for Organ series in Sage Chapel, Sept. 15 at 12:30 p.m., presenting Italian organ concertos by Vivaldi, Marcello and Bach on the Neapolitan organ built by Augustinus Vicedomini in 1746. Information: http://music.cornell.edu/calendar/midday-music/.

Islam and the West -- CANCELED

Roxanne Euben, chair and professor of political science at Wellesley College, will discuss the role of travel in comparing the cultures of "Islam" and "the West," Sept. 15 at 4:30 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Euben is a scholar of comparative political theory focusing on Islamic political thought. The lecture, "Travel, Translation and Comparative Political Theory," is part of the College of Arts and Sciences Humanities Lecture series. A reception will follow. Free and open to the public.

Rana reinterprets American politics

Aziz Rana of Cornell Law School speaks about his book "The Two Faces of American Freedom," Sept. 15 at 4:30 p.m., Cornell Store. In the book he reinterprets the American political tradition from the colonial period to modern times. He envisions a democratic society that revives settler ideals of self-rule, but combines them with meaningful membership for those currently at the margins of American life. A question-and-answer period will follow.

Gardening with native plants

Author and landscape architect Carolyn Summers will present the Elizabeth E. Rowley lecture, "Gardens Filled With Life: Designing With Flora of the American East," Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Alice Statler Auditorium. Her talk will review current research on native plants as the basis for a healthy, biodiverse landscape and will cover ways to minimize harm from exotic plants. Information: http://www.cornellplantations.org.

2010 Day of Caring

The annual United Way of Tompkins County Stephen E. Garner Day of Caring, Sept. 16 at Stewart Park, Ithaca, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., will feature a brief program at noon. The event will cap a food, household and personal care items drive; all donations will be given to local food pantries and community organizations for distribution throughout Tompkins County.

Muslim women and the Qur'an

The Cornell Association of Professors Emeriti will present a public talk by Nimat Hafez Barazangi, visiting fellow for Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, "Why Muslim Women Are Re-interpreting the Qur'an: A Transformative Scholarship-Activism," Sept. 16 at 10:30 a.m., Boyce Thompson Auditorium. The lecture will advocate that Muslim women transform the conventional understanding of Islam into a new social justice contract.

New York water and the law

Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River program director for Riverkeeper, a nonprofit clean water advocate, will discuss recent developments in environmental water laws in New York state, Sept. 16 at 12:15 p.m., G65 Myron Taylor Hall.

9/11 messages

Bonnie McEneaney, M.P.S. '78, will read from her work, "Messages: Signs, Visits and Premonitions From Loved Ones Lost on 9/11." McEneaney's husband, Eamon '77, a Cornell lacrosse legend, was killed in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. McEneaney serves on the board of Voices of September 11th, an advocacy group supporting the 9/11 survivors. Part of the Creative Writing Reading Series, McEneaney's reading will be Sept. 16 at 4:30 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

Cultural fusion

The Cornell Department of Music will hold two "Cultural Fusion" concerts featuring guest artist Sandip Burman from India, playing sitar and tabla in Indian classical style, and four established contemporary jazz musicians from Ithaca: pianist John Stetch, bassist Nicholas Walker, saxophonist Rick Huyge and trumpeter Paul Merrill. Concerts are Sept. 16 at 7 p.m., Dryden High School auditorium, and Sept. 17 at 8 p.m., Barnes Hall auditorium. Free and open to the public. Information: http://www.sandipburman.com/.

Obama's foreign policy

Stephen M. Walt, professor of international affairs at Harvard University, will present "Doomed to Fail: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy," Sept. 16 at 4:30 p.m., Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. The author of numerous publications on international relations, national security policy and U.S. foreign policy, Walt has been ranked among the top 20 most influential academics in international relations. His most recent book, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," co-authored with John J. Mearsheimer, was a New York Times best-seller and has been translated into 19 foreign languages. The talk is part of the Einaudi Center's Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series.