Provided

Students stage Sarah Ruhl’s “Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce” April 19-20 at the Schwartz Center.

Growth and inequality in Africa

The Institute for African Development hosts its annual symposium, “Growth, Poverty and Inequality: Confronting the Challenges of a Better Life for All in Africa,” April 19-20 in 423 ILR Conference Center. Free and open to the public.

Held in honor of Erik Thorbecke, the H.E. Babcock Professor Emeritus of Economics, the 2013 symposium will examine such issues as strategies for ensuring that economic growth translates into improved livelihoods for people; policies that empower the poor and landless; and educational policies that build the capacity of youth and other disadvantaged communities.

An interdisciplinary group of experts (from Cornell, the African Development Bank, World Bank, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, Human Science Research Council and others) will exchange ideas and map out guidelines in the fight to eradicate poverty.

The symposium begins April 19 at 1:30 p.m. and continues all day April 20. Information: http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu, 607-255-6849 or jsb25@cornell.edu.

‘Melancholy Play’

Performing and media arts students will present Sarah Ruhl’s “Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce,” April 19 at 8 p.m., April 20 at 2 and 8 p.m., in the Schwartz Center’s Black Box Theater. Free and open to the public.

A comic yet poignant take on love in all its forms, the play follows Tilly, a seductively melancholic bank teller – and the hairdresser, tailor, British nurse and unfeeling therapist who all fall for her.

“This play is unique in its ability to combine poetic imagery, music, broad comedy – and even some song and dance – to tell a very serious story in a very entertaining way,” said director Spencer Whale ’14. “[It] touches on depression, prescription medication, homosexuality and even death, while constantly focusing on the absurd humor of it all.”

The production features music by composer Michael Roth. The cast includes professor of computer science Graeme Bailey as Julian the cellist and student actors Daniel Burns ’13, Angela Carbone ’16, Amanda Martin ’13, Claire Stack ’15 and Xu Yang ’14. Information: http://pma.cornell.edu.

Art and history

New shows at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art offer a history of exhibitions at Cornell, student art on campus and a student-curated exhibition on hair and identity.

“Post More Bills: Sixty Years of Exhibition Posters from the Herbert F. Johnson and A.D. White Museums” and “Hair: Untangling Roots of Identity,” curated and organized by the History of Art Majors Society, are on display from April 20-July 14. Events in conjunction with “Hair” include an artist’s talk by iona rozeal brown, April 25 at 5:15 p.m., and a faculty symposium, April 27, 1-4 p.m.

The Museum Club hosts a reception April 20, 8-11 p.m. for the Student Arts Showcase, on display through April 21. The reception includes student dance, music and comedy performances; art activities; refreshments and a “best hair” competition.

Continuing exhibitions include “Ana Mendieta in Exile: Selected Films,” “Beauties and Beasties in Children’s Book Illustrations,” “Weaver’s Stories from Island Southeast Asia” and “Drawn to Excellence,” all through May 5.

All events and museum admission are free and open to the public. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu/.

Hanks and Robins

The Cornell Folk Song Society (CFSS) hosts a rare East Coast appearance by Berkeley, Calif.-based folksingers Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins, performing cowboy songs, work songs, political/topical songs and traditional ballads, April 20 at 8 p.m. in 165 McGraw Hall.

Hanks has performed at festivals and clubs for more than 50 years, solo and with artists including Janis Joplin, Utah Phillips, Geoff Muldaur and Mike Seeger. In the 1960s he shared stages with young banjo player Mac Benford, famed “Little Boxes” songwriter Malvina Reynolds and emerging songwriter Bill Steele ’55 when all were based in the San Francisco Bay area.

Tickets are $15 in advance, at Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Books and online; $17 at the door; students $10/$12. Children age 12 and under free; $3 rebates available for CFSS members, senior citizens and teenagers. Information, tickets: http://www.cornellfolksong.org/ or 607-351-1845.

‘America Under God?’

Every morning, students in most public schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which contains the phrase "one nation under God." Professor Isaac Kramnick explores the history and politics of that claim in the lecture “America Under God?” April 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

Presented by Phi Beta Kappa’s Theta Chapter of New York, the lecture will be followed by a Q-and-A. Free and open to the public.

Kramnick, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government, is the co-author (with Cornell historian R. Laurence Moore) of “The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State.” In his talk, he also examines the role of religion in U.S. politics and touches on other issues of church-state relations.

Confronting poverty

The Cornell Public Service Center will present John Ambler ’87, vice president of strategy for Oxfam America, April 24 at 5 p.m. in Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall. Free and open to the public.

Ambler’s lecture, “Learning to Confront Poverty and Injustice: Ten Personal Lessons,” will explore the roles of language, diplomacy and humility in the fight against poverty.

The Kaplan Family Distinguished Lecture in Public Service brings nationally and internationally recognized leaders to Cornell to share their contributions to promoting public service, citizen action, human rights or social activism. For information, contact Danica Fisher at dmf46@cornell.edu.

Machine language

M.F.A. fiction writers, in collaboration with Cornell’s Creative Machines Lab, will present “Human Machine Fiction,” April 25 at 7 p.m. in 120 Physical Sciences.

Sponsored by the Creative Writing Program’s Barbara and David Zalaznick Reading Series, the reading is free and open to the public.

Graduate student writers Christopher Drangle, Karen Elterman, Isabelle Gilbert, Joseph Neal, Valer Popa, Adam Price, Lauren Schenkman and Caroline Zeileng will read from work inspired by interactions with Cleverbot and other artificial intelligence technologies.

Graduate students Jason Yosinski (in the field of computer science) and Igor Labutov (of the Creative Machines Lab) provided technical support for the project. Information: http://english.arts.cornell.edu/creative/readings/2013/spring, http://creativemachines.cornell.edu.

Green engagement

Associate professor of landscape architecture Paula Horrigan will discuss community engagement and efforts to transform and improve public spaces in a talk about her new book, “Service-Learning in Design and Planning: Educating at the Boundaries,” April 25, 4 p.m. in 160 Mann Library. Free; refreshments served and books available for purchase and signing.

Linking professional work and social change, Horrigan’s book cites? case studies to critically explore current practices of community-engaged learning in architecture, landscape design and urban planning.

Horrigan’s recent project “From Rust-to-Green Places and Networks: Mapping a Sustainable Future for Upstate New York” (http://rust2green.org) engaged Cornell faculty and students as proactive partners in advancing sustainability narratives useful to at-risk cities.

Information: http://mannlib.cornell.edu/events-exhibits.

Love and theft

Cornell Cinema presents the 2012 Swiss drama “Sister” – the story of a 12-year-old boy who supports himself and his older sister by stealing from wealthy guests at a luxury ski resort – April 25 and 27 in Willard Straight Theatre.

Switzerland’s submission for Best Foreign Film Oscar consideration, the film by Ursula Meier co-stars Gillian Anderson, with young actors Kacey Mottet Klein and Léa Seydoux.

Information: http://adoptfilms.com, http://cinema.cornell.edu.

Beethoven and Mozart

The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, on a brief East Coast tour with American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, will perform April 26 at 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall, presented by the Cornell Concert Series.

Ohlsson, who has virtuosic command of solo and concerto repertoire, shares the stage with the orchestra for a classical program featuring Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony and Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9.

Tickets are $25-$35 for the general public; $15 for students, all seats reserved. A Cornell discount rate is available online only with a valid netID. Information and ticket orders: http://ConcertSeries.Cornell.edu, http://www.baileytickets.com or 607-255-5144.