Islamic mysticism shows the limits of knowledge in an unstable world

In her new book, “Unknowing and the Everyday: Sufism and Knowledge in Iran,” Seema Golestaneh explores the ways the Sufi mystical experience – particularly the role of mystical knowledge – is shaping contemporary life in Iran.

Lessons learned from pandemic successes and failures: a conversation Feb. 20

What have we learned about the successes and failures of policy responses to Covid‑19?

Around Cornell

Professor’s posthumous memoir details turbulent childhood

A new posthumous memoir by Isaac Kramnick, the renowned scholar of political thought and history who served on the Cornell faculty for 45 years, traces his life from birth into an unstable family and years in the child welfare system to his undergraduate days at Harvard University.

New Yorker theater critic Cunningham wins Nathan Award

Conferred by the English department chairs at Cornell, Princeton University and Yale University, the Nathan Award is administered by Cornell’s Department of Literatures in English, in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The unexpected importance of the sea sponge in classical history

In the Society for the Humanities Invitational Lecture Feb. 15, art historian Verity Platt will present her research on the humble sea sponge.

Around Cornell

First-person histories reframe the past

Enzo Traverso critiques a new trend in historical writing, in which historians place themselves in their books, framing their accounts of history as first-person investigations and revealing emotional ties to their subjects.

A&S welcomes 10 new Klarman Fellows to expanded program

Ten exceptional early-career scholars will join the College of Arts and Sciences this year as recipients of Klarman Postdoctoral Fellowships, enabling them to pursue leading-edge research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

New York Times best-selling author Ross Gay to read Feb. 9

A poet and essayist, Gay will read from his most recent collection of essays, “Inciting Joy” and other works.

Around Cornell

Cornell-led telescope project completion in sight

The construction of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope being developed by CCAT Observatory Inc., an international consortium of universities led by Cornell, is drawing to a close.