Ian Balfour, the M.H. Abrams Distinguished Visiting Professor at Cornell, will present the lecture "Romanticism and the Forms of Freedom: On the First Person Among Others," Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

Balfour is teaching a graduate-level course on Romanticism and freedom this spring; in the fall he taught upper level courses in Romantic literature and film noir.

Author of the book "The Rhetoric of Romantic Prophecy," Balfour has been editor and co-editor of several publications and has written numerous essays on popular and unpopular culture. He was a fellow of the Society for the Humanities at Cornell in 1989-90. He is currently completing a book on the sublime.

The M.H. Abrams Visiting Professorship, established in 2006 by Stephen H. Weiss '57, allows the department to bring in esteemed senior academics whose work can benefit students and faculty. Information: kek77@cornell.edu or call 607-255-7847.