Jason Koski/University Photography

The College of Arts and Sciences’ new home in Klarman Hall will host a series of "Big Ideas" panels as part of its New Century for the Humanities celebration.

Six panels of faculty from various disciplines in arts and sciences will share their latest research on topics as diverse as technology and humanitarianism in a series of “Big Ideas” panel discussions this semester.

The panels are part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ New Century for the Humanities celebration, which will culminate May 26 with the dedication of Klarman Hall, the new humanities building on the Arts Quad.

The idea for the panel discussions started last fall during meetings of arts and humanities faculty, said Scott MacDonald, senior associate dean for arts and humanities for the College of Arts and Sciences. The meetings highlighted the diversity in subject matter and methodologies among the college's 13 arts and humanities departments, he said.

“But we also rediscovered and reaffirmed the extraordinary commonalities that bind arts and humanities disciplines together and unite us as faculty,” MacDonald said. “We wanted to put on display a selection of the exciting work our faculty are doing on important topics, both timeless and timely. Moreover, we wanted to show how our different approaches and perspectives very often converge on or cluster around themes – big ideas – in ways that can be deeply illuminating and invite creative, boundary-breaking collaborations.”

In the first discussion, scheduled for Feb. 22, faculty members Karen Bennett of philosophy, Laurent Dubreuil of Romance studies and Morten Christiansen of psychology will discuss aspects of their latest research related to the mind 3-4:30 p.m. in the atrium of Klarman Hall.

The ‘Big Ideas in the Humanities’ series

Mind, Feb. 22, 3-4:30 p.m., Klarman Hall atrium. Karen Bennett, philosophy; Laurent Dubreuil, Romance studies; Morten Christiansen, psychology.

Sound, Feb. 29, 3-4:30 p.m., Klarman Hall atrium. Kim Haines-Eitzen, Near Eastern studies; Benjamin Piekut, music; Trevor Pinch, science and technology studies.

Sustainability, March 10, 2:30-4 p.m., Klarman Hall atrium. Karen Pinkus, Romance studies; Sara Pritchard, science and technology studies; Aaron Sachs, history.

Technology in the Humanities, March 15, 3-4:30 p.m., Klarman Hall atrium. Jeremy Braddock, English; David Mimno, information science; Anindita Banerjee, comparative literature.

Migration, April 12, 3-4:30 p.m., Klarman Hall atrium. Maria Cristina Garcia, history and Latino studies; Iftikhar Dadi, history of art; Alejandro Madrid, music.

Humanitarianism and its Discontents, April 25, 4:30-6 p.m., Klarman Hall atrium. Elizabeth Anker, English; Saida Hodzik, anthropology; Olufemi Taiwo, Africana Studies and Research Center.

Bennett said she will introduce the philosophy of the mind, then speak about her latest work on the language philosophers use to describe how phenomena are “made from,” “generated” or “built from” other phenomena.

Bennett teaches introduction to philosophy and metaphysics classes, as well as graduate-level seminars to students from various Cornell schools in diverse majors.

“The study of philosophy involves rigorous, clear thinking and requires an ability to create strong arguments,” she said, and it appeals to any student who enjoys tackling hard questions.

Other “big ideas” to be addressed include sound, technology in the humanities, sustainability and migration.

A panel on humanitarianism and its discontents will feature Olufemi Taiwo of Africana studies sharing his ideas and research into foreign humanitarian aid in Africa.

“No country has moved its people from poor to rich as a result of foreign aid,” said Taiwo, who argues that aid should only be given to countries in times of emergency. “I’m not talking about taking vaccines away from small children, but rather creating a system where we can pre-empt humanitarian catastrophes.”

Trevor Pinch of science and technology studies, Kim Haines-Eitzen of Near Eastern studies and Ben Piekut of music will speak on the “sound” panel.

“What’s so exciting about sound is that it’s been one of the more neglected senses,” said Pinch. “Most of humanities has focused on the visual. But now there seems to be a greater interest in sound, even among scientists who are trying to sonify data.”

Haines-Eitzen’s research focuses on the absence of sound: ancient peoples and their search for quieter places. On her travels to desert landscapes, she found quite a bit of noise, even first thing in the morning.

“In the Negev, I was determined to record environmental sounds and get all of the human sounds out of the picture, so we went out around 4:30 a.m., but within an hour or so, we heard bombing practice,” she said. Haines-Eitzen re-read her texts and found that ancient people were also bombarded with troubling sounds, like the arrival of the Persians and the clamor of war.

Another Big Idea session will focus on migration and feature panelists such as Maria Cristina Garcia of history and Latino studies, who says migration has been a contested issue in the U.S. since the 1870s. She’s working on a book about changes in U.S. policies on refugees and asylum-seekers since the Cold War.

 “During the Cold War, people seeking to escape communism were considered refugees. Now the war on terror is the new lens through which we view refugees,” she said.

Many departments will be represented March 15 on the technology in the humanities panel. Jeremy Braddock of English said that discussion, and the series in general, illustrates the strong working relationships Arts and Sciences faculty have with colleagues in other departments.

Braddock’s talk will focus on his research into the Firesign Theatre, an American comedy group of the 1960s and 1970s, and the way they used the multi-track recording studio as a medium for literary writing.