A Nov. 16 talk sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the College of Arts and Sciences will shed light on the history of hate movements in the U.S.

“The Intersectionality of Antisemitism, Islamophobia and Racism,” a talk by Ross Brann, the Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies & Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow (A&S), will begin at 4 p.m. in the Alice Statler Auditorium in Statler Hall.

President Martha E. Pollack will offer an introduction, and the event will be livestreamed as a webinar on eCornell.

“We have come to witness incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia on our own campus,” Brann said. “The first necessary step in combatting all forms of hate and intolerance is to call them out. What else can we do right here, right now? What we always do at Cornell, which is to interrogate, to question and to learn.”

The talk will be followed by a question-and-answer period with the in-person audience.

“For more than 35 years, Professor Brann has guided Cornell students to understand, and talk about, hate and bias directed against others – particularly Jews and Arabs,” said Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff. “An expert on the Middle East, Ross helps students understand the complex history of the region and the deep emotions that it provokes. I am extraordinarily grateful to him, and so many other Cornell faculty, who are helping to educate us and foster respectful communication at this particularly challenging time for our community. We condemn hatred and bias of any form at Cornell and are committed to making every effort possible to understand and counter it on our campus.”

“The humanities and interdisciplinary studies help us understand the complexities of conflict while we seek deeper meaning and understanding,” said Rachel Bean, interim dean of A&S and the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Astronomy. “I am grateful for the thoughtful engagement of our faculty and the mutual respect and care for our collective humanity that is so needed at this time.”

The talk is sponsored by the Office of the Provost; the Provost’s Office of Faculty Development and Diversity; the College of Arts and Sciences; the departments of Near Eastern studies, government, history and anthropology; the Religious Studies Program; the Jewish Studies Program and the Comparative Muslim Societies Program (in the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies.)

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.