Cornell University’s Society for the Humanities will host a free public conference Oct. 30 examining survival through climate change, literature, architecture, archaeology and history.
The Fall Fellows’ Conference on Survival will take place in the Guerlac Room of the A.D. White House, 29 East Ave. in Ithaca. The current event calendar lists the program from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a reception after the final presentation.
Seven fellows and postdoctoral scholars will present work in progress on the society’s 2026-27 theme. Each presentation will be followed by questions and discussion. Lunch and refreshments are provided.
Seven presentations on Oct. 30
Pamela Karimi, a Cornell associate professor of architecture, will open at 10:30 a.m. with a talk on desert architecture and survival.
At 11 a.m., Cornell Asian studies assistant professor Ivanna Yi will discuss kinship in Han Kang’s novel “The Vegetarian,” examining how it imagines communication between humans and trees.
Following a coffee break, Cornell Humanities Scholars postdoctoral associate Jennifer Rabedeau will speak at 11:45 a.m. about how Thomas Hardy’s interests in architecture, archaeology and geology shaped his layered understanding of history and his writing.
Amanda Gaggioli, an assistant professor of history at the University of Memphis, will discuss political geology and deep time at 12:15 p.m. Lunch is scheduled from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m.
Cornell sociology assistant professor Jamie Budnick will speak at 2 p.m. about parenting in the era of climate change. The talk draws on 16 years of major U.S. newspaper coverage to examine how claims about having children amid climate change shape public debate.
At 2:30 p.m., Jorden Sanders, a Mellon postdoctoral fellow in Cornell’s Literatures in English department, will discuss ecoacoustic sympathy and Frances Harper’s work.
Dickinson College archaeologist Andrew Dufton will give the final presentation at 3 p.m., addressing archaeology’s contribution to studying neighborhood life over time.
Keynote on radiation science and gender history
A keynote event featuring University of Pennsylvania scholar Beans Velocci is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, also in the Guerlac Room. The event is free and open to the public and includes a reception after the talk.
Velocci’s lecture examines Cold War radiation science, concerns about heredity and reproduction, and connections between atomic and transgender history.
Velocci is an assistant professor in history and sociology of science and gender, sexuality and women’s studies. Their first book, “Sex Isn’t Real: The Invention of an Incoherent Binary,” was published by Duke University Press in 2026.
The society’s survival theme brings together questions about how individuals, communities and species endure environmental change, political upheaval and social transformation. Its spring Fellows Conference is scheduled for April 23, 2027.
For accessibility accommodations or event information, contact humctr@cornell.edu or 607-255-7989.
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