Home to award-winning teachers and authors

About Us

The Department of History thrives on its close relationship with many other departments, centers and area studies programs in the humanities and social sciences at Cornell. The faculty includes more than a dozen prize-winning authors as well as winners of Cornell’s prestigious teaching and advising awards.

Popular Destinations

Department Contacts and Administration Cornell Historical Society Public History Initiative

History Events

Feb 27

Friday 12:20 PM

European History Colloquium - Victoria Frede

Goldwin Smith Hall 283

Mar 05

Thursday 04:45 PM

LaFeber-Silbey Lecture - Philippe Sands

Goldwin Smith Hall G64

Mar 18

Wednesday 10:10 AM

How Migrants Made Markets: Shenzhen and China's Reform and Opening

White Hall 106

Mar 19

Thursday 12:00 PM

Greenland: The Last Colony in Europe

Clark Hall 700

Mar 19

Thursday 05:00 PM

Claude McKay: The Wanderings of a Rebellious Poet

Goldwin Smith Hall HEC Auditorium, room 132

Apr 09

Thursday 12:00 PM

Book Symposium: "Bukovina: The Life and Death of an East European Borderland"

Uris Hall G08

See all events

History News

A crowd gathered, holding blue and yellow flags; hands in the foreground hold a sign that says "Ukraine Resist"

Little changing as Ukraine-Russia war drags toward Fifth year

2/24/2026

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, what’s notable is the lack of change in the last year, says David Silbey, a professor at Cornell University who specializes in military history and defense policy.

Global Hubs researchers probe war, how to keep peace

2/24/2026

Two Cornell researchers collaborated with colleagues in the United Kingdom in an effort to understand the organized violence of modern war.

Blue plaque with the title, "Toni Morrison" and a paragraph of text

Historical marker commemorates Toni Morrison’s time in Ithaca

2/20/2026

Cornell faculty, staff, students and community members celebrated the 95th birthday of Toni Morrison, M.A. ’55, by unveiling a new historical marker in front of 513 N. Albany St., where she lived while in graduate school.

Person sitting in a deep windowsill, reading a book

Your February 2026 reads

2/20/2026

This month’s featured titles by A&S alumni and faculty include a look at the urban-rural divide, a biography of an anti-poverty activist, and a business guide for "winning dream jobs, awards, and elite opportunities.”

LaFeber-Silbey Lecture considers “A World Without Law?”

2/19/2026

Scholar of law Philippe Sands will give the LaFeber-Silbey Lecture in History on March 5, considering "Lessons from History and Literature, from Nuremberg to Pinochet and Beyond.”