Syria developments and foreign involvement: Cornell experts comment
Cornell government and history scholars provide perspective on the end of 14 years of civil war and 24 years of the Assad dictatorship.
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Cornell historians, undergraduates, and graduates research the World. Our expertise stretches across the globe and through the centuries, illuminating the present.
Research Links
Spotlights on Research in the Department
Faculty Research
Violence and Risk in Medieval Iceland: This Spattered Isle: New Book by Professor Oren Falk
Oren Falk's book and research considers the medieval Icelandic sagas as case studies in the violence general to the human experience, arguing that violence, “both perennial and contemporary,” serves as a technique for dealing with uncertainty....
In this book, the Icelandic case studies elaborated reveal the historically specific ways in which such general truisms get acted out in a particular culture. Successive chapters move from the individual level of struggling to survive and assert dominance in a feud, through the sociological level of creating and upholding institutions that will serve elites’ agendas, to the existential level of coming to grips with the harsh environment Icelanders faced, a sputtering volcanic outcrop stuck in the middle of a storm-tossed North Atlantic.
Graduate Student Research
History & Science Research Synergize for Greater Understanding
The research of Kevin Bloomfield, a Ph.D. candidate in history, and colleagues, was recently honored with a publication in Climatic Change.
The paper, Beyond One-Way Determinism: San Frediano's Miracle and Climate Change in Central and Southern Italy in Late Antiquity, examines the cultural impacts of climate change in Italy during the first millennium by studying scientific data and historical records.
Undergraduate Research
Ezra's Archives is a publication put forth annually by the Cornell Historical Society. The Cornell Historical Society (CHS) is an undergraduate organization at Cornell University founded in 2010. CHS educates and fosters appreciation for historical topics and methodology with the undergraduate student population and the community at large. This journal, launched in the Spring of 2011, showcases stellar examples of undergraduate research in the field of history. In 2021, Ezra's Archives was published online and articles can be read in this and previous issues on e-Commons.
History News
Student Spotlight: Jeremy Peschard Pórtela
Jeremy Peschard Pórtela studies the histories of Latinos, immigration and mental health under the guidance of Prof. Maria Cristina Garcia.
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Ahead of Trump takeover, long-range missiles unlikely to change tide in Ukraine
The Biden White House is likely trying to give Ukraine everything it can before the administration changes, says military historian David Silbey.
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Klarman Fellow presents findings on housing cost history
This fall, Jake Anbinder, a historian with an interest in cities and strong ties to public policy, presented two conference papers elaborating on his award-winning book project.
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Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures holds first event
During “Beyond 2024: Envisioning Just Futures and Equitable Democracy,” faculty and students from across the university will come together to creatively showcase research and art, build community and be inspired to imagine a better future.
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Conference considers medicine from historical standpoint
The Nov. 2 conference will focus on an interdisciplinary approach.
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New Book by Alumni Explores Walter LaFeber’s Life and Work
A year after former students held a conference in NYC that paid tribute to a giant in the field of U.S. history, Cornell University Press has published a companion volume to the event.
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North Korean troop deployment aimed at cementing alliance with Russia
Cornell military expert says North Korea sending troops to Russia for for eventual deployment in Ukraine, if true, amounts to more of a political statement, than a military one.
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