October 7, 2026
Conferences
Assistant Professor Wunpini Mohammed presented the paper “Resistance Narratives toward Reparative Justice” at the conference From Durban to Now: 25 Years of Struggle for Reparative Justice.
On September 25, Wunpini presented her work at the conference organized by the Pan African Community of Central New York and the Africa Initiative at Syracuse University. The conference marked the 25th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. In her presentation, she highlighted the need for reparative justice efforts (in West Africa) to (re)write slavery narratives by foregrounding narratives of resistance that have been systematically erased by a colonial knowledge economy.
Professor Katherine Sender presented “Television Temporalities and Queer Time: Assessing the Impact of Streaming on LGBTQ+ Representations” at the Long Durations and Disruptions: Temporalities of Transformation in Cultural Industries conference.
In her paper, Katherine explored the argument that legacy television’s linear time delivery limits the possibilities of queer representation. She asks whether, in turn, streaming television’s temporal disruptions necessarily offer alternative rhythms in which queer, transgender, and nonbinary characters and narratives can thrive. She argues that although television streaming has made space for queerer characters and narratives, it does not guarantee it.
Grants
Associate Professor Neil Lewis, Jr. (PI) received a $2,367,000 grant from the Evaluating New York State Early Childhood Programs and Policies.
Neil and other members of The Action Research Collaborative (ARC) will expand their partnership with the New York State Council on Children and Families (CCF) and continue studying the impact of a variety of programs and policies designed to serve children and families throughout New York State. ARC’s broader mission is to be responsive to the needs of communities—to use scientific evidence to inform decision-making in policy and practice and to evaluate the effects of those decisions on the lives of communities. Partnering with CCF to study early childhood-related programs is exactly the kind of work ARC was designed to do—translating research into action that can make a difference in people’s everyday lives.
Invited Lectures
Adjunct Professor Tarleton Gillespie delivered a keynote address titled “The Precedents of an Unprecedented Technology” at the inaugural Creative Futures Lab Conference held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
The talk looked backwards to the history of social media, photography, and even maps to raise critical concerns about generative AI as a media technology and particularly its implications for media and creative arts professionals.
Professor Katherine McComas presented the keynote address for the Society for Risk Analysis—Europe Nordic Chapter Conference titled “When the Earth Moves: Risk Perception and the Politics of Geothermal Acceptance. The conference was held in Reykjavik.
Geothermal energy holds promise for the clean energy transition, yet public acceptance remains an open question. In this keynote presentation, Katherine drew on a decade of cross-national research to examine why the same physical phenomenon, an earthquake, can signal danger in one context and energy abundance in another.
On September 30, Associate Professor Claire Wardle delivered the closing keynote to the County Extension Directors and Board Presidents meeting titled “Digital Disruption and Cornell Cooperative Extension.”
In her lecture, Claire examined the characteristics of our contemporary information ecosystems, from digital systems, including LLMs, to the growing role of trust in offline settings. What does this mean for CCE? What do we know? What don’t we know, and how can we prepare for an uncertain future?
On September 30, Associate Professor Claire Wardle delivered the closing keynote to the County Extension Directors and Board Presidents meeting titled “Digital Disruption and Cornell Cooperative Extension.”
In her lecture, Claire examined the characteristics of our contemporary information ecosystems, from digital systems, including LLMs, to the growing role of trust in offline settings. What does this mean for CCE? What do we know? What don’t we know, and how can we prepare for an uncertain future?
