Seniors in the Humanities Scholars Program (HSP) in the College of Arts & Sciences will showcase their research at an all-day conference May 1 at the A.D. White House.
Their work, developed over multiple semesters of sustained, interdisciplinary inquiry, spans across humanities fields and also highlights intersections with science, technology, business, law and other disciplines. HSP is open to students from across the university who are majoring or minoring in a humanities discipline. It offers curated courses, structured mentorship, special programming, research opportunities and funding.
Presenting at HSP's Spring Research Conference is the final requirement for seniors in the program. The conference will also feature presentations from seniors not in HSP, creating an opportunity for undergraduates in Cornell's broader humanities community to get practice presenting in an academic conference setting.
“The Spring Conference is my favorite event of the year in the HSP,” said Verity Platt, professor of classics and HSP director. “It is immensely rewarding to see our scholars' hard work come to fruition, both in the intellectual depth of each student's individual project, and in the many confluences of ideas and approaches that emerge through their shared commitment to understanding how diverse stories, practices, and questions have shaped human culture and society.”
For his HSP research project, Jeffrey Ho ‘26, a biological sciences major, created an exhibit now on display in the rotunda of Cornell’s Rare and Manuscript Collection at Olin Library, that bridges public health history and museum studies. Ho’s project examines how communities at Cornell formed and communicated during two public health crises: the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Drawing on archival research and interviews with curators, Ho analyzed the contrasting ways intimacy, distance and messaging shaped responses to each crisis. He also created a behind‑the‑scenes documentary about the exhibit that he said will be helpful for students working on similar projects.
For Ho, the Humanities Scholars Program made his project possible. “The classes really gave me permission to expand my interests,” he said, noting that HSP connected his long-standing focus on biology with his interests in history, creative writing, public health and human development. As a future medical school applicant, Ho sees his humanities work as essential preparation. “Medicine isn’t just about the science—it’s about the person and their story.”
Anya Shukla’s ‘26 research also sits at the intersection of disciplines. A double major in anthropology and computer science, Shukla studied the use of large language models (LLMs) in women’s health startups, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted during a summer internship. Her thesis examines how engineers can navigate building AI features, given that systems are biased against women, whose health data remains underrepresented.
Shukla combined technical knowledge with social analysis, examining algorithms as “sociotechnical systems” shaped by the cultural values of the engineers and institutions that create them. HSP, she said, taught her how to sustain long-term research. “Without this program, I never would have written a thesis—or even known how to begin.”
Alianna Wray ‘26, who’s majoring in Africana Studies, American Studies and government, used historical and contemporary case studies to examine the persistence of anti-Black misogyny within U.S. institutions.
Her thesis places the 1991 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings involving Anita Hill in conversation with media and legal responses to the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. Despite the 30-year gap, Wray argues that similar patterns of implicit bias and institutional harm persist in both cases.
Grounded in Black feminist theory—from Sojourner Truth and Anna Julia Cooper to Kimberlé Crenshaw and Moya Bailey—Wray’s work explores how anti-Black misogyny is not merely interpersonal, but embedded in U.S. legal and media structures. She credits HSP with providing a community that supported both rigorous scholarship and deeply personal work. “You’re reminded that you’re not doing this alone,” she said.
The spring research conference is open to the public. Find the schedule and more information at https://events.cornell.edu/event/hsp-spring-conference.
