Cornell in Rome instructor Jeffrey Blanchard, left, takes a moment to point out important aspects of the Roman Forum from atop the Capitoline Hill. Learn more about the Cornell in Rome program.
Bachelor of fine arts students present thesis projects in a final presentation and critique at the end of the spring semester. The B.F.A. curriculum combines the intensive studio culture of the art department with enhanced access to electives in all areas of the university. Learn more about applying to the B.F.A. program.
The COVID-19 crisis has presented the world with challenges that raise a number of questions about urban policy, leadership, and everyday life in cities.
June 5: a discussion on the power of collective action from architects and designers who organized the Cornell-led Operation PPE for healthcare workers.
Claire McClinton: Labor Leader, Water Warrior, and Champion of Democracy
Claire McClinton was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and is a UAW retiree who comes from a family of autoworkers. She has been in the thick of the battle for labor rights and against poverty in her city for decades, and she is currently in the thick of the fight for safe, clean water for all. Her work analyzes what the poisoning of a city's water — and the toxic system behind it — means for the entire country. She will discuss the underlying conditions that have given rise to the poisoning — the profound changes in the economy that has eliminated jobs and devastated former industrial cities. She will also speak about the new model of corporate dictatorship in Michigan that has destroyed democracy as it takes over cities and towns and schools, silencing workers while taking over public assets like water. McClinton argues that it was the system of governor-appointed emergency managers that ushered in the change in Flint's water to the toxic Flint river, poisoning an entire American city. In addition, McClinton will discuss the kind of new society that there could be if the new technology that is today displacing so many workers is used for everyone's benefit.
