Prof. Chiara Formichi, Asian Studies, has spent her career researching the relationship between Islam and Asian cultures, having published her most recent book in April 2020.
“We have so many things at Cornell, the Lab of Ornithology, the biodiversity studies, and I really wanted them to appreciate the type of people that study at Cornell,” said Prof. Jane-Marie Law.
Prof. Jane-Marie Law, Asian, Near Eastern, and religious studies stays busy teaching Introduction to Japan, operating a sustainable farm and taking a group of students to Japan every summer, yet still finds time to meditate. Law encourages her students to explore subject matter through movies, theatre and art viewings and helps her students to interact with class material by sharing personal stories. “What I’ve discovered is that what people really want to hear is other people’s stories,” she said. “They don’t really want to hear other people’s truths. [That’s why] I never talk about something that I don’t really care about.”
In addition to her course material, Law has strong feelings on the education system, which she believes confines students’ curiosity rather than encouraging imagination.