Created by the “heretic” Pharaoh Akhenaten as the center of the monotheistic cult of worship of a sun god called the Aten, the ancient city of Tell el-Amarna is one of the most exciting archaeological sites in the world. Its extraordinary level of preservation provides an unmatched window into the population’s daily life and religious practices. Egyptologist Jacquelyn Williamson, a senior member of the Tell el-Amarna archaeological team, examines the latest discoveries at the site.
As soon as television began in the late 1940s, advertising was a vital part of the picture. Media historian Brian Rose examines how advertising evolved during television’s first two decades and the important role it played in convincing viewers that the key to happiness was to buy their way into the American dream.
Palaces were the residences of monarchs, but they were also buildings where the business of state was carried out. Within their walls intrigues, murders, love affairs, and deaths—the full pageant of British history—took place and royal magnificence was displayed. Siobhan Clarke, a guide for the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces, introduces the splendid corridors of royal power and pleasure through four significant sites: the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, and Kensington Palace.
Few figures in history excite as passionately held and often-conflicting visions as Napoleon. Some extoll him as a genius and the spirit of the revolution incarnate, while others denounce him as a megalomaniac monster and compulsive warmonger. Historian Alexander Mikaberidze discusses the many facets of Napoleon the man and his enormous influence on history.
Pablo Picasso reinvented himself every few years with groundbreaking creative developments that would change the course of art. In a 4-part series, art historian Joseph P. Cassar looks at Picasso’s early years, his Blue and the Rose periods, his masterpiece Guernica, and his lifetime of artistic experimentation and innovation marked by playfulness and genius. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)
At its peak, the Roman empire extended from Britain to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River. Yet in 476, the last western Roman emperor was deposed. In a 4-part series, historian David Gwynn analyzes the dramatic events which shaped the decline and fall of the Roman empire in the west, exploring the transformation from the ancient to the medieval world that laid the foundations for modern Europe. This session focuses on the fourth-century Roman empire.
The last few decades have seen an explosion of interest in female painters, sculptors, architects, textile artists, and performance artists. Art historian Nancy G. Heller examines the progress made by women artists in Europe and the U.S. since the end of the Second World War. She discusses the relationship of art made by late 20th- and 21st-century women to the work of their male counterparts, placing it within a broader socioeconomic, political, and aesthetic context—and considers the obstacles that remain for women artists. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
For approximately five centuries during the second millennium B.C.E., the Egyptian city of Thebes served as the backdrop for the construction of a bewildering array of religious temples, memorial complexes, and royal tombs. Historian Justin M. Jacobs introduces the chief cultural, religious, and political themes of the monuments of ancient Thebes: the Karnak and Luxor temples of the East Bank, the memorial temples of the West Bank, and the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings.
