Historian Siobhan Clark examines what led up to the Russian Revolution and the violent deaths of the tsar, tsarina, and their five children. She considers how this tragedy might have been avoided by examining the traits of Nicholas as a ruler, the role of World War I on the revolution, and the impact of the Revolution on the Russian people.
World’s fairs have long served as global showcases for innovation, culture, and progress. In a 3-part series, art historian Jennie Hirsh delves into the pivotal exhibitions held in St. Louis in 1904, San Francisco and San Diego in 1915, and Paris in 1925, examining how these landmark events showcased each era’s groundbreaking achievements in technology, culture, science, art, and architecture. This session focuses on the California 1915 World's Fairs.
Lift your voice in a choral program that celebrates memorable music across the United States. Conductor Melodia Mae Rinaldi leads the ensemble in arrangements of the hits you know and love. Songs may include favorites by Dolly Parton, Pete Seeger, Stevie Wonder, Irving Berlin, and others. No audition is required and rehearsals culminate in a free performance on June 15 for invited guests.
The Amber Room, dazzling, invaluable, and considered the “eighth wonder of the world,” was constructed for Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin in the early 18th century and gifted to Peter the Great. Composed of amber, semi-precious stones, and gold, it symbolized Russian imperial wealth. Looted by Nazis, destroyed or hidden, and later reconstructed, it has shifted from emblem of global power to phantasm of imperial ambitions. Art historian Molly Brunson explores its history, craftsmanship, and enduring fascination nearly a century after its disappearance. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
A painter can create entire worlds on a flat piece of paper. But where is a composer to start when seeking to represent the natural universe through sound? Over time, composers have fashioned powerful musical vocabularies that guide listeners to see harmony as visual image. In a 4-session course, speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin uses her unique live piano demonstrations and film clips to explore how such masters as Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Vivaldi, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Saint-Saëns, and others composed beloved works that conjure the natural world.
Historian Daniel Schlafly and limnologist Michael Meyer explore the intertwined natural and human histories of Lake Baikal, from its geological origins at least 25 million years ago to the present. The lake is both the deepest and the most voluminous in the world. More than a thousand plant and animal species live here and nowhere else. Its human history has been touched by Cossacks and the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and its waters hold profound spiritual meaning for the indigenous Buryat Mongols.
Pull out your sketchbook and pencil to take an artful break as you explore the Smithsonian while drawing objects from vast and fascinating collections.
The three voyages of Captain James Cook from 1768 to 1779 were filled with high drama, tragedy, intrigue, and humor. Historian Justin M. Jacobs places Cook and his world in historical context, highlights his substantive connections with the Polynesian world, and examines his search for the “Great Southern Continent” and Northwest Passage.
