Among President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives was the Federal Art Project, which offered a crucial source of income and creative purpose for thousands of artists at a time when galleries were shuttered and patrons scarce. At its peak, the program employed over 5,300 artists. Art historian Nancy Elizabeth Green explores the enduring legacy of the Federal Art Project, illuminating how art and government together helped to lift the spirits of a nation during one of its darkest times. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
A quirky 18th-century international dispute over natural history quickly took on political overtones. Thomas Jefferson wanted to refute a French naturalist’s theory that all life in America was degenerate and weak, so he asked that a large dead moose be shipped to France. The theory, however, continued to have scientific, economic, and political implications for 100 years. Evolutionary biologist Lee Alan Dugatkin highlights this fascinating tale.
After Napoleon toppled the Venetian Republic in 1797, Venice passed from French to Austrian control before joining Italy in 1866. The city was reshaped for industry—churches razed, canals filled, streets widened—sparking fierce debate. Critics condemned the loss of artistic heritage, fueling a struggle between preservation and modernization that eventually redirected Venice toward tourism. Historian Dennis Romano explores how the 19th century became one of the most consequential periods in Venice’s 1,600-year history, reshaping both its physical landscape and cultural identity.
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)
From 1956 to 1969, Elvis Presley made 31 films, starring in all but one. Unfortunately, Elvis’ dream of being taken seriously as an actor was never fulfilled, thanks to the almost insatiable greed of his manager, Col. Tom Parker. Media historian Brian Rose examines the ups and downs of Presley’s Hollywood career, which started off with such promise in films such as King Creole and Jailhouse Rock.
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.
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.
William T. Sherman, famed Civil War general, and his brother John Sherman, long-serving U.S. senator, experienced the war as a defining event in their lives. The conflict became a true "brothers’ war" as each relied on the other during some of its darkest moments. Historian Bennett Parten discusses how the two Shermans navigated the Civil War together, with both rising to personal and professional heights.
