The HMS Challenger spent almost four years exploring the world’s oceans in the 1870s. It identified major ocean currents and defining features of the seafloor; measured sea temperatures and chemistry, creating baseline data; and collected nearly 5,000 sea creatures and plants new to science. More than 150 years later, the expedition’s findings are also shining a light on the effects of climate change. Author Gillen D’Arcy Wood looks at the legacy of this scientific odyssey.

Celebrate Michelangelo’s 551st birthday by exploring the making of one of history’s most brilliant artistic minds. Born on March 6, 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti lived nearly 89 years, witnessing Renaissance Florence, the discovery of the New World, the Reformation, and the reigns of 13 popes. He transformed Western art through sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry. Though many believed his talent miraculous, Michelangelo studied with discipline, learning from masters and experimenting with styles. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces the journey of young Michelangelo from Lorenzo il Magnifico’s household to his masterpiece, the “David.” (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by paintings of the visionary Belorussian-born French artist Marc Chagall and by poetry across time, participants slow down, look closely, and reflect to explore love as an animating force in their lives.

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.

During the first several centuries of the first millennium, the Syrian desert oasis of Palmyra was a crucial link in an overland trade network that stretched from Rome to India. The profits of this trade were invested in stunning monuments and works of art that fused Western and Eastern sensibilities. Historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the history of UNESCO World Heritage Site Palmyra, its monuments and sculptures, and its fate during the Syrian civil war.

Turkey possesses one of the world’s most fascinating histories and richest cultural heritages. It is at once both Eastern and Western, ancient and modern, Christian and Islamic, sensual and austere. A seminar led by independent scholar Nigel McGilchrist pays tribute to this complexity, celebrating the dramatic beauty of Turkey’s landscapes and its wealth of historic monuments and archaeological treasures. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Naturalist and wildlife photographer Matt Felperin leads a visual tour across the coasts of Florida, one of North America’s premier birding destinations. Explore the state’s remarkable range of habitats—from Gulf estuaries and mangrove swamps to Atlantic beaches, wetlands, and inland prairies—and discover why more than 500 bird species have been recorded there. Felperin also showcases some of Florida’s top birding hotspots and parks that draw avian-loving travelers.

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by paintings of the visionary Belorussian-born French artist Marc Chagall and by poetry across time, participants slow down, look closely, and reflect to explore love as an animating force in their lives.