The American War of Independence freed the 13 British colonies in North America from Crown rule and set the stage for the United States’ bold experiment in self-government. Drawing on primary sources, historian Christopher Hamner traces the war from its roots in the crises of the 1770s to the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord, through the surrender of British troops under Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, and the Treaty of Paris that followed in a springtime series. This session focuses on pre-American Revolution events from the Boston Massacre in 1770 to the battle at Bunker Hill in June 1775.
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by A Sunburst Restrained by María Berrío.
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.
Scholars contend that the Haitian Revolution remains the only successful large-scale revolt in which enslaved people won their freedom, overthrew the existing colonial government, and established an independent state. Historian Alexander Mikaberidze traces the rebellion from its beginnings during the French Revolution to its culmination in 1804, which reshaped ideas about race, freedom, and sovereignty across the Atlantic world.
Trees, the longest-living organisms on Earth, can communicate to one another through intricate underground soil networks, and even thermoregulate, all while rarely dying from old age. Liana Vitali, a naturalist and educator at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Maryland (and self-proclaimed tree-hugger), leads an immersive journey into the fascinatingly complicated and connected life of trees.
When figures represent abstract concepts—such as justice, envy, or time—an artwork enters the world of allegory. Art historian Noah Charney breaks down how allegories were constructed by artists and contrasts Titian’s straightforward Allegory of Prudence with a brilliant and baffling painting by Bronzino, Allegory with Venus and Cupid, a multilayered complex riddle. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a living testament to William Penn’s “Holy Experiment,” his ambitious vision of a society built on religious freedom, tolerance, and communal living. Founded in 1732 and dissolved in 1934, the cloister’s legacy is remarkable: over 1,000 hymns, intricate Germanic calligraphy, and striking buildings that still stand. Brad Smith, curator at the Ephrata Cloister, leads a journey into its rich history. He explores the radical theology of this unique religious community and discusses how its members’ preservation of faith, culture, and architecture continues to resonate today.
In October 1964, a campaign train dubbed the Lady Bird Special left Washington, D.C., bound for New Orleans. Lady Bird Johnson’s mission: to aid her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, in territory roiling with animosity after his recent signing of the Civil Rights Act. Her train made 47 stops in eight states over four days. Historian Shannon McKenna Schmidt chronicles that journey into the Southern politics of the day.
