Author Megan Kate Nelson traces Yellowstone’s journey from unexplored landscape to national icon. Far more than a story of adventure and exploration, it exposes the conflicting interests in this wilderness of individuals ranging from Sitting Bull, to railroad magnate Jay Cooke, and how the government tested the reach of its power across an expanding and divided nation.

Classical and American music expert Saul Lilienstein leads this joyful celebration of 20th-century American composers from Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton to Charles Ives and John Adams.

Current debates about women in Afghanistan suggest that they were subjugated for centuries. Anthropologist and archaeologist Sandra Scham reaches deep into the country’s past to reveal the complex and surprising stories of women revolutionaries, freedom fighters, intellectuals, and rulers who were instrumental in creating a country that by the 1960s was making great strides toward achieving its own version of modernization.

Explore Istanbul, a city of mystery, a city of wonders, whose history is unlike any other with author Serif Yenen. The city once served as the capital of three empires. Today, its architectural treasures are enduring legacies of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman rule.

In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra juxtaposes the music of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra in an informative lecture illustrated by virtual concert excerpts.

In this spring series, David Gariff, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, examines how artists can find power in both words and images. This session looks at how Giorgio Vasari captured the lives of fellow creators in a seminal work of art history. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Spend a day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art exploring architect Frank Gehry’s extraordinary new vision for the museum’s interior inspired by the character of the historic 1928 building—as well as the amazing art housed inside. The renovations open the museum’s interior with soaring public spaces, and dramatic vistas incorporating additional room for art, and easier navigation. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, America’s first common carrier, was a pioneer in many components of railroading in the United States. Step into more than 100 years of its fascinating history on an insider’s visit to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore guided by rail historian Joe Nevin.

Up until the 1960s, recurring epidemics were simply a normal fact of daily life, always lurking in the background. Historian Allen Pietrobon highlights some of the lesser-known pandemics and epidemics, revealing how people throughout history dealt with such sudden disease outbreaks.

Virtually wander the colorful galleries of the Capodimonte, housed in a palace built in 1734 that overlooks the Bay of Naples. Explore the museum’s masterpieces guided by Rome-based art historian Laura R. Weinstein, including the works of Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, Parmigianino, and Titian. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Whether you want to work in digital or film, this course offers a solid foundation for new photographers ready to learn the basics.