Smithsonian Associates - Educating and Entertaining Audiences for More Than 50 Years

Aristotle’s The Nicomachean Ethics is one of the most influential works on human happiness ever written. Philosophy scholar Michael Gorman examines this seminal treatise on practical wisdom and its lasting influence on Western thinking about living one’s best life ethically.

The notion that a picture is worth a thousand words is meant to convey the power of imagery. But what of the power of words—if they are Hemingway’s musings on a work of art, Van Gogh’s personal letters, or Michelangelo’s thoughts on his life and art expressed in his poetry? Explore the alchemy that occurs at the intersection of art and literature with David Gariff,  senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art.  This session focuses on Van Gogh: Artist and Writer. (World Art History Certificate elective: Earn ½ credit)

In a 3-session evening series, historian Justin M. Jacobs presents in-depth overviews of three particularly intriguing UNESCO World Heritage sites. This session focuses on the Redwood National and State Parks.

Washington, D.C., has given much to the musical world beyond its best-known export, Duke Ellington. In a new series of programs, musician, broadcaster, and historian Ken Avis spotlights the city’s music traditions and how social change, technology, and business innovations shaped the sounds that emerged from D.C.—a political town with a serious music habit. This session focuses on D.C.'s 21st century music scene.

Join curator Elizabeth Lay and her expert guests for an image-rich lunchtime lecture series focusing on fascinating decorative arts and design topics. This session offers some valuable insider’s tips on navigating today’s changing auction world. Part of a 3-session Decorative Arts fall series.

Since its very beginning, Hollywood has made audiences laugh in forms from slapstick to screwball, romance to social satire, musicals to gross-out teen films. Media expert Brian Rose looks at major highlights of screen comedy over the last 125 years, drawing on more than 40 examples from Hollywood’s funniest films. Prepare to LOL.

Although its vision of a coming decade of peace, prosperity, and progress collapsed into the fires of WWII, the 1939 World’s Fair succeeded in providing a captivating glimpse into the science, technology, and innovation of the future. Historian Allen Pietrobon examines how, despite the clash of international politics, the dazzling exhibition drew huge crowds to a former Queens dumping ground transformed into Flushing Meadow.