Stoicism’s core teaching is that happiness arises from virtue, reason, and harmony with nature. Contrary to appearances, people do not react to events themselves but to their judgments about them. Stoics aim to recognize and refine these judgments, eliminating irrationality to live more wisely. Drawing from his book The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User’s Manual, Ward Farnsworth, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, offers practical guidance for clearer perception, resilient living, and easing life’s burdens.
Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Georges Seurat.
The Guinness company was founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759, marked by the signing of a 9,000-year lease on a rundown brewery at St. James’s Gate in Dublin. From these humble beginnings, the Guinness Brewery grew rapidly, becoming the largest brewery in the world by the 1880s. Eibhlin Colgan, Guinness archive and heritage manager, traces the history of the company from the bold business decisions of its founder to the pioneering social initiatives championed by later generations of management.
The search for planets outside our solar system has found more than 6,000 such worlds, known as exoplanets. Now the race is on to find Earth-sized temperate planets, understand their atmospheres, and discover any signs of life on them. Learn how astronomers are carrying out this search and what they’ve been finding with Peter Plavchan, the NASA Landolt Space Mission’s principal investigator. Following the talk, Rob Parks, director of the George Mason Observatory, brings the skies into your living room with remote control of the observatory, weather permitting.
Willa Cather’s visits to Santa Fe in the 1920s with her partner, book editor Edith Lewis, inspired her to research and write the enduring novel she referred to as her best book. Author Garrett Peck examines how the Southwestern setting and spirit of Death Comes for the Archbishop is rooted in those travels.
Along with Jerusalem and Rome, Spain’s Camino de Santiago was one of the three great destinations of medieval Christendom. After centuries of decline and neglect, this ancient pilgrimage sprang to life again in the last quarter of the 20th century, drawing millions of visitors every year. George Greenia, professor emeritus of medieval studies at William & Mary, highlights the history of this road of faith and its continued popularity as a religious and secular quest for those seeking spiritual clarity.
Dragonflies, damselflies, and their ancient relatives were the first to fly, long before birds, pterosaurs, and bats took to the skies. Since then, over 400 million years of evolution have shaped the adaptations that support these insects’ aerial feats. Entomologist Jessica Ware discusses the evolution of flight in dragonflies and damselflies, exploring the structure and physiology behind their acrobatic and aerodynamic skills.
The Bauhaus, founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, by the young architect Walter Gropius, was part Modernist school of art and design and part dream factory. Students were taught in workshops led by both craftsmen and artists and the curriculum included everything from fine art, typography, and graphic design to interior design and architecture. In a 4-part series, art historian Joseph Paul Cassar explores the importance and enduring influence of the Bauhaus. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)
