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.
Learn to use a variety of approaches to the medium of embroidery while taking inspiration from the Smithsonian collection. Explore the history of embroidery back to the Middle Ages and together analyze the art form while practicing in a series of guided exercises.
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.
Originally part of the residence of the Medici dynasty, the Palatine Gallery encompasses the entire second floor of the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy. Its collection includes the largest concentration of paintings by Raphael in the world, as well as works by Titian, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rubens. Italian Renaissance art expert Rocky Ruggiero discusses some of these magnificent pieces of art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
This expanded and updated series is designed to provide a tranquil midday break and let you create small but satisfying works of art as a way to pause and incorporate a bit of creativity into your at-home routines.
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.
Miami Beach boasts the world’s largest concentration of Art Deco architecture—a pastel landscape of curves, geometry, and seaside style. Urban historian Bill Keene examines Art Deco as a nationwide phenomenon and traces the creation, decline, and revival of the city’s distinctive quarter—designated a U.S. historic district in 1979—and the unique brand of “Tropical Deco” that emerged and thrived there. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Author Megan Kate Nelson traces Yellowstone’s transformation from unexplored wilderness to national icon. In 1871, geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a Smithsonian-backed expedition to confirm reports of Yellowstone’s natural wonders. His team’s findings helped persuade Congress to protect the land, leading to the 1872 Yellowstone Act. Nelson draws from her book Saving Yellowstone to explore the competing interests of figures like Sitting Bull and railroad magnate Jay Cooke, revealing the complex forces behind America’s first national park.
