Art historian Joseph Paul Cassar provides an introductory history to African art and aesthetics, addressing the terminology used when describing the art. Cassar highlights main concepts found in African art, including the flexed-knee motif and representations of maternity and fertility. He provides a close look at a variety of styles of masks, from expressive to abstract, executed in wood, ivory, and bronze. Cassar also discusses the challenges of studying African art, as well as its influence on modern European painters and sculptors. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Despite prevailing isolationist public opinion and an obstructionist government, an informal American humanitarian network of citizen activists delivered aid to and rescued many victims of Nazi oppression before and during World War II. History professor Andrew Falk tells the story of this group of citizens who organized to provide emergency relief, establish programs overseas, and resettle thousands of persecuted people in safe havens stretching from Latin America to East Asia.
Every two years, the Venice Biennale transforms Venice into a living museum. This cultural extravaganza has grown into one of the world’s most influential exhibitions of contemporary art, architecture, cinema, dance, music, and theater, showcasing groundbreaking work from more than 90 nations. In a 2-session series, art historian Jennie Hirsh explores the biennale’s rich past and its landmark 2026 edition. This session focuses on the 2026 Biennale. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Yoga therapist Linda Lang introduces seated and chair-based practices rooted in classical yoga and integrative medicine. She demonstrates adaptable postures, breathwork, and mindful movement that honor physical changes while preserving therapeutic value. Participants learn key seated poses, supported standing options, and everyday mobility strategies to enhance balance, joint health, and functional movement. Emphasis is placed on safe alignment, effective prop use, and modifications for common concerns. The inclusive, experiential session invites participation, observation, questions, and discussion.
The reasons behind why the daytime sky is blue, what causes a rainbow, and the creation of a halo around the moon or sun all involve how sunlight interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere. J. Kelly Beatty, senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, introduces you to the score of atmospheric phenomena that you can see in a daytime sky, from sun pillars at dawn to the Belt of Venus at dusk.
William Blake, a leading Romantic artist and poet, fused image and text in his “illuminated books,” inspired by medieval manuscripts. These illustrated volumes let him confront themes of religion, poverty, inequality, and human existence. His etched poems and images created a true union of painting and poetry, most famously in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Art historian David Gariff offers insights into Blake’s achievements as both poet and artist. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Andrew Wyeth, a leading 20th-century American realist, drew lifelong inspiration from the rural worlds of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and Cushing, Maine. Though labeled a realist, he viewed himself as an abstractionist, stripping away detail to reveal emotional truth. His output spans drawings, watercolors, drybrush, and tempera, depicting landscapes, still lifes, and local people with empathy. Art historian Bonita Billman highlights a range of works from Wyeth’s extraordinary oeuvre. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Historian Colin Elliott traces Rome’s shift from the long stability of the Pax Romana to a period of invasions, civil wars, economic strain, and plague. Despite dynastic collapse and fragmentation, the empire showed remarkable resilience. By 285, what survived was no longer the classical empire of senators and citizen-legions, but a more centralized, militarized state strong enough to survive the collapse of the West and carry the Roman name for another thousand years in the East.
Few men shook the Victorian world like Charles Darwin. His theory of evolution, born in the age of empire and rising to prominence in the age of capitalism, transformed science, culture, and history and left a profound mark on literature, art, philosophy, religion, politics, and economics. Historian and author Janet Browne reveals Darwin as both a brilliant scientist and a man navigating the social and intellectual currents of his time, demonstrating how one naturalist forever changed the way life on Earth is understood.
Disneyland’s 1955 debut revealed the hidden world of automation by turning postwar industrial and military technologies into imaginative attractions. Historian Roland Betancourt examines how Disney engineers adapted tools like missile-testing magnetic tape and programmable logic controllers to animate experiences from the Enchanted Tiki Room to Space Mountain. He argues these innovations eased public anxieties about automation while reflecting broader technological shifts—from factory systems to emerging AI—tracing how Disneyland reshaped cultural understanding of machines and modernity.
