This series takes you on a thematic tour of four important topics in ancient Chinese history, the second session focusing on ethnicity. Justin M. Jacobs, a professor of Chinese history at American University, gives you a nuanced overview based on the latest scholarship and illustrated with copious slides.
With its lavender-laced valleys, seashores, medieval hill towns, and lively cities, the south of France is downright seductive. Travel writer Barbara Noe Kennedy offers a 4-part virtual tour of Provence and the Côte d’Azur and a guide to the regions’ most intriguing sights, historical aspects, food and wine, and art. This session highlights some of the South of France’s lesser-known charms.
This series takes you on a thematic tour of four important topics in ancient Chinese history, the third session focusing on law. Justin M. Jacobs, a professor of Chinese history at American University, gives you a nuanced overview based on the latest scholarship and illustrated with copious slides.
The radical innovations made by European and American painters and sculptors between 1900 and 1960 forever altered the way we think about visual art. In a richly illustrated course, art historian Nancy G. Heller discusses major works by the period’s seminal painters and sculptors, emphasizing their broader socio-political and aesthetic contexts. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
This series takes you on a thematic tour of four important topics in ancient Chinese history, the final session focusing on eunuchs. Justin M. Jacobs, a professor of Chinese history at American University, gives you a nuanced overview based on the latest scholarship and illustrated with copious slides.
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 at the intersection of art and literature? In this summer series, David Gariff, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, examines the collaboration of photographer Walker Evans and writer James Agee. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Ever since its origins in an ancient civilization along the Indus River, the complex culture of South Asia has led to the creation of some of the world’s most remarkable art and architecture. Robert DeCaroli, a professor in the department of history and art history at George Mason University, highlights the artistic traditions and historical changes in the Indian subcontinent from the earliest archaeological evidence to the onset of colonialism. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
The full mobilization of American society during the Second World War prompted a massive, multi-faceted advertising campaign from the federal government’s Office of War Information (OWI). The posters that emerged from the OWI remain some of the most eye-catching and memorable mass-audience images in memory. Historian Christopher Hamner explores those well-known posters, focusing on two important themes: the differing portrayals of America’s enemies, and the evolution of what were deemed acceptable roles for men and women amid the turmoil of war.
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 at the intersection of art and literature? In this summer series, David Gariff, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, examines William Blake’s roles as poet and painter. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
From colossal Olmec heads to the paintings of Frida Kahlo, Aztec temples to Mexican murals, this survey of Latin American art sweeps through centuries and locations including ancient Mesoamerica, coastal Peru, and the top of the Andes. Michele Greet, the director of the art history program at George Mason University, traces the significant creators, works, influences, and trends that defined and shaped the arts of Latin America from their earliest expressions through the 19th and 20th centuries. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
Apart from a few “design heroines,” many of the women who gained prominence in the world of design in the first half of the 20th century are lost to the traditional narrative. In a two-part course, design historian and curator Elizabeth Lay brings them to light as she focuses on two generations of women working as skilled design professionals in the modern era—some of whom you might know and others whose work may be new to you. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Join Grace Marston, arts educator at the Andy Warhol Museum, as she delves into how historical events affected Andy Warhol’s art and life. Marston presents artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, including works that are rarely on public display. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit per session)
He was an uncompromising modernist, a great chronicler of the American South, and an inspiration—as well as immovable obstacle—for the generations of writers who followed. William Faulkner stands as one of the greatest, and one of the most problematic figures in American literature. Michael Gorra, author of The Saddest Words: William Faulkner’s Civil War, focuses on a trio of Faulkner’s greatest novels in a reading series: The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom!
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 at the intersection of art and literature? In this summer series, David Gariff, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, examines the multifaceted relationship between Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
French Impressionist art, filled with color, light, and scintillating brushwork, was an act of extreme rebellion when it appeared in the 1870s. The work of modern masters Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cassatt, and Morisot led to the radical art of the next decades’ post-impressionists including Seurat, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. Art historian Nancy G. Heller explores the sources, masterpieces, and later influences of these rebels, including their impact on 20th century art. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
Utterly extraordinary as pianist, conductor, and composer, throughout his life Sergei Rachmaninoff bestrode the musical world like a colossus. In his 150th birthday year, popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin celebrates his prodigious mastery of all these fields in a two-part course enlivened by recordings, video clips, and demonstrations at her piano.
Anatolia’s colorful history has left a windfall of riches—ancient ruins, ornate Byzantine churches, supremely elegant mosques, and splendid Ottoman palaces. In an illustrated series, Serif Yenen, a Turkish-born tour guide and author, highlights the heritage and splendor of ancient Turkey through an examination of some of its cultural gems.
