Courses

His was an amazing life of discovery and challenge, reflected in the music created across the full breadth of compositional forms. In a six-session course, classical music and opera scholar Saul Lilienstein surveys the landmark works that define Beethoven’s career and legacy.

A stone’s throw from tourist-magnet landmarks are the places that offer travelers a true taste of life in Europe’s most appealing neighborhoods. Fred Plotkin offers a guide to the lesser-known churches, theaters, specialty shops, cafes, and unusual museums that make three major cities well worth a visit. This program focuses on the city of Barcelona.

The American Southwest occupies a central place in the country’s literary imagination. Join Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz, a lecturer in the English department at Georgetown University, in spirited lectures and informal discussions about four compelling novels that offer rich and varied portraits of the region and the people who inhabit it. This session discusses All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.

The CIA and FBI are often portrayed as strained institutional colleagues, but what is it really like to work in these highly secretive agencies tasked with protecting our country? In a fascinating series, veterans of the CIA and FBI discuss their professional roles and how these closely guarded organizations operate.

Artists such as Picasso, David, and Goya came to grips with the political upheavals of their day with heroic and searing images that elicit our admiration or moral outrage. Art historian Judy Scott Feldman examines the complex interplay between artistic expression and social and political content through the centuries. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

This unique series combines detailed looks at Indian and South Asian artworks in the Freer and Sackler collections with the opportunity to try your hand at authentic calligraphy inspired by them.

A stone’s throw from tourist-magnet landmarks are the places that offer travelers a true taste of life in Europe’s most appealing neighborhoods. Fred Plotkin offers a guide to the lesser-known churches, theaters, specialty shops, cafes, and unusual museums that make three major cities well worth a visit. This program focuses on the city of Milan.

Join Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz of Georgetown University in spirited lectures and informal discussions about four compelling novels that explore stories set in Spain, India, the Dominican Republic, and the world of classical Greek mythology.

Whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Puccini, or Bach, opuses of almost every famous composer have added emotional depth to hundreds of films ever since talkies emerged. In a 4-session series, concert pianist and movie fanatic Rachel Franklin delves into the magic of some of the greatest film music ever composed (even when it was unintentional). This session discusses iconic classical music moments in film history.

A stone’s throw from tourist-magnet landmarks are the places that offer travelers a true taste of life in Europe’s most appealing neighborhoods. Fred Plotkin offers a guide to the lesser-known churches, theaters, specialty shops, cafes, and unusual museums that make three major cities well worth a visit. This program focuses on the city of Berlin.

Whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Puccini, or Bach, opuses of almost every famous composer have added emotional depth to hundreds of films ever since talkies emerged. In a 4-session series, concert pianist and movie fanatic Rachel Franklin delves into the magic of some of the greatest film music ever composed (even when it was unintentional). This session discusses Beethoven's music in film.

Plantagenets and Tudors and Windsors, oh my! Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd Stanger traces a path through the twists and turns of the royals and rebels who have ruled England for nearly a thousand years.

Whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Puccini, or Bach, opuses of almost every famous composer have added emotional depth to hundreds of films ever since talkies emerged. In a 4-session series, concert pianist and movie fanatic Rachel Franklin delves into the magic of some of the greatest film music ever composed (even when it was unintentional). This session discusses 20th-century composers and film.

Come on a virtual tour of four of the most intriguing UNESCO World Heritage sites in Asia, including both well-known and lesser-known sites with Justin M. Jacobs, associate professor of history at American University.

Whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Puccini, or Bach, opuses of almost every famous composer have added emotional depth to hundreds of films ever since talkies emerged. In a 4-session series, concert pianist and movie fanatic Rachel Franklin delves into the magic of some of the greatest film music ever composed (even when it was unintentional). This session discusses varied use of concert masterpieces in film genres.

Against a backdrop of a rapidly changing world, the 18th and 19th centuries brought forth a profusion of styles in art and architecture in Europe and America. Art historian Karin Alexis offers a cultural context for its creators as she traces the path from Rococo exuberance to a bold new realism. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

From its origins in the ancient civilization to the present, the complex culture of South Asia has given rise to some of the world’s most remarkable art. Art historian Robert DeCaroli highlights the artistic traditions and historical changes within the Indian subcontinent from the earliest archaeological evidence to the onset of colonialism. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)