In the mid-20th century, America overtook Europe as the world’s foremost designer and producer of costume jewelry. What uniquely American social and historic trends propelled the demand for and design of mass-produced, affordable jewelry? Phyllis Gerstell, a decorative arts historian and costume jewelry expert and collector, joins curator Elizabeth Lay to explore the beauty and history of a now largely vanished American art form. This program is part of a fall Lunchtime with a Curator series. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Drawing on her new book, 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News, Kathryn Cramer Brownell tells the story of how the cable industry worked with political leaders to create an entirely new approach to television, one that tethered politics to profits and divided and distracted Americans by feeding their appetite for entertainment—frequently at the expense of fostering responsible citizenship.
When a bridge spanning the entrance to San Francisco Bay was proposed in the 1910s, some people called it “the bridge that couldn’t be built.” The Golden Gate Bridge was both a milestone of engineering and a monumental example of Art Deco architecture when completed in 1937. Historian John Martini discusses the design challenges, construction, and operational history of San Francisco's most famous landmark.
Expecting a quick and easy victory, both Union and Confederate officers were surprised by their experience at the First Battle of Manassas and learned the painful lesson that waging war in practice is much more difficult than waging it in theory. Career U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Marc Thompson examines the battle and its role in the Civil War.
The neighborhoods along 16th Street, like Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, and Adams Morgan, have long been recognized for their rich history and cultural diversity. Join Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, for a walk through some of Washington’s most vibrant communities and hear stories of movers and shakers, protests, disasters, and social scandals.
Over the course of the more than three decades he lived or visited there, the Badlands of North Dakota transformed Theodore Roosevelt into not only the kind of vigorous outdoorsman that he’d idealized as a youth but also a passionate conservationist. During a 5-day study tour led by naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley, explore the area, including Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and gain insights into Roosevelt’s pivotal years in the Badlands.
Fleeing Ford’s Theatre on the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth traveled through Maryland into Virginia, where, a few days later, he was found and fatally shot. Historian Michael Kauffman takes you along Booth’s escape route and reveals the personalities and intrigues surrounding the Lincoln assassination.
For more than 40 years, wearing a creation by milliner Sara Sue Sherrill Waldbauer of Miller & Rhoads department store in Richmond was a mark of status and taste. Nichol Gabor, curator of costume and textiles at Richmond’s Valentine Museum, joins curator Elizabeth Lay to offer a delightful look at why Sara Sue’s signature confections defined the fashionable hat for the city’s ladies who lunched. This program is part of a fall Lunchtime with a Curator series. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The Broadway of today has a rich and complex history that reaches back to the 1700s, with roots that encompass minstrelsy, vaudeville, nightclubs, and burlesque. Musical theatre artist and historian Ben West chronicles Broadway’s evolution, highlighting pivotal artists and shows along the way, and examining how its stages have always reflected the social, cultural, and political sensibilities of the country.
Before 1740, North America had never been more than a sideshow in the wars fought between the European superpowers. But that changed in 1756 as it took center stage in the world’s first truly global conflict: the French and Indian War. Historian Richard Bell focuses on the parts of this bitter 7-year contest among the great empires of Britain, France, and Spain that took place on American soil and how the colonists’ involvement sowed the seeds of the imperial crisis that would culminate in American independence just 20 years later.
Female physicists and astronomers helped discover the Big Bang and the cosmic calendar, make the moon landings possible, and discover the building blocks of the universe. However, the critical roles they played are not always recognized. Physicist Shohini Ghose brings together the remarkable stories of rule-breakers and trendsetters who illuminated our understanding of the universe.
Journalist and military vet Kevin Dennehy, co-author of The D-Day Visitor’s Handbook, 80th Anniversary Edition provides an overview of what you need to know to make the most of your visit to the site of the biggest seaborne invasion in history: the Normandy battlefields. He provides information on tours, identifies monuments and attractions, locates museums and historical sites, and offers plenty of practical tips to make your planning easier and less stressful.
Established in 1637, St. Mary’s County, Maryland, became the first permanent settlement in the state and home to the first state capital. Join Chesapeake historian Hayden Mathews and Peter Friesen, education director for St. Mary’s City ‘s historic commission, for a day in St. Mary’s County exploring its storied history.
Since the 1860s, railroads like Union Pacific have played a pivotal role in the opening and then the settling and disruption of the American West. Using original photographs taken during the construction of the transcontinental railroad from the Union Pacific Historical Collection, its curator Patricia LaBounty explores the context and construction of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad and examines its role in building America.
Led by inexperienced commanders and fought by unseasoned troops, the First Battle of Manassas quickly demonstrated that the road to Richmond would be long and hard. Career U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Marc Thompson leads a visit to the site of this epic Civil War battle.
For those aligning themselves with the Patriot cause, shoes became an unexpected signifier of political allegiance in the decades leading up to the American Revolution. Kimberly Alexander, director of museum studies at the University of New Hampshire, joins curator Elizabeth Lay to examine how the choice of footwear came to represent colonial economic independence and symbolized a break from the yoke of trade with Great Britain. This program is part of a fall Lunchtime with a Curator series. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary was the first true "penitentiary," a prison designed to inspire penitence in the hearts of prisoners. Using it as a case study, prison scholar Ashley T. Rubin highlights the challenges of 19th-century prison administration that helped create the current U.S. penal system.
Two leaders of very different backgrounds and with opposing visions for the future of Indigenous lands in the American West struggled to defeat one another during the early 1800s: Tecumseh, the Shawnee warrior, and William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory. Historian Peter Stark exposes the fundamental conflicts at play through the little-known but consequential struggle between the two men.
Congressional Cemetery is home to the remains of more than 65,000 people, including famous Americans such as John Phillip Sousa and J. Edgar Hoover. But many lesser-known figures who are buried there—from former slaves to one of the first gay veterans to challenge military policy—left behind powerful stories. Author and journalist Chuck Raasch explores some of those intriguing legacies and lessons during a walk through the cemetery.
Explore the highlights and secrets of Georgetown, home to palatial mansions, elegant cemeteries, stately churches, and a world-class university. Join Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, for a walk through the neighborhood.
From 1829 to 1837 no figure dominated American political culture as did Andrew Jackson. Historian Stephen D. Engle examines Jackson’s enormous influence on the people and the presidency and traces how his political triumph, his bold executive initiatives, and his popular appeal transformed the social and cultural landscape that gave rise to a legacy that has become controversial because of his stance on slavery.
As women’s softball came into its own in the 1930s, Dot Wilkinson emerged as one of its most acclaimed players—a status she held for decades. Lynn Ames, author of Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story, draws on her longtime friendship with the greatest catcher ever to play the game of women’s softball to recount what that era of the sport was really like.
John F. Kennedy entered the presidency inexperienced but alluring, his reputation more given by an enamored public than earned through achievement. Drawing on his new assessment of his time in the Oval Office, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, historian Mark K. Updegrove examines how JFK’s first months were marred by setbacks—including the botched Bay of Pigs invasions—and how he was forced to meet unprecedented challenges and rise above missteps to lead his nation into a new and hopeful era.
After Pennsylvania passed America’s first gradual abolition act in 1780, the City of Brotherly Love became a city of hope for free Black people, attracting many Black migrants. Join historian Richard Bell to trace the struggles for equality African Americans faced in post-revolutionary Philadelphia.
Arts journalist Richard Selden offers a delightful exploration of the largest of New York’s outer boroughs. The itinerary includes Flushing Meadows Corona Park, site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs; the Museum of the Moving Image; the Noguchi Museum; the Louis Armstrong House Museum; and meals that highlight the borough’s international cuisine. Accommodations spotlight the newest jewel: The TWA Hotel, Eero Saarinen’s landmark 1962 TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport, now reimagined as a hotel that celebrates the Jet Age glamour of the 1960s.
Delve into women's history during a virtual tour of Arlington National Cemetery with A Tour of Her Own staff. Learn about the first person buried at the cemetery, a woman named Mary Randolph; the first woman to vote; the founder of the Daughters of the American Revolution Hospital Corps; and the iconic female author who inspired the creation of Batman.
As we approach the 250th birthday of the United States, ongoing culture wars threaten to bring rancor and chaos to what should be a celebration. The challenge, says public humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson, is how to embrace our national history for its amazing achievements and yet accept the ways in which the United States has failed to live up fully to its many promises. He shares his thoughts (and asks for yours) about how to bring down the temperature of our national cultural debate to steer a middle course between complacency and righteousness.
Are there patterns or clues found in democracies that have sustained themselves for hundreds of years? Historians Brook Manville and Josiah Ober argue that democracy can survive—if citizens keep vital the implicit civic bargain they make with one another. Using the history of the four longest-surviving cases of democratic rule—ancient Athens, Republican Rome, British parliamentarianism, and American constitutionalism—they examine how all developed through earlier, incremental political bargains.
Ella Fitzgerald possessed one of the 20th century’s most astonishing voices. Music historian Judith Tick examines how Fitzgerald fused a Black vocal aesthetic with mainstream popular repertoire to revolutionize American music, portraying her as an ambitious risk-taker with a stunningly diverse repertoire whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist.
Ideas about the American West, both in popular culture and in commonly accepted historical narratives, are often based on a past that never was, and fail to consider important events that occurred. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea," examines the perspectives of 48 modern and contemporary artists who offer a broader and more inclusive view of this region, which too often has been dominated by romanticized myths and Euro-American historical accounts. Anne Hyland, the Art Bridges Initiative curatorial coordinator at the American Art Museum, provides an overview of the exhibition. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Although Patrick Henry had argued against ratification of the Constitution, he came out of retirement to oppose a policy drafted by Thomas Jefferson that declared a state could pronounce federal laws unconstitutional and nullify them. Henry contended that since “we the people” adopted the Constitution, anyone contesting federal policy must seek reform “in a constitutional way.” Historian John Ragosta brings this relatively unknown story to life.
Over nearly 250 years, the National Mall has evolved as the center stage of the nation’s capital. Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours traces the Mall’s transition from pasture lands to military training grounds and from mud flats to grand monuments, sharing the tumultuous and lesser-known history of our most enduring national landmarks. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Explore the way a simple trip to the store was, in fact, so much more for women in the mid-20th century. Stroll between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Metro Center with your guide from A Tour of Her Own, stopping along the way to hear stories of the iconic buildings of yesteryear like those housing Hecht’s and Garfinkel’s and the stores’ role in advancing consumerism and civil rights.
During the American Revolution, the British military took almost as many men prisoner at sea as they did on the battlefield. Most of those captured by Royal Navy were privateers—raiding crews licensed by the Continental Congress to torment British shipping and besiege Britain itself. Historian Richard Bell examines the untold history of America’s privateers and their lives both at sea and then behind bars, using their surviving diaries and journals to illuminate their ordeal.
While shooting for his book Working the Water, photographer Jay Fleming traveled up and down the Chesapeake documenting all facets of the region’s commercial fisheries and the people and businesses that depend on the harvest. Join him for a vividly illustrated program that brings the bay's iconic seafood industry into focus.
Coleen Christian Burke, a former White House design partner and author of Christmas with the First Ladies, examines how modern first ladies have combined the shimmer of holiday magic with meaningful reflection, creating a celebration narrative for all Americans.
Media historian Brian Rose surveys the landscape of American TV comedy, examining how comedy evolved from the vaudeville shtick of Milton Berle and the slapstick artistry of Lucille Ball to relevant sitcoms like “M*A*S*H,” the social satire of “Saturday Night Live,” a twist on the sitcom with “The Jeffersons,” and the self-reflexive absurdities of “The Simpsons.”
The American Civil War was closely watched by other countries to see what its outcome might signal for personal liberty and what effect it could have on their own governments. Historian Paul Quigley explores international perspectives on the conflict, ranging from ideological affinities to economic calculations to strategic considerations.
Captain Ulysses S. Grant resigned from the U.S. Army after facing charges of excessive drinking in 1854. In 1864, he became general-in-chief of the army. How did this turnaround happen? Historian John Reeves explains how Grant developed his latent skills to be a skilled commander while he was in the West at the beginning of the Civil War without the pressure faced by commanders in the East.
For over 200 years, Cape May, New Jersey, has welcomed travelers to its beachfront. But Cape May isn’t just a summer destination: During the winter season, this shore town transforms into a storybook holiday town. A two-day tour offers the opportunity to experience historic Cape May during a magical time of year.
The Smithsonian Institution has shaped the character of the National Mall since 1855. Washington’s most beloved museums offer a panorama of American architecture, with each unique building a study all its own. Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours investigates the style, design, controversy, construction, and fascinating backstory behind these celebrated museums. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Created in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency relied on women even as it attempted to keep them down and channel their talents, argues journalist and author Liza Mundy. She reveals how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age and how silencing them made the world more dangerous in her new book, The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA (Penguin Random House), which is available for purchase.
