All upcoming World History programs

Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist Essdras M Suarez leads a visual tour of two of Cuba's most captivating cities: Havana and Trinidad. Suarez's street photos document Havana's rich history and resilient spirit, while his shots of Trinidad evoke its charm through cobblestone lanes and pastel adobes. In photographs that reveal the cultural tapestry of Havana and the timeless allure of Trinidad, Suarez captures the deep connection between their inhabitants and their environments.

Our modern world echoes and even replicates the creative vestiges of the past—and the key to understanding our surroundings is through an overview of ancient material culture. Focusing on the Mediterranean region, art historian Renee Gondek offers a survey of the earliest traces of artistic production from the Paleolithic period through the late Bronze Age. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

Lecturer Paul Glenshaw looks at great works of art in their historical context by delving into the time of the artist, exploring the present they inhabited, and what shaped their vision and creations. Together with Revolutionary War scholar Iris de Rode he examines The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull, covering the story of the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 and the fascinating process of the creation of the epic work by Trumbull. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The term “Art Deco” did not exist until the 1960s. Prior to that, the geometric, bold, machine-focused style now collectively packaged within that genre was known by many names, representing a variety of regional versions of Modernism. Drawing from the recent exhibition “Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde,” Angelina Lippert, chief curator at Poster House in New York City, offers a lively chronicle of the rise and fall of what would come to be known as Art Deco. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Travel to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond with historian Justin M. Jacobs for an awe-inspiring look at Japan’s exquisitely crafted samurai armor from one of the largest collections in the world. More than 140 works from the collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller offer a glimpse of samurai history with a focus on the flourishing culture of the Edo period. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

As the threat of World War I loomed over them in the opening decades of the 20th century, German artists turned to raw and uncompromising art that reflected their interpretations of a tumultuous world. David Gariff of the National Gallery of Art explores the vital role that German and Austrian Expressionism played in a period of volatile contradictions—providing a fertile ground for the emergence of the new visual language of artists including Max Beckmann, Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky, and Egon Schiele. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Our modern world echoes and even replicates the creative vestiges of the past—and the key to understanding our surroundings is through an overview of ancient material culture. Focusing on the Mediterranean region, art historian Renee Gondek offers a survey of the earliest traces of artistic production from the Paleolithic period through the late Bronze Age. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

Understanding the Bible means understanding the cities and cultures that produced it. The story of these centers—their history, their archaeology, their mysteries, and the inhabitants, and the people later excavated there—is also the story of the Bible itself. Professor of classics and religious studies Robert Cargill leads a fascinating tour through cities including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Qumran, Babylon, Athens, Alexandria, and Rome to reveal how their stories shed new light on the Bible.

The potato famine of 1845 to 1849, known in the Irish language as "the great hunger," led to the death of a million people and the emigration of a million more, reducing the population of Ireland by roughly one quarter. Historian Jennifer Paxton explores the origins of the famine in the difficult economic and political circumstances of Ireland in the early 19th century and examines the controversy over the degree to which the British government can be held responsible for the disaster and its impact on the Irish landscape and culture.

Our modern world echoes and even replicates the creative vestiges of the past—and the key to understanding our surroundings is through an overview of ancient material culture. Focusing on the Mediterranean region, art historian Renee Gondek offers a survey of the earliest traces of artistic production from the Paleolithic period through the late Bronze Age. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)