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International Culture Programs

Lecture/Seminar

Spring in the South of France: A Virtual Tour of the Region’s History, Culture, and Sights

Thursday, March 30, 2023 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET

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 Avignon and La Vraie Provence.


Lecture/Seminar

Wonder Tales from Japan

Monday, April 3, 2023 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

Like their Western fairy tale counterparts, Japan’s fantastical stories—otogi-banashi—are part of the body of stories folklorists call “wonder tales.” Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman explore these traditional tales from Japan, the ghosts and spirits that haunt them, and how contemporary creators translate their supernatural enchantments into genres like anime (animation) and manga (comics).


Lecture/Seminar

Traditional Roots of Modern China: How an Ancient Worldview Drives Today’s Foreign Policy

Saturday, April 15, 2023 - 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

The relationship between the United States and China has never been easy. Currently, Beijing and Washington view each other with profound distrust and both sides are planning for conflict even as they say they hope to avoid it. China scholar Robert Daly traces China’s 21st-century drive for wealth, power, and status to beliefs, geographic influences, and social and cultural practices rooted in its earliest dynasties.


Lecture/Seminar

Cultural Heritage Sites of India

Saturday, April 22, 2023 - 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

From India’s elaborately decorated Ajanta Caves to the splendor of the Taj Mahal, UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites offers a spectacular window into South Asia’s past. Art historian Robert DeCaroli highlights palaces, grand temples, royal mausoleums, and more that showcase the subcontinent’s abundant historically and culturally significant destinations. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)


Lecture/Seminar

Discovering Türkiye

Monday, April 24, 2023 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

PBS television host Darley Newman shares great places to discover in Türkiye (the now-official name for Turkey) and how to get the most out of your travels, whether you’re visiting bustling bazaars in Istanbul or venturing off the beaten path. Discover the most intriguing places to experience food, culture, adventure, and history in Istanbul, Cappadocia, Anatolia, Antalya, and the Aegean Coast.


Lecture/Seminar

Ever-Green Vietnamese Cooking: Starring Plants from Land and Sea

Sunday, April 30, 2023 - 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET

Although many people think of Vietnamese cooking as beefy pho and meat-filled sandwiches, traditional Vietnamese cooking has always involved a lot of plants and seafood and a little meat. James Beard Award–winning author Andrea Nguyen explores where plant-based cooking meets the dynamic flavors of Vietnamese cuisine in her new book Ever-Green Vietnamese. Join her as she reveals how cooks in her home country draw on their natural resourcefulness and Buddhist traditions to showcase a wide array of herbs and vegetables in flavorful, comforting dishes. Afterward, enjoy light bites provided by chef Kevin Tien of D.C.’s modern Vietnamese restaurant Moon Rabbit.


Lecture/Seminar

Spring in the South of France: A Virtual Tour of the Region’s History, Culture, and Sights

Thursday, May 4, 2023 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET

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 Côte d’Azur.


Lecture/Seminar

Art and Beauty in Siena

Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET

Siena’s beautiful townscape encapsulates everything we love about Tuscany—charming towns among rolling hills, rich history, and artistic and architectural treasures from its medieval heyday—rivaled only by its Tuscan neighbors, Florence and Pisa. Art historian and author Laura Morelli leads an immersive virtual tour of the city’s most iconic landmarks and masterpieces by Siena’s most enduring artists. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)


Lecture/Seminar

Global Geopolitical Organization: The View from Ground Level

Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. ET

According to the standard model of global politics, the world is cleanly divided into a set number of fundamental units called nation-states. But global political organization is far more complicated and chaotic, reminds Martin Lewis, senior lecturer in international history at Stanford University. He explores how the world is geopolitically constituted at the ground level, rather than as it is ideally imagined by diplomats, scholars, and foreign-policy experts.


Course

A Journey through Ancient China

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

This series takes you on a thematic tour of four important topics in ancient Chinese history, the first session focusing on religion. 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.  


Course

A Journey through Ancient China

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

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.  


Lecture/Seminar

Spring in the South of France: A Virtual Tour of the Region’s History, Culture, and Sights

Thursday, June 1, 2023 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET

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.


Lecture/Seminar

Hokusai’s Career in Prints

Monday, June 5, 2023 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET

Internationally renowned for iconic works such as Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai designed popular woodblock prints on a range of subjects for more than five decades. National Museum of Asian Art curator Kit Brooks examines his print works. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)


Course

A Journey through Ancient China

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

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.  


Course

A Journey through Ancient China

Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

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.  


Course

The Art of India: From the Indus Valley to Independence

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET

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)