Skip to main content

Seminars

Lecture/Seminar

Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov: Two Great Russian Novels

Saturday, September 23, 2023 - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET

For more than a century, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov have captivated readers with their spellbinding narratives, philosophical brilliance, and insights into human psychology and spirituality. Joseph Luzzi, professor of literature at Bard College, takes you inside two of the most consequential novels ever written and explores how their insights continue to illuminate our lives today.


Lecture/Seminar

The Great Cathedrals and Basilicas of Italy

Saturday, September 30, 2023 - 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

The churches of Italy are renowned for their artistic treasures, from Giotto’s 14th-century frescoes in Florence, Padua, and Assisi to Giacomo Manzu’s great 20th-century bronze doors for St. Peter’s in Rome. In a splendidly illustrated seminar, art historian Sophia D’Addio of Columbia University explores churches that represent some of Italy’s greatest repositories of sacred art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)


Lecture/Seminar

Much Ado about Shakespeare: Why Three Great Comedies Still Matter Today

Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET

Though Shakespeare is well-known for such tragedies as Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, he is also one of the greatest playwrights in the history of comedy. Joseph Luzzi, a professor of literature at Bard College, explores how three of Shakespeare’s comedies—A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It—continue to enchant audiences with their brilliant psychological insights, profound meditations on human nature, and spellbinding lyricism.


Lecture/Seminar

Art Deco: Vibrant, Eclectic, and Dynamic

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

With the advent of the Jazz Age, the art world searched for modern forms and decorative motifs to reflect this exciting new era. Drawing on a variety of historical sources, including ancient Egypt, the classical world, and Asian art, Art Deco soon reflected modern living, the machine age, and the skyscraper. Art historian Bonita Billman discusses this vibrant movement, highlighting examples of Art Deco in architecture, furniture, interiors, fashions, advertisements, and films. (World Art History Certificate elective,1 credit)


Lecture/Seminar

The Art of Gandhara: Where India Met Greece

Saturday, December 2, 2023 - 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Situated between India, Persia, and the Greco-Roman world, the region of greater Gandhara (stretching through parts of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan) produced artwork that blended influences and ideas from many cultures. Art historian Robert DeCaroli examines the origins of the region’s material culture, explores the ways imperial and religious power were displayed, and traces the role of trade in the exchange of ideas. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)