Architectural movements and styles mark distinct moments in history. By examining four periods in Western architecture, Rocky Ruggiero, an architectural historian and expert in Renaissance art, traces the development of styles, traditions, trends, and forms beginning in the ancient world and continuing through to the present day. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

Join law professor Thomas J. McSweeney in learning the fascinating story of how a failed 13th-century peace treaty between King John of England and his barons became a foundational cornerstone of citizens’ rights in this country.

Drawing on the riches of one of the greatest post-impressionist and early modern art collections in the world and remarkable high-definition Deep Zoom technology, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a series of live virtual tours that closely examine the paintings and lives of 3 artists who helped shape a truly revolutionary period in the history of art. This session focuses on the gallery's collection of Paul Cézanne artworks. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Thomas Gainsborough, one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century, was also one of England’s earliest homegrown geniuses. Art historian Bonita Billman examines Gainsborough’s lush painterly technique, iconic masterworks (especially those in America), and his influence on painting. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

In a rollicking, richly illustrated presentation, popular speaker Paul Glenshaw—in conversation with historian Callan Shea—peels back the fascinating layers and history of an iconic photograph featuring a presidential wild child, an electric car, and the first military airplane.

Though millions of dreamers have anticipated their chance to travel in space, fewer than 650 earthlings have viewed our planet from a spaceship. Alan Ladwig, former manager of NASA’s Space Flight Participant Program, examines the promise, expectations, principal personalities, and milestones surrounding space tourism and reviews what has remained constant for decades: our motivation to float among the stars.

Medical historian Howard Markel traces the careers of two brilliant young doctors—Sigmund Freud, neurologist, and William Halsted, surgeon—showing how their powerful addictions to cocaine shaped their enormous contributions to psychology and medicine. He also examines the physical and emotional damage caused by the then-heralded wonder drug, and how each man ultimately changed the world in spite of it.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Sears Roebuck & Co. sold more than 70,000 prefabricated Modern Homes kits, offering all Americans the chance to own an up-to-date house. Historian Dakota Springston draws on period and contemporary images to lead a virtual tour through several historic Northern Virginia neighborhoods that boast a wide range of these distinctive houses, followed by a Q&A with a Sears Homes expert.

She’s all-daring and all-voice, magnificent and maddening, improbable and irreplaceable. You’ll be saying “Hello, Gorgeous” when you join documentary filmmaker and writer Sara Lukinson, whose commentary and abundant sampling of clips set the stage for a fun night to spend with La Streisand.

One of the most biologically diverse and ecologically significant landmarks in America, the Potomac Gorge, near Washington, D.C., has held an important place in human history since the Ice Age. Naturalist and author Melanie Choukas-Bradley leads a virtual journey along the most dramatic section of the 405-mile-long river: the 15-mile stretch in which it originates at Great Falls in Maryland and Virginia and flows, often through dramatic cliffs and bluffs, to Theodore Roosevelt Island in the District.

Author Ross King reveals why Florentine statesman Niccolò Machiavelli’s writings are more sophisticated than even the most Machiavellian passages of The Prince would seem to suggest. King offers a portrait of a perceptive writer who is far from being an enemy of the human race, and whose lessons on leadership, liberty, virtue, and good government are worth re-examining today.

Though the concept of black holes can be traced back to the late 1700s, the quest to understand their nature and how they shape our universe continues. Kelly Beatty, senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, discusses how cosmologists still grapple with precisely what black holes are and how best to study them.

British artist J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) is known for innovative landscape paintings that captured nature’s power and drama. Tim Barringer, a professor of art history at Yale University, places a selection of Turner’s works in historical context. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Join Keith Tomlinson, garden educator and naturalist, on a virtual tour of Assateague Island National Seashore and neighboring Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

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.

Florentine architecture in the 13th and 14th centuries was characterized by soaring towers, massive fortress-like palaces, breathtakingly beautiful basilicas, and public buildings that set an important precedent for the future palace builders of wealthy patrician families. From her home in Tuscany, art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces how the built environment of medieval Florence clearly reflects the historical development of the city at the dawn of the Renaissance. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

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).

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by works of art by Vincent van Gogh and poetry by Mary Oliver, writers of all levels explore the lessons that the season of spring offers us when we slow down, look closely, and reflect.

A picture is not only worth a thousand words: It can sometimes inspire a whole invented world. Independent art historian Heidi Applegate explores the art and artists behind three works of historical fiction. Gain new perspectives on Renaissance portraiture; Dutch still lifes, genre painting, and a cabinet house; and the Frick Collection in New York City by delving into the novels, followed by Applegate’s examination of the factual background along with the fiction. This is a “novel” way to explore the arts. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Join geologist Kirt Kempter as he explores the geology of Western National Parks over the course of 2023, with an in-depth look at one location every month. He kicks off the series with a focus on parks in Utah, New Mexico, and California. This program spotlights the Zion and Bryce National Parks in Utah.

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by works of art by Vincent van Gogh and poetry by Mary Oliver, writers of all levels explore the lessons that the season of spring offers us when we slow down, look closely, and reflect.

Robert Oppenheimer never really thought about the ethics of the atomic bomb until the successful test of a plutonium device at Alamogordo, New Mexico, in July 1945. Then, one of the most highly educated men of the 20th century felt an inrush of ethical anguish and spent the rest of his life trying to come to terms with what he, what America, and what humankind had done. Historian Clay Jenkinson examines the gated world of Los Alamos, the race to build the bomb, Oppenheimer’s ethical quandary about nuclear warfare—and the price he paid for it.

Get the most out of your digital mirrorless or SLR camera by taking part in this workshop, which provides a solid introduction to these cameras’ features and potential.

Maimonides and St. Thomas Aquinas, the two pre-eminent Jewish and Christian thinkers of the medieval period, shared a passion for applying the rationalist methods of Aristotle to questions of belief. Ori Z. Soltes, author and Georgetown University professor, considers how these two gigantic thinkers differ and where they share common ground, both generally and in particular, and how they offer relevance to our own world of thought and action.

Expert on art fraud, author, and former FBI agent Robert Wittman draws from his book The Devil’s Diary: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich to recount his 2013 recovery of the long-lost private diary of the Nazi Party’s chief ideologue, who laid the philosophical foundations for the Holocaust. Rosenberg’s diary had been lost for more than 60 years and its long-hidden contents offer first-person insights into the Nazi rise to power, the genesis of the Final Solution, and Germany’s brutal occupation of the Soviet Union.

Learn how to paint expressive portraits as you improve your observational skills, the ability to see angles and shapes, and your understanding of color and value. The class emphasizes how to define a subject’s unique features by determining shapes of light and shadow.

Birding fans are familiar with year-round feathered friends such as northern cardinals and blue jays, but there’s a secret world of neotropical birds that temporarily make their home in North America. Migrating hundreds of miles overnight, these warblers look for any suitable habitat to drop into as dawn approaches. Join naturalist Matt Felperin to learn more about why these birds undertake such a dangerous journey, how to find them in the wild—and enjoy some fantastic warbler photographs.

From the glorious vistas of American landscape painting to the bold splashes and strokes of Abstract Expressionism, American artists have captured the nation’s enormous energy and tumultuous growth. Art historian Bonita Billman introduces major artists and movements in American painting from the late 18th century to the present, revealing the connections between historical changes and artistic choices. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

Television is changing in front of our eyes. More and more viewers prefer to watch new online-only channels like Netflix or Disney+. An entire generation of younger viewers has given up on the TV set altogether. Drawing on video clips to illustrate his talk, media expert Brian Rose explains why the old days of simply “watching TV” are fast disappearing.

Explore the basis of abstraction by studying color, line, and shape as they relate to composition. Learn to create exciting and innovative works of art, using a series of drawing and painting exercises designed to examine non-traditional ways of handling traditional materials and subject matter.

Leo Tolstoy, Marcel Proust, and James Joyce never won the Nobel Prize in Literature, but Bob Dylan did. Joseph Luzzi, a professor of comparative literature at Bard College, delves into controversial decisions by the Nobel Prize committee and the history of the prize since it was first awarded in 1901.

Before Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne created their celebrated works in Provence, these outsiders had profound experiences and friendships in Paris that would alter their artistic paths. In a 3-session course, popular Smithsonian Associates speaker Paul Glenshaw examines two such relationships: Cézanne’s friendship with Camille Pissarro and van Gogh’s with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in the vibrant avant-garde art scene pioneered by Édouard Manet. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The Uffizi Gallery has long been regarded as one of the most important museum collections in the world, boasting some of the greatest masterpieces of the Florentine Renaissance. From her home in Tuscany, art historian Elaine Ruffolo leads a lively two-part virtual walk through the Uffizi as she discusses its history, architecture, Medici connections, and an in-depth examination of the best of the remarkable painting collection. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

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.

Learn how to use a well-designed secondary camera app to assist iPhone cameras in creating and capturing more sophisticated images.

For centuries, religious and secular Islamic manuscripts have contained beautiful geometric decorations. Explore the history and construction of these traditional designs with Sughra Hussainy, a graduate of Turquoise Mountain Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan. Then, create designs with graph paper and a compass.

In an artist-led series designed to provide a tranquil mid-day break, create small but satisfying works of art as a way to hit “pause” and incorporate a bit of creativity into your at-home routines.

Two faculty members of Harvard University, Martin Puchner, a professor of English and comparative literature, and Maya Jasanoff, a professor of history, converse on how humanity has sought to understand and transmit to future generations the meaning and purpose of our existence, as expressed in art, architecture, religion, and philosophy.

Keep a visual-thinking journal and learn to see like an artist and create personally meaningful works of art in terms of form, theme, and context. Use text, images, and newly developed visual thinking skills to create a “memoir museum”—a handmade map that traces where you’ve been in your life and where you have yet to explore.

Beginning students as well as experienced painters explore watercolor techniques and learn new approaches to painting through demonstration, discussion, and experimentation.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for three online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Vanessa Bell’s A Conversation.

In this class open to all levels, students discover the versatility and fluidity of working in watercolors while exploring the functional and aesthetic elements of color and design found in plants.

The Etruscans hold a reputation for mystery, but the truth is we know a lot about these creative ancient Italians and their remarkable contributions to the history of art. Art historian and author Laura Morelli takes a deep dive into the heart of ancient Italy as she examines three masterworks of painting, sculpture, and metalwork that reflect Etruscan culture’s unique place in the Mediterranean world. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

With his soaring melodies, rich harmonies, and rhythmic vigor, Johannes Brahms is among the immortals, his name linked with Bach’s and Beethoven’s as one of the “Three B’s” of classical music. Opera and classical music expert Saul Lilienstein examines the breadth of Brahms’ extraordinary career, from his teenage years playing piano in the brothels of Hamburg to his sweeping triumphs in Vienna and international recognition as the greatest living symphonist.

Build on your botanical painting skills in this next-level class as you create vibrant watercolors inspired by nature.  Learn to focus on the texture and detail of botanical subjects including flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

More than 100 years after his death, few figures in Russian history evoke as much fascination as Grigori Rasputin, often portrayed as the “Mad Monk” who became the political power behind Tzar Nicholas II and his family. Historian Ralph Nurnberger explores the labyrinth of stories surrounding the life and death of one of the early-20th century’s most intriguing characters.

The Sun, the 4.5-billion-year-old star at the center of the solar system, is the glue that holds it together, and its activity provides a protective bubble that shields the planets from damaging galactic radiation. Astrophysicist and cosmologist Hakeem Oluseyi shines a light on this special star.

Whether you want to work in digital or film, this course offers a solid foundation for new photographers ready to learn the basics. Topics include camera functions, exposure, metering, working with natural and artificial light, and composition.

Here are more of those wonderful songs we love, and the stories behind their long lives. In an afternoon series, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson combines lively lectures with a wide variety of film clips as she traces how favorite songs by each composer came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same. This session spotlights songs by Irving Berlin.

Learn to sketch animals and objects found in nature, then combine your drawings with painting and additional elements and textures to create whimsical or serious mixed media art.

Students are introduced to the materials, tools, and technologies used in collage and assemblage. They find inspiration in artists who worked in collage including Joseph Cornell, Romare Bearden, and Gertrude Greene.

Learn to develop your photographic vision and take better photos by learning a more deliberate approach to composition, balance, lighting conditions, and ”keeping it simple.”

A narwhal tusk and a meticulous painting of a tulip might seem to have little in common, but they were among the wonders of nature and artifice displayed proudly in Renaissance collections of marvels. These early private collections, or cabinets of curiosity, ultimately led to the genesis of the modern museum. Biologist Kay Etheridge describes how this passion for collecting provided naturalists with centers of study and source material for their quest to find order in nature.

Develop skills in a range of weaving techniques as you design and create a one-of-a kind miniature tapestry on a small-frame loom.

Gain an understanding of aspect ratios (digital sensors and film). The class explores changing the aspect ratio in your camera, aspect-ratio constraints in cropping and post-production, and use of the Photoshop image size and canvas size commands.

Discover the basic elements of abstraction, a very important element of the visual arts, and create your own exciting and innovative works.

During the second half of the 16th century, France was near anarchy, torn apart by vicious cycles of violence between Catholics and Protestants. Historian Alexander Mikaberidze discusses the complex origins of the Wars of Religion in France and provides concise analysis of the wars, their social and economic toll, and the lasting impact of political ideas that they generated.

The vineyards surrounding New York’s Finger Lakes have proven time and time again to produce wines on a world-class scale. Sommelier Erik Segelbaum leads a tasty, in-depth session focused on the red and white varieties that grow best in the state, as well as some up-and-coming varieties that are being pioneered in New York's appellations.

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)

Adobe Lightroom is the most useful (and user friendly) software for organizing and editing images, usable for both RAW and JPEG image files. This two-session workshop offers users an overview of the program, with a focus on working with the essential Library and Develop modules for organizing and editing your files.

Using direct printing and water-based printing inks, create realistic looking schools of fish or a single artistic print simply by inking a whole fish and pressing it to paper.

Virtually travel from coast to coast and to Europe in order to explore a variety of subjects using quick-sketch watercolor techniques. Capture a scene with graceful lines and paint with flowing watercolors as you learn to break down a scene into simple shapes.

In September 2022, the world watched the pageantry of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, including the committal ceremony, during which the emblems of royalty were taken from her coffin and placed on the altar. In May. the coronation of King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, will be celebrated. Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger explores the protocols and traditions that continue the monarchy from one individual to the next.

The socio-political slogan “resist and unite” can also be used to describe two techniques of wet felting: using a resist to keep fibers from felting together and the uniting of fibers to create a form. Learn these methods to create a trivet or small wall hanging.

The elegant script commonly known as Copperplate is unmatched in its usefulness for social stationery. Beginning with basic tools and mechanics, students discover how to develop their skills and to recognize the small details that make this style of writing so appealing.

This introductory course teaches the basic skills needed for drawing. Working with a variety of materials and techniques, including charcoal and pencils, students explore the rendering of geometric forms, volume, and perspective, with an emphasis on personal gesture marks.

Chalk pastels can be used to create dynamic artworks in any genre: portrait, still life, abstract, or landscape. Techniques are demonstrated, and various types of chalk pastels, how to combine them with other media, their history, and proper storage are discussed.

Recent years have seen increasing controversy around the Supreme Court—contentious appointments, divisive opinions, and even leaks from inside. Kermit Roosevelt, a constitutional law professor, former Supreme Court clerk, and member of President Biden’s Supreme Court Reform Commission, assesses the court’s role in our democratic system, the forces driving the recent controversies, and what, if anything, we can do to make things better.

Between 1779 and 1782, Spanish rangers from the region around San Antonio herded more than 10,000 cows over 500 miles to Louisiana to help feed Spanish soldiers fighting the British in the American Revolutionary War. Spain had joined the war on the patriots’ side in 1779 and would spend the next four years contributing a deluge of soldiers, sailors, ships, and cows to the war effort. University of Maryland historian Richard Bell reveals the hidden history of Spain’s participation in the American Revolution.

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.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for three online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Cecilia Beaux’s Sita and Sarita.

Curiosity drives basic scientific research, is the engine behind creativity in all disciplines, and provides a necessary ingredient in every form of storytelling. Astrophysicist Mario Livio interprets cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience that explores the origin and mechanisms of human curiosity. His own curiosity on the topic led him to interview linguist Noam Chomsky and the virtuoso lead guitarist of the rock band Queen, Brian May (who holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics).

In this class, learn the strategies artists such as Rembrandt, Daumier, Cézanne, and Van Gogh used to harness light and unify, intensify, and give dimension to their images. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

For over 40,000 years, people have lived and traveled among the islands that dot the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, establishing thriving and interconnected states and societies and creating artworks that express the excitement and vitality of their lives. Art historian Kevin Tervala surveys the artistic practice across 20th-century Oceania, examining the ways that European colonization and decolonization, the Pacific theater of World War II, and the increasingly globalized nature of the economy transformed the work that artists did and the forms that they produced. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Isabella Stewart Gardner assembled an extraordinary collection of art from diverse cultures and eras and built a Venetian-style palazzo in Boston to share her exquisite treasures with the world. Diana Seave Greenwald, assistant curator of the collection at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, shines new light on Gardner as a trailblazing patron and collector who created a museum unprecedented in its curatorial vision. She also discusses how Gardner’s far-flung journeys to fill that museum—recorded in her exquisitely crafted collaged travel albums—reveal the global influences of this legendary collector. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

From the tangled jungles of Kerela, black pepper spread around the globe and altered the course of history as it did. Eleanor Ford, award-winning author of The Nutmeg Trail, delves into the history, botany, varieties, and culinary uses of the world’s favorite spice, then turns to the kitchen to explore flavor profiles, cooking tips, and recipes to put pepper to best use.

Create your own memory block through writing prompts, mindfulness practices, and design and color principles for fiber artists. Learn techniques from hand piecing and machine and hand appliqué, to creating text using needle and thread.

Learn to see and draw relationships in architecture exemplified by classic Hill Country cottages. Aided by an instructor-provided tracing and video link, describe the character of stonework with reflective light in the shadows and give depth to the surrounding landscape.

Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. In a journey from the origin of the cosmos to the aftermath of the Trojan War, classicist Sarah Iles Johnston takes an engaging and entertaining new look at some of the best-known tales—as well as others that are seldom told—and highlights the rich connections among the characters and stories, draws attention to the often-overlooked perspectives of female characters, and stays true both to the tales and to the world in which ancient people lived.

Alcatraz is America’s most notorious island, and its most misunderstood. Former National Park ranger and historian John Martini uncovers its fascinating multilayered history, including the island’s infamous past as a federal penitentiary, its role in American popular culture (especially the movies); the evolution of Alcatraz as a National Park site; its now-resurgent natural life; and the challenges of preserving its aging infrastructure.

Explore the spectrum of floral design. Sourcing (with a focus on sustainability), making the most of seasonal flowers, creating centerpieces, wiring techniques, and photographing your work are all among the practical areas covered.

Learn the basics of weaving handmade bobbin lace, from winding the bobbins to making four small lace projects.

Chris Thorogood clambers over cliffs and up erupting volcanoes and treks through typhoons—it’s just part of the job for this field botanist. He shares details of hair-raising excursions, brings his travels to life with his vivid paintings, and explains the vital work he and other botanists are doing to protect the world’s plants.

Take your skills beyond auto mode as you explore a myriad of your digital camera’s exposure options and features in this course designed for intermediate photographers.

Use colorful Akua water-based printmaking ink to create evocative spring-themed prints on fabric.

Learn to create three different chain designs for a pendant or to wear alone as a unique piece of jewelry.

This course examines fundamental concepts of composition and their practical application in studio-art practice, offering participants tools to enrich their own work as well to analyze and appreciate visual art in general. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Lighting can make or break your work as a digital photographer. Learn the tech tips that will make your flash one of your most effective creative tools.

Discover a variety of methods for making and using image transfers and expanding your creative horizons with photo alteration. Both techniques can offer new dimensions and interest to your artworks.

Many of Rome's greatest art treasures are displayed in the private collections of historically influential Roman families. Fortunately, a number of these art collections are now museums open to the public. Rocky Ruggiero, an expert in Renaissance art, surveys four of these private collections and explains how the artworks held there helped shape the Italian Renaissance. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Join geologist Kirt Kempter as he explores the geology of Western National Parks over the course of 2023, with an in-depth look at one location every month. He kicks off the series with a focus on parks in Utah, New Mexico, and California. This program spotlights the Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for three online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Canaletto’s Entrance to the Grand Canal from the Molo, Venice.

Like the myriad of small pieces of colored stone, tile, and glass that make up a mosaic, the Washington, DC area contains a surprising number of works that together provide a picture of the styles and techniques that mark an art form that’s been practiced since ancient times. Join mosaic artist Bonnie Fitzgerald for a virtual tour of a wide variety of local mosaic treasures at notable public sites, contemporary spaces, and federal and private buildings.

Using powerful sensors and computers—and even a repurposed particle accelerator—cultural heritage researcher Michael B. Toth and his colleagues in humanities and science mine everything from ancient manuscripts to fossils to lacquerware panels for new information about their content and creation. Past projects include the earliest known copy of work by Archimedes, Gutenberg and other early Bibles, and Muslim manuscripts.

Here are more of those wonderful songs we love, and the stories behind their long lives. In an afternoon series, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson combines lively lectures with a wide variety of film clips as she traces how favorite songs by each composer came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same. This session spotlights songs by Johnny Mercer.

The silver screen has changed drastically since its beginnings in the 19th century. Media expert Brian Rose looks at the history of movie theaters and considers what might happen next in the age of streaming services. BYOP—bring your own popcorn!

Military historians consider the Battle of Chancellorsville to be Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s tactical masterpiece and a notable defeat for the Union. Historian Christopher Hamner examines the lead-up to Chancellorsville, Lee’s tactics, and the strategic implications of the Confederate victory.

This course is a no-judgment zone to let you recapture your yearning to explore different media and let loose. Work with watercolor, pencil, pastel, collage, and printmaking, and learn the elements of art and principles of design. Easy projects with handouts and samples are provided.

Today more than 3 million people have pacemakers, with over 600,000 implanted yearly. Tom Choi, a pediatric cardiologist and electrophysiologist, and Carolyn Ramwell, an electrophysiology nurse clinician, discuss the fascinating past, present, and future of this small but essential lifesaving device, covering the experimental history of the modern pacemaker and defibrillator, the current applications of both, and the future implications posed by artificial intelligence and technological advances.

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.

Tell your story as you fill three unique handmade books with original art and writing. Each book presents an opportunity to work with different techniques and media.

Silverpoint drawing uses a silver stylus on specially prepared paper to produce delicate lines. Initially silver-gray, the drawing tarnishes when exposed to air, resulting in a characteristic warm brown tone. Learn the history of silverpoint (Leonardo da Vinci used this technique), the materials required, and the vocabulary.

Learn the basic techniques of wet felting over small-scale resists to create small vessels, topped with lids or stoppers. Also taught is color blending. This workshop is an ideal challenge for both beginning and experienced felters.

In three intensive sessions focused on artistic experimentation, create a journal using prompts and focused practices.

Many Americans recall the Cuban Missile Crisis as an American-Soviet faceoff that the United States won. Allen Pietrobon, a global affairs professor at Trinity Washington University, disagrees. He argues that the crisis consisted of two sides that came perilously close to destruction and pulled through mostly due to both luck and fear. He examines some close calls and assesses what lessons the crisis can teach about the potential for future nuclear armed conflicts.

Art historian Joseph Cassar explores Russian-born Wassily Kandinsky, a leading figure in the development of abstract painting. His illustrated overview includes a focus on the works Kandinsky produced in the pre-WWI Murnau Period and as part of the avant-garde Blaue Reiter group; his publications and teaching years at the Bauhaus; and a critical analysis of Kandinsky’s abstract paintings and his final years in Paris in the 1930s and ’40s. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system, remained relatively unexplored until NASA’s MESSENGER probe orbited and studied it from 2011 to 2015. Physicist Ronald J. Vervack Jr., who worked on the MESSENGER mission, highlights how Mercury provides insight into the formation, evolution, and current state of the solar system.

Slow things down as you learn to capture movement and low light scenes with longer shutter speeds. Topics covered include panning, zoom effect, intentional camera movement, tripods, drive modes, neutral density filters and the camera settings required to take slow shutter-speed photos in bright light, low light, twilight, and night.

Founded in 1903, the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony was born out of the late 19th century’s Arts and Crafts movement and a passion for building a utopian community with like-minded writers, poets, painters, and craftspeople. Curator and author Nancy Green explores how Byrdcliffe began and grew as a community of talented artists and artisans, students and teachers, and their commitment to the goals of joy and fulfillment in their labors and an appreciation of a simple aesthetic harnessed to a simple lifestyle. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Two millennia after it was composed, Virgil’s Aeneid remains one of the most influential and remarkable works in Western literature. Joseph Luzzi, a professor of comparative literature at Bard College, delves into what makes Virgil’s great work tick.

Leonardo and Michelangelo: These towering geniuses of Western art disliked each other intensely. But their fraught relationship was fueled by a secret mutual fascination and a fierce competition that spurred them to new levels of artistic achievement. Art historian Nigel McGilchrist depicts the two men as perfectionists and brilliant craftsmen of radically different kinds who revolutionized painting and sculpting. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Learn how to use a well-designed secondary camera app to assist iPhone cameras in creating and capturing more sophisticated images.

In an afternoon of artistic experimentation designed to deepen skills in visual expression, explore five modes of visual thinking including working from memory, observation, imagination, narrative, and experimental approaches.

Take your ideas from banal to beautiful by learning how to create mind maps worthy of framing. Choose from three different styles to illustrate your thoughts and goals.

Complexity theory addresses the mysteries that animate science, philosophy, and metaphysics: how the teeming array of existence, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, is a seamless living whole and what our place, as conscious beings, is within it. Physician, scientist, and philosopher Neil Theise discusses this “theory of being,” one of the pillars of modern science, and its holistic view of human existence.

Unicorns and centaurs—and other animals, both mythological and real—prance through the Physiologus (The Naturalist), a compilation written in Greek by an anonymous author, probably in Alexandria in the 3rd century A.D. Ilya Dines, a medieval manuscripts specialist, delves into the treatise’s text, illuminations, and legacy.

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)

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.

Robinson Crusoe (1719) is one of the first English novels and still one of the best. Daniel Defoe's fascinating account of the survival—and eventual triumph--of the marooned Robinson Crusoe represents how a lone human builds a new life in the wilderness, from finding food to establishing a spiritual life. Join public humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson for an evening with this splendid and influential work of English fiction, one whose prose style is entirely accessible to 21st-century readers.

Not long after Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were posted in 1517, dialogue between Protestants and Catholics broke down and devastating religious wars erupted across Europe. Desperate to restore the peace and recover unity, the Catholic church turned to its longtime allies, the arts. Art historian Elizabeth Lev traces how prelates enlisted the century’s best artists to create a glorious wave of beautiful works of sacred art to draw people together instead of driving them apart. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Here are more of those wonderful songs we love, and the stories behind their long lives. In an afternoon series, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson combines lively lectures with a wide variety of film clips as she traces how favorite songs by each composer came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same. This session spotlights songs by Burt Bachrach.

Twentieth-century jazz and blues artists had a tremendous impact on commercial films from the late 1920s to the early 1960s, where they easily stole any musical comedy, show business biopic, or edgy melodrama in which they had fleeting cameos. Though the cinematic achievements of these remarkable performers have been downplayed or deeply undervalued, film historian Max Alvarez knows the reasons they shined so brightly. Find out for yourself when he leads an electrifying two-part musical journey that begins in 1929 with Bessie Smith’s only screen appearance in St. Louis Blues and culminates in Dave Brubeck’s work in the 1962 British drama All Night Long.

Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton takes you on a vicarious visit to castle life in medieval and Renaissance England, examining architectural styles, historic structures, and splendid settings. Included are the stories of the grotesque murder of Edward II at Berkley Castle and the adventures of Bess of Hardwick Hall and her four husbands. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

In a program that covers paintings, drawings, etchings, woodblock prints, and sculpture, art historian Joseph Cassar introduces and explores German expressionism as a 20th century movement that emphasized the artist's inner emotions rather than replicating reality. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Austria has a long and storied history of producing extraordinary, high-acid, and fresh wines. Sommelier Erik Segelbaum spotlights the best of its exceptionally food-friendly whites (think bone-dry Rieslings or Austria's heritage grape, Grüner Veltliner) as well as native reds and international varieties like Pinot Noir.

George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was a brilliant composer of both popular songs (“Swanee,” “I Got Rhythm,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”) and more serious music, including Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess. Pianist and Gershwin authority Robert Wyatt explores the composer’s much too short life (he died at age 38) and legacy. S’wonderful!

Just in time for summer, spend a fun, informative afternoon learning how to safely move and care for your orchids outside in the hotter months.

The mosque is the defining element of an Islamic community. While there are a few essential components of a mosque, over time and across geographies an astonishing variety of form, building materials, and decoration in mosque architecture developed. Nancy Micklewright, a specialist in the history of Islamic art and architecture, offers a close look at some of the most iconic and spectacular examples of mosques from a variety of parts of the Islamicate world and how these buildings maintain a connection with a building tradition that stretches back to the 7th century CE. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

How can a composer represent the natural universe through sound? Centuries of exquisite nature-inspired concert works show just how well it can be done. Popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin uses her unique live piano demonstrations and fascinating film clips to explore how such masters as Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Vivaldi, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Saint-Saëns, and countless others composed beloved works that conjure our natural world.

The public art projects of Christo Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (better known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude) used acres of colorful fabric to cover an entire building, line a path, or surround islands. They took years to accomplish but remained in place for no more than two weeks. Art historian Nancy G. Heller analyzes the couple’s most important works and their long-lasting influence. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Learn how to create a photo essay, a set of photographs that tells a story or evokes a series of emotions. Homework assignments are designed to encourage students to explore their own personal interests.

Using watercolor, learn the strategies Delacroix, Turner, Monet, and Cézanne employed to harness light in their images. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

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.  

Timothy Hampton, a professor of comparative literature at the University of California at Berkeley, examines some of Dylan's most famous songs to reveal his deep interest in historical themes and social change, as well as how his music asks us to think about the way the past is remembered and shaped by art.

It's increasingly clear that the United States is fragmented. However, that’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. Journalist, historian, and author Ken Walsh examines how the country reached this point, provides historical context, and discusses whether there is much chance for comity, consensus, and cooperation in the future.

In this solar system, Venus is the planet most like Earth in size and density, yet it has a toxic atmosphere and is the hottest planet, contrasting with habitable Earth. Astrophysicist Stephen Kane reveals clues that point to a possible habitable past of Venus and discusses how its environment might have become hostile to life.

Show off your photos like a pro and learn how to assemble a personal portfolio that reflects your best work and your distinctive vision as a photographer. Targeted homework assignments help you increase your collection of portfolio-quality work.

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.  

Learn the camera controls, composition, and lighting considerations to achieve artful images of items such as brickwork, apartment or office buzzers, call boxes, and vintage signage. Working knowledge of your camera is required, along with willingness to see the mundane as magnificent.

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.

While the historical relationship of India and Great Britain is well-known, events in other countries also affected how India developed into the country it is today. Author Fazle Chowdhury unravels the complicated history of India from its existence as a British colony to an independent Asian nation.

Why do so many readers throughout the world still clamor for the books of Jane Austen? And why is her life the subject of ongoing fascination? Joseph Luzzi, a professor of comparative literature at Bard College, explores the remarkable career and life of a woman who overcame countless obstacles to become a deeply revered author.

Art historian and photographer Patricia Howard introduces the world of the photo surrealists and explores how they pushed the boundaries of photographic imagery in the 1920s to 1940s. Create your very own surrealist collage as part of the experience. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Use pressed botanicals such as flower petals, grasses, and leaves, along with watercolors and colored pencils, to make seasonal artworks. Learn how to select and press plant materials and create compositions with both organic shapes and rigid shapes.

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)

Join geologist Kirt Kempter as he explores the geology of Western National Parks over the course of 2023, with an in-depth look at one location every month. He kicks off the series with a focus on parks in Utah, New Mexico, and California. This program spotlights the Death Valley National Park in California.

Circular weaving is a fun and versatile technique for new weavers as well as experienced fiber artists. Learn how to warp and weave on several sizes of circle looms as you create projects from coasters to cushions to home décor.

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.  

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s work reflected one central tenet: “To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful and pretty. …There are too many ugly things in life as it is without creating still more of them.” He reveled in lush color that can be seen in his sensual nudes, family portraits, landscapes, and genre depictions such as The Luncheon of the Boating Party. Art historian Bonita Billman showcases selections from his more than 4,000 works as she illustrates why Renoir is one of the most highly regarded—and joyful—artists of his time. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The radical innovations made by European and American painters and sculptors between 1900 and 1960 forever altered the way we think about visual art. In a richly illustrated course, art historian Nancy G. Heller discusses major works by the period’s seminal painters and sculptors, emphasizing their broader socio-political and aesthetic contexts. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

There’s nothing Mickey Mouse about the impact the Walt Disney Company has had on the entertainment business. Media historian Brian Rose traces how the company evolved from a small cartoon studio in 1923 to one of the most powerful forces in worldwide entertainment today.

As members of the Religious Society of Friends, Quakers in colonial America were the first group of white Christians to confront slaveholding as a religious problem that demanded social action. Historian Richard Bell recounts this untold story, focusing on the dramatic antislavery crusades and wildly different tactics of three 18th-century Quakers: Benjamin Lay, a hermit; John Woolman, a shopkeeper; and Anthony Benezet, a schoolteacher.

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.  

Omaha was one of the five beach landings on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Split between the American 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions, the primary objective was to secure a 5-mile beachhead to link Omaha Beach with the nearby Gold and Utah landing sites. Campers enjoy using miniature soldiers, wargames, and films to learn about the D-Day invasion and its significance to World War II. They investigate miniatures and terrain boards to learn about this important battle and stimulate ideas for building their own dioramas. Campers receive 1/72-scale plastic soldiers that they can trade with one another and paint, then make a terrain board for display or wargaming with their soldiers.

Ever look at a piece of art in a museum and wonder what went into its creation? Young artists get the answers through virtual visits to collections at the American Art Museum, African Art Museum, the Hirshhorn, and the National Gallery of Art. Works by the great masters offer understanding of  their inspirations and methods. Adventurers set up a home studio as they use their imaginations to create many different types of art influenced by what they’ve seen.

Many famous fairy tales—think Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk—appear to be quite conventional. But they can be wonderfully disruptive to our expectations. Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman discuss modern LGBTQ+ twists on old tales and share some very unconventional fairy tales.

For several days after the death of young King Edward VI in early July 1553, two women considered themselves the ruler of England: his Catholic half-sister Mary Tudor and Lady Jane Grey Dudley. Tudor scholar and historian Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger explores the woman at the heart of the conflict as she considers the life and character of Jane Grey; the political and personal forces at play in Tudor England; Jane’s complicated relationship with Mary Tudor—and why it was necessary for one of them to lose her life.

Germany has some of the world's most challenging vineyards to maintain, but the effort is well worth it. Erik Segelbaum reveals why the country’s wines are mainstays of any sommelier's toolkit for food-and-wine pairings in a delicious exploration of the wines of Germany and their rich histories.

Plant and animal species and ecosystems across the globe are endangered by human activity and climate changes—but there are scientists working to save them, including at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Professionals from the field and an interactive online tour of conservation success stories inspire the Earth optimist within. Adventurers research endangered species, engineer solutions to habitat management issues, and develop a campaign to spread the word.

In the summer of 1942, German forces launched a campaign to siege the city of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. A major turning point in the European Theater of World War II, this massive battle saw a monumental retreat of German and Axis powers after they could not hold the city through the harsh winter and Soviet military resistance. Campers enjoy using miniature soldiers, wargames, and documentaries to learn about World War II’s Eastern Front, with particular focus on Germany’s extended siege of Stalingrad. They investigate miniatures and terrain boards to learn about this important battle and stimulate ideas for building their own dioramas. Campers receive 1/72 scale plastic soldiers that they can trade with one another and paint, then make terrain boards for display or wargaming with their figures.

How can something that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface be so vulnerable to damage by humans? Adventurers join leagues of scientists, including some from the Smithsonian, in efforts to keep the world’s oceans healthy. They take on ocean exploration and study, marine preservation, and sustainability efforts with virtual visits to the Natural History Museum; conduct research on the Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal; and participate in ocean cleanup challenges right from home.

Suit up and strap in to virtually experience a week as astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Adventurers encounter artifacts from historic missions during online visits to the Air and Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. They read star charts, design and conduct experiments that have been (and could be) done aboard the ISS, build miniature satellites, and create space-inspired artworks.

In 1281, Kublai Khan (son of Genghis Khan) launched a Mongol naval attack on Japan, only to have his ships—and hopes of conquest—dashed by massive typhoons. Campers enjoy using miniature soldiers, wargames, and film to learn about the invasion. A detailed representation of an attacking Mongol fleet and Samurai defenders offers them insights into the battle and stimulates ideas for building their own dioramas. Campers receive 1/72-scale plastic soldiers that they can trade with one another and paint, then make a terrain board for display or wargaming with their soldiers.

Pack your bags and choose a date in history! Adventurers hop into a time machine and travel to a different past civilization each day. Virtual visits to view Egyptian mummies in the Natural History Museum and ancient Chinese artifacts in the Asian Art Museum immerse them in the arts, games, and history of civilizations around the world and across time. Where—and when—will you go next?

On January 30, 1968, Northern Vietnamese forces launched a coordinated attack on more than 100 targets in South Vietnam, sparking a major turning point in the Vietnam War. A large portion of the intense series of battles took place in the city of Hue, where the Viet Cong were met with a three-week long battle that ravaged the city and its ancient citadel. Campers enjoy using miniature soldiers, wargames, and documentaries to learn about the Tet Offensive, with particular emphasis on battles the cities in Hue and Lang Vei. They investigate miniatures and terrain boards to learn about this important battle and stimulate ideas for building their own dioramas. Campers receive 1/72 scale plastic soldiers that they can trade with one another and paint, then make terrain boards for display or wargaming with their figures.

How do science and art fit together to improve our lives? An artist’s influence can be found in all kinds of objects, like tools, furniture, cars, and technology. In this week-long exploration, Adventurers investigate the collections at the Renwick Gallery, the Hirshhorn, Cooper Hewitt, and the National Gallery of Art to find inspiration for STEAM-inspired challenges and creative projects. What kind of amazing and functional art will you create? 

Anatolia’s colorful history has left a windfall of riches—ancient ruins, ornate Byzantine churches, supremely elegant mosques, and splendid Ottoman palaces. In an illustrated series, Serif Yenen, a Turkish-born tour guide and author, highlights the heritage and splendor of ancient Turkey through an examination of some of its cultural gems.