Study Tours

General Black Jack Pershing’s 1916 “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico was intended to capture Pancho Villa in retribution for an attack on a small New Mexico town carried out by his revolutionary forces. Although it failed in its objective, historian Dakota Springston examines how the expedition changed American warfare and why the United States’ first truly mechanized conflict served as a testing ground for the country’s entry into WWI.

The Barnes Foundation holds the world’s largest collection of works by Paul Cézanne, some 69 pieces including his masterworks The Large Bathers and The Card Players. Barnes educator Penny Hansen uses high-definition Deep Zoom technology to explore Cézanne’s career, his reclusive life, his style, his characteristic brushstrokes, and his deep influence on 20th-century art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens. This program spotlights the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in the Colorado Rockies and Western Australia Botanic Garden.

Willa Cather’s visits to Santa Fe in the 1920s with her partner, book editor Edith Lewis, inspired her to research and write the enduring novel she referred to as her best book. Author and historian Garrett Peck examines how the setting and spirit of Death Comes for the Archbishop is rooted in those travels and in their relationship.

Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens. This program spotlights Chenshan Botanical Gardens in Shanghai and Huntsville Botanical Garden in Alabama.

Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens. This program spotlights Innisfree in New York and Fairchild Tropical Garden in Florida.

New Mexico geologist Kirt Kempter explores the dramatic landscapes that captivated Georgia O’Keeffe and often provided the inspiration for her art. The geologic story of the beloved region O’Keeffe called home spans more than 300 million years and includes rock layers from ancient rivers, oceans, and sand dunes.

With its 18th- and 19th-century fabric largely intact and its sailor’s-bar heritage tidied up, Fells Point offers a unique perspective into Baltimore’s enduring identity as a port city on the Chesapeake. A virtual tour with arts journalist and former Baltimore resident Richard Selden surveys the waterfront neighborhood’s history and character.

The 104-year-old Baltimore Museum of Art, whose collections encompass 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art, houses 95,000 holdings including the largest collection of works by Henri Matisse in the world. Spend a day at the museum with art historian Ursula Wolfman enjoying its highlights, the famed Cone Collection, and the special exhibition The Rembrandt Effect. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The landscape of the Pacific Northwest has been significantly shaped by massive floods in the geologic past. Geologist Kirt Kempter explores the catastrophic supervolcano eruptions that unleashed lava flows beginning approximately 17 million years ago and the widespread flooding at the end of the last Ice Age cycle that carved much of the Columbia River Gorge.

Roberto Burle Marx, one of the most influential and groundbreaking landscape artists of the 20th century, introduced modernist landscape architecture to his native Brazil that incorporated many colorful native species. Garden designer and photographer C. Colston Burrell explores Burle Marx’s home and studio, as well as private gardens and parks he created for friends and municipalities.

Spend a day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art exploring architect Frank Gehry’s extraordinary new vision for the museum’s interior inspired by the character of the historic 1928 building. The renovations open the museum’s interior with soaring public spaces, and dramatic vistas incorporating additional room for art, and easier navigation. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, America’s first common carrier, was a pioneer in many components of railroading in the United States. Step into more than 100 years of its fascinating history on an insider’s visit to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore guided by rail historian Joe Nevin.

Brooklyn offers plenty of delights for lovers of art, music, nature, and of course, food. On this two-day visit, arts journalist and former Brooklynite Richard Selden introduces you to several of the borough’s top attractions.

The Brandywine River Valley includes some of the loveliest and most historic areas of Delaware and Pennsylvania, and spring is an ideal time to sample its attractions. Join Hayden Mathews, an environmental and cultural history interpreter, on a two-day visit to sites that provide unique doorways into the region’s heritage.