All upcoming Courses

The storyline of Paris can be followed along the banks of its iconic River Seine. On both the Right Bank and the Left, evidence of the city's 2,000-year history, the figures who shaped it across the centuries, and the artistic and architectural movements that originated here can be seen. In a 2-part series, journey with freelance travel writer Barbara Noe Kennedy as you discover intriguing sites, historical aspects, and art in this virtual exploration using maps, photos, and videos. This session focuses on the Left Bank of Paris.

Americans have long viewed major trials as public dramas that reveal enduring social tensions. Historian Michael Ross argues that the most memorable cases matter because the conflicts they expose never fully fade. His series revisits four landmark trials—involving witchcraft in New England, an accused Gilded Age double murderess, the evolution debate, and the controversial Chicago Seven—showing how each became a flashpoint for its era and why their echoes still shape American society.

In the 19th century, European artists looked to North Africa for exotic inspiration and new artistic experience. Eugène Delacroix spent six months in Morocco, filling sketchbooks that helped shape Orientalism. His example inspired Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Paul Klee, and August Macke. In a four-session series, art historian Joseph Paul Cassar examines how travel to North Africa reshaped their artistic ideas. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

The World’s Fairs of the 1930s offered visions of a world in flux—attempting to chart a future at a moment when nothing felt stable. As the Great Depression reshaped daily life and global tensions mounted, fairs in Chicago, Paris, and New York became spectacular stages where nations expressed optimism, power, and unease through architecture, technology, and performance. In a 3-part series, art historian Jennie Hirsh examines this trio of landmark fairs, revealing how they transformed crisis into dazzling displays that captured both the aspirations and anxieties of their era. This session focuses on the World's Fair of Paris 1937.

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the world’s great museums and an early model of the modern gallery. Even before its 1765 opening, visitors could request access. Housed in Giorgio Vasari’s 1559 building for the Medici, it now displays masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo leads a two-part virtual exploration of its history, architecture, and Renaissance art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The American War of Independence freed the 13 British colonies in North America from Crown rule and set the stage for the United States’ bold experiment in self-government. Drawing on primary sources, historian Christopher Hamner continues exploring the pivotal turning points and strategic choices that shaped the course and the conclusion of the war in a fall series. This session focuses on the Battle of Cowpens and Battle of Yorktown.

As soon as movies learned to talk, they also learned to sing and dance—and the movie musical quickly became one of America’s most popular film genres. Media historian Brian Rose guides you through the rich history of the movie musical, illustrated with extended clips from dozens of classic films. From 42nd Street and Swing Time to Meet Me in St. Louis, West Side Story, and Chicago, the four-part series celebrates the songs, stars, and stories that made movie musicals an enduring part of American culture.

While the early days of Jamestown were marred with struggle, conflict, and tragedy, the settlement would survive as the first permanent English colony in North America. Unearth the tumultuous first century of Jamestown in this four-part series with Mark Summers, the public historian for the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project.

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 a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This session focuses on 16th-century Bolognese Mannerist painter Lavinia Fontana.

With a dynamic, far-reaching history that spans the Neolithic period to the modern age, Chinese civilization has given rise to some of the world’s most remarkable artistic creations. Art historian Robert DeCaroli explores this complex legacy by examining how shifts in China’s social, religious, and political life have influenced transformations in its material culture. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)