Programs

The last few decades have seen an explosion of interest in female painters, sculptors, architects, textile artists, and performance artists. Art historian Nancy G. Heller examines the progress made by women artists in Europe and the U.S. since the end of the Second World War. She discusses the relationship of art made by late 20th- and 21st-century women to the work of their male counterparts, placing it within a broader socioeconomic, political, and aesthetic context—and considers the obstacles that remain for women artists. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

The 2,650-acre campus of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland, encompasses a mix of forests, farmland, wetlands, and shoreline and is home to some of the world’s most enduring environmental research projects. Spend the day with SERC’s expert staff as you explore this environmental research hub and learn about its cutting-edge ecological studies.

This country on the eastern edge of the Black Sea is recognized as one of the birthplaces of wine. Georgia’s more than 500 native grapes provide a new range of flavors for wine lovers to discover. With the help of sommelier Erik Segelbaum, this tasting explores the full rainbow of Georgian wines from white to amber-orange to red…and holds a few surprises.

April and May are magical in the Enid A. Haupt Garden. Sketch there using watercolors to capture the changing light of the season.

From civil rights to feminism to gay liberation to the environmental movement to the silent majority, a period that began more than half a century ago has shaped and influenced our country ever since. Leonard Steinhorn, a professor in the School of Communication at American University, explores the 1960’s meaning and its legacy—one that may have created the dividing line in our current politics and society.

George Washington not only played a vital role in framing the Constitution as the president of the Philadelphia Convention, he also put the document into practice as America’s first leader. Historian Denver Brunsman explores the origins of executive power through the writings and actions of the United States’ first president.

Ages 3 to 6. Meet the grocer, the baker, the pizza-dough maker, and all of the friendly people who make our neighborhoods terrific places to live every day.

Ages 3 to 6. Meet the grocer, the baker, the pizza-dough maker, and all of the friendly people who make our neighborhoods terrific places to live every day.

At its peak, the Roman empire extended from Britain to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River. Yet in 476, the last western Roman emperor was deposed. In a 4-part series, historian David Gwynn analyzes the dramatic events which shaped the decline and fall of the Roman empire in the west, exploring the transformation from the ancient to the medieval world that laid the foundations for modern Europe. This session focuses on fifth-century historical events.

Refamiliarize yourself with the fundamentals of color theory while learning an approach to mixing color that relies on color harmonies. Gain a deeper understanding of complementary color relationships to more intuitively mix colors and harness color harmonies to better express depth as well as the contrast between light and shadow.