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No presidential election in American history carried stakes as high as the 1864 contest between Abraham Lincoln and former Union General George B. McClellan. In it, Northern voters would decide the holder of the nation’s highest office—as well as the future of the country. Historian Christopher Hamner traces the buildup to November 1864 through the experiences of Americans who witnessed the election’s turmoil and for whom its outcome was a frightening unknown.
Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines, reflected in cultures across the globe that have rich traditions in using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind. Neuroscientist, author, and musician Daniel J. Levitin explores the critical role music has played in human biology; why he finds it one of the most potent therapies today; and how it can contribute to the treatment of ailments from neurodegenerative diseases to cognitive injury, depression, and pain.
Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park is situated atop the Blue Ridge, a prominent mountain range formed during the ancient smash-up between ancestral North America and Africa. Known for its spectacular views, the park contains formations that tell compelling geologic stories. Geologist Callan Bentley can read these rocks and translate their tales from deep time.
What can a painted vase tell us about the lives and beliefs of the ancient Greeks? A lot, actually. The human activities and mythological subjects depicted on vessels from the 7th through the 5th century B.C.E. provide invaluable insights into this civilization. Art historian Renee Gondek explores the stories illustrated and highlights the artistry of the best-known painters. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio is best known for his majestic villas scattered throughout the Veneto countryside. Ranging from working farms to country residences, these structures reflect contemporary views that spending time away from the chaos of the city was a path to moral betterment. Art historian Sophia D’Addio explores the architecture of a series of stunning villas, linking them to Palladio’s influential writings on design in his The Four Books of Architecture. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has begun a 20-year mission of observation that promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe. Kelly Beatty, senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, reveals how astronomers are using the telescope’s state-of-the-art instruments and enormous optical system to detect extremely faint infrared objects from both the very near and very distant universe—information that can help in identifying the earliest stars and galaxies to form after the Big Bang and in exploring the planetary systems of other stars.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has sparked countless theories—from the well-established to the far-fetched. But a set of 16th- and 17th-century copies, scattered in collections from Russia to Spain, complicate the mystery of the world’s most famous painting. Art historian Laura Morelli opens the strange and wondrous world of these "other Mona Lisas," which have made collectors, museum professionals, and art historians question everything they think they know about the world's most famous portrait. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement ended a 30-year period of violence in the north of Ireland known as “the Troubles,” but the difficult legacy of that era still overshadows politics in Ireland north and south to this day. Historian Jennifer Paxton explores the origins of the Troubles as well as the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland and the prospects for Irish unity now that the United Kingdom’s territory has its first-ever nationalist first minister.
Cardamom is one of the most aromatic and complex of spices, prized as much for its romantic and storied history as it is for its culinary usage (the sultry aroma of burning cardamom lured Mark Antony to Cleopatra’s palace). Spice expert Eleanor Ford draws on her new cookbook, A Whisper of Cardamom, to explore its facts, botany, myths, and properties and offers kitchen tips to get the best out of the captivating spice, elevating dishes from broths to curries, spiced teas to scented cakes.
Pennsylvania Avenue has hosted inaugurations, protests, and parades throughout the history of the United States. But the development of this grand boulevard connecting the Capitol to the White House was fraught with conflict and intrigue. Visit Lafayette Square, walk Pennsylvania Avenue, and learn from Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, how this part of downtown Washington went from being Murder Bay to America’s Main Street.
