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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.
While all sorts of climate-related issues are in the news, we have solved planet-threatening problems before, atmospheric scientist Susan Solomon argues, and we can do it again. The path to success begins when an environmental problem becomes both personal and perceptible to the general public, Solomon says. She tells stories of environmental victories against ozone depletion, smog, pesticides, and lead whose heroes include angry mothers, gang members turned social activists, and iconoclastic scientists.
Discover landmarks, art, and other projects from the New Deal period with author David Taylor during a walking tour in Washington, D.C. Sites visited include Judiciary Square to see the public sculptures and dramatic courthouse bas reliefs there; the Henry F. Daly Building, constructed in the Classical Moderne style; the Federal Trade Commission Building, which features monumental Art Deco sculptures; and the National Mall and Washington Monument, both of which were renovated during the New Deal period.
