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Discover the sculptures of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in this artful workshop. Practice your observation and sketching skills alongside other participants while you are surrounded by modern and contemporary artworks.
Over the course of the more than three decades he lived or visited there, the Badlands transformed Theodore Roosevelt into the kind of vigorous outdoorsman that he’d idealized as a youth—and that shaped his public image as president. Perhaps more importantly, this corner of the West turned him into a passionate conservationist. Experience the Badlands landscapes—filled with dramatic vistas, vividly colored canyons, and wandering herds of wild bison—on a 5-day study tour led by naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley.
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.
From the elaborate banquets of ancient civilizations to the lavish soirées of the Renaissance, feasts have revealed both the culinary delights of their time and the social hierarchies, power dynamics, and cultural exchanges that have shaped our past. In an evening series, food historian Francine Segan uncovers the meaning behind the food, drink, and rituals that have defined such gatherings and spotlights the unique foods of royal tables in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This session focuses on ancient Greece in the time of Alexander the Great.
When he became president in 1797, John Adams was confronted with intense partisan divides, debates over citizenship, fears of political violence, potential for foreign conflict, and a nation unsure that the presidency could even work without George Washington at the helm. Historian Lindsay M. Chervinsky surveys the second U.S. presidency, a period critical to the survival of the republic, and examines how Adams met these unique challenges and how he shaped the office for his successors.
For more than 115 years, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, has been recognized as one of the world’s most important and beautiful collections of gardens and glasshouses. As he explores its indoor spaces, Karl Gercens, Longwood’s conservatory manager, covers historic features including the Orangery and East Conservatory and previews a history-making addition: the West Conservatory, which brings together 19th-century glasshouse traditions and the newest sustainable technologies.
Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by contemporary works by American artist Margaret Boozer, poet Jane Hirshfield, and other sources, explore the bowl as a metaphor for our lives and the world.
Hollywood has always depended on blockbusters. But beginning in 1974, filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas changed the way movies were made. Working together (the Indiana Jones series) and separately (E.T. and The Empire Strikes Back), they introduced the age of the modern blockbuster, which features elaborate special effects and thrilling spectacle, in contrast to previous blockbusters defined by prestigious adaptations and star power. Media historian Brian Rose looks at Lucas’ and Spielberg’s four decades of filmmaking.
Few figures in history can match the career of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, which spanned over half a century during the tumultuous Revolutionary era that ushered in the modern world. In addition to tracing his journey from the salons of Versailles to the battlefields of the New World, historian Alexander Mikaberidze examines Lafayette’s contrasts: an idealist who was a glory-seeking opportunist and an ardent proponent of American republican tenets who eagerly supported monarchy.
John James Audubon—naturalist, artist, and creator of The Birds of America—is widely regarded as America’s first great watercolorist, but his artistic journey has never been examined. Art historian Roberta J. M. Olson explores how Audubon studied both past and concurrent artists to forge innovative works of fine art and delves into the contemporary controversies surrounding him. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
