What's new this month?

Roman Gaul, the area of southern France that today includes Provence, is an important repository of Roman culture, with many works built in Gaul still standing. Art historian Christopher Gregg explores the history and the physical remains of sites, including the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls; a rare watermill; and a remarkably preserved cargo ship; as well as a variety of beautiful sculptures and mosaics. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Men of Irish heritage played crucial roles in fighting the American Revolution. Their numbers included generals, thousands of enlisted men, and even spies—notably Hercules Mulligan, a major character in the musical Hamilton. Historian Richard Bell explores the Revolution from the perspective of the Irish and their descendants in America as he reconstructs the history of English and Irish antagonism; examines the role of Roman Catholic faith in decisions about loyalty and affiliation; and surveys the political and economic impact of the American Revolution on Ireland itself.

Discover the power of reflective writing inspired by visual art guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Step into the Expressionist paintings of the fascinating early 20th-century German artist Gabriele Münter. Slow down, look closely, and reflect as you explore the window as a metaphor for shifting perspectives in our lives.

Cave temples at sites such as Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta, and Badami are notable not just for their antiquity and religious significance but also for the ingenious, sophisticated techniques used to excavate them from the sides of mountains. Art historian Robert DeCaroli examines the history of these Jain, Buddhist, Hindu, and Ajivika temples and monasteries, how they were made, and how they are being protected today. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

French gastronomy has long been the benchmark for the world’s finest cuisine. The creativity bubbling up in French food today is rooted in thousands of years of culinary history, the collective heritage of a country that has always focused (sometimes obsessively) on everything that is put on the table. Susan Herrmann Loomis, author, cooking teacher, and French cuisine expert, leads a lively tour through the centuries that showcases the rich history of a unique and beloved cuisine and the influences that shaped it.

The principal architect of the party system and one of the founders of the Democratic Party, Martin Van Buren’s unparalleled skills as a political strategist won him the nickname “The Little Magician"—and a series of increasingly high-profile offices. Van Buren scholar James M. Bradley depicts the struggle for power in the tumultuous decades leading up to the Civil War as he charts the eighth president’s ascent from a tavern in the Hudson Valley to the White House.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the fossil skeleton known as Lucy. Learn more about this 3.2-million-year-old find and the significance of its species, Australopithecus afarensis, from paleoanthropologist Rick Potts of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Paleo-artist John Gurche discusses how he reconstructed Lucy’s body for the museum and why several of her features are unlike those of any human or ape living today.

Poet William Butler Yeats was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival, the cultural movement that preceded the country’s political independence from Britain. Lucy Collins, editor of the Irish University Review and an associate professor at University College Dublin, explores the cultural politics of early 20th-century Ireland as the crucible within which Yeats’ work was formed and examines how the political and the personal combine in some of his greatest poems.

Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman explore an array of chilling holiday folklore from around the world, including the German Krampus who visits children who don’t make the “nice” list, the Icelandic Jólakötturinn, a gigantic cat that devours naughty children, and the Welsh Mari Lwyd, a skeletal horse with a taste for song and poetry. They reintroduce you to a more complex vision of winter, one that’s easy to forget in an increasingly hectic and standardized season.

From sleigh bells and sugarplums to the mystical beauties of the Nativity, every December is alive with the music of Christmas. Lecturer and concert pianist Rachel Franklin revisits this most beloved seasonal repertory, hand-picking selections that explore how classical Western composers created a canon of both secular and sacred experiences that are now deeply rooted in our collective seasonal expectations.