Explore more wonderful songs from the golden age of the Great American Songbook, and the stories behind their long and unexpected lives. This fall season, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson takes up the work of Kander and Ebb, and some of their forever-familiar songs, where daydreams and romance, razzle-dazzle, and all our “where or whens” still live.

Immerse yourself in the Japanese practice of forest bathing as Melanie Choukas-Bradley introduces its history and how-tos. Learn creative ways to reduce holiday stress and banish winter blues by connecting with nature close to home as Choukas-Bradley, a certified forest therapy guide, leads you through techniques to incorporate this soulful practice into your life.

Students are introduced to the materials, tools, and technologies used in collage and assemblage. They find inspiration in artists who worked in collage, including Joseph Cornell, Romare Bearden, and Gertrude Greene.

Popular theory on right-side brain activity holds that the right brain is primarily responsible for the intuitive understanding of visual and spatial relationships. Designed to improve the way people see and record objects on paper, this class provides a set of visual exercises to help build the ability to draw.

In this course, gain the technical background and experience you need to get started as a painter. Working from museum masterpieces, still-life arrangements, or your favorite photos, explore basic painting techniques, including color-mixing, scumbling, and glazing.

Explore the possibilities of collage, realistic abstraction, and altered images as you create works centered around people and places. Experiment with a range of materials and techniques to create your own story, including exploring real or imagined landscapes, architecture, portraits, and self-portraits.

Whether you work digitally or on film, this course is ideal for students who are familiar with their cameras but are interested in expanding their understanding of photography fundamentals.

Although Patrick Henry had argued against ratification of the Constitution, he came out of retirement to oppose a policy drafted by Thomas Jefferson that declared a state could pronounce federal laws unconstitutional and nullify them. Henry contended that since “we the people” adopted the Constitution, anyone contesting federal policy must seek reform “in a constitutional way.” Historian John Ragosta brings this relatively unknown story to life.

Ideas about the American West, both in popular culture and in commonly accepted historical narratives, are often based on a past that never was, and fail to consider important events that occurred. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea," examines the perspectives of 48 modern and contemporary artists who offer a broader and more inclusive view of this region, which too often has been dominated by romanticized myths and Euro-American historical accounts. Anne Hyland, the Art Bridges Initiative curatorial coordinator at the American Art Museum, provides an overview of the exhibition. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)