Andrew Knoll, paleontologist and geobiologist, argues that understanding Earth’s history requires both geology and biology. Over 4 billion years, Earth and life have co-shaped one another: rocks, water, and air cycle essential elements, regulating climate and atmosphere while enabling life’s diversification. By tracing these dynamic interactions, Knoll reveals how physical processes and biological evolution together made our planet habitable, sustaining the soil, air, and ecosystems that underpin the world we know today.
Roald Dahl, famed for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, crafted worlds of dark humor, mischievous heroes, and villainous adults that still captivate readers. Adventurer, World War II fighter pilot, inventor, eccentric, and husband of actress Patricia Neal, Dahl’s adult fiction revealed a darker and sharper wit. Unconventional to the end, he requested to be buried with his snooker cues and a good bottle of wine. Historian Daniel Stashower and actor Scott Sedar celebrate Dahl’s extraordinary life and work.
Art historian Sophia D’Addio surveys the cradle of the Renaissance, Tuscany, which boasted Florence's unparalleled artistic wealth alongside Siena, Pisa, and Lucca’s cultural treasures. Renowned for its simple yet flavorful cuisine and its prized wines, the region blends medieval charm, coastal beauty, and enduring culinary and viticultural traditions into Italy’s cultural heart. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
If you’ve taken the studio arts class Gyotaku: The Japanese Art of Fish Printing, you are ready to try Hawaiian-style gyotaku. It includes printing in colorful inks and thin acrylics and adding color and texture with watercolor crayons and acrylic media.
Historian Siobhan Clark examines what led up to the Russian Revolution and the violent deaths of the tsar, tsarina, and their five children. She considers how this tragedy might have been avoided by examining the traits of Nicholas as a ruler, the role of World War I on the revolution, and the impact of the Revolution on the Russian people.
Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Beverly Gage made 13 trips throughout the country to visit museums, historic sites, roadside attractions, reenactments, and souvenir shops where Americans learn and argue about our history. Gage shares her experiences at locations such as Mound Bayou, Mississippi; Medora, North Dakota; and Dearborn, Michigan. She also examines key moments that define America’s greatest successes and challenges.
Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. In this workshop, participants explore the innovative compositions of the 20th-century Dutch printmaker M.C. Escher, to discover how his interlocking forms and shifting patterns inspire creative reflection about the connections and transformations in our lives.
After Napoleon toppled the Venetian Republic in 1797, Venice passed from French to Austrian control before joining Italy in 1866. The city was reshaped for industry—churches razed, canals filled, streets widened—sparking fierce debate. Critics condemned the loss of artistic heritage, fueling a struggle between preservation and modernization that eventually redirected Venice toward tourism. Historian Dennis Romano explores how the 19th century became one of the most consequential periods in Venice’s 1,600-year history, reshaping both its physical landscape and cultural identity.
