History Lessons in Washington, DC

History Happy Hour!  Raise your glass to the past, and come discover the odd and fascinating things people thought and did in the Middle Ages and beyond.  Professor of History will offer a short presentation, and then open the floor to animated conversation over drinks!  No previous knowledge required.  Each week something...

With its earliest history seated in the ancient practice of Alchemy, the art of Distillation was created by those same early chemists trying to turn lead into gold. Though they did not succeed in creating that precious metal, they did succeed in transforming grain into spirit, and those after them turned that spirit into something magical.  ...

Does history have a direction, a purpose, or an end goal? Can we deduce general historical patterns from studying the past? Is it naïve to hope and work for a better future? From the Enlightenment to the twenty-first century, liberal, Marxist, positivist, and post-structuralist thinkers have offered radically different responses to these fundamental...

The Protestant Reformation: Theology, History, and Modernity In 1517, the Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed a set of 95 Theses protesting the corruption of the Catholic Church to the door of his local church in Wittenberg, Germany, starting the Protestant Reformation that would radically transform the religious and political landscape of Europe....

In the early 20th century, a new generation of thinkers came to believe that European philosophy had reached a dead end. Reacting to what they held was the obfuscatory language and non-sensical direction of post-Kantian philosophy, Cambridge philosophers Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore set out to revolutionize philosophy through a fundamental rethinking...

Theories of Photography: Representation, Communication, and Aesthetics The photographic image is seen as a means of communication, a recorder of events, a powerful form of surveillance, and a poignant tool for creative practice. In this course, we will consider—and occasionally undermine—such views by delving into a critical analysis of the photographic...

Explore the history of photography, beginning in 1827 with the first photograph, through the age of daguerreotype portraits, the photograph’s early development as an art form, the invention of Kodak’s Box Brownie, to contemporary photography. Discover great photographers and examine how this relatively new medium has affected our culture. This...

Not only do the seedpods of perennials feed birds and wildlife throughout winter, they add a rich textural element to the dormant garden. Explore seeds, pods, and stems that bring interesting shapes and structure to the garden.  Note: This class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your...

Modern archeology has altered our understanding of the world of the Bible. This course will take specific sites in the Holy Land whose excavations have raised new questions about our understanding of the Biblical narrative and its context. Excavations we’ll explore include Jericho, Megiddo, Jaffa, and the City of David in Jerusalem.

In the News with Jeff Greenfield and Special Guests Lesley Stahl, Jake Tapper, and David Axelrod This program is taking place remotely. If you have signed up, you will receive an email with details of how to access the program. If we are able to offer an in-person version of this class in the coming months, we will contact you and make both options...