Drawing on well-received lectures offered in various community settings, this course will focus on a range of topics often overlooked or misunderstood. This program will shed light on elements of our collective history that will help us recognize our shared humanity, form a historical world view, and grasp the spirit of modern civilization itself.    

Part travel log, part cultural history, the course will explore these topics:   

• Who were the Vikings? A journey of discovery to the land of fire & ice   
• Tokaido: The modern road to Japan’s feudal past   

• Hudson River Idylls: Landscape painting & the shaping of American identity   

• Dark & Stormy Nights: A cultural history of death & dying    
• The Short History of Color: A rainbow primer sponsored by Roy G Biv