This course will reveal the secrets of seven of Boston’s most fascinating buildings. Have you ever pondered the following questions? ● Why is there a 3,000 year-old mummy in the Ether Dome operating room at the Bulfinch building at Mass General Hospital? ● Is it true that the water table level under Trinity Church was checked at one time by a man in a small boat? ● What is the only surviving residence completely created by American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany? ● Where is John Singer…

For generations, Italian films have been in the avant-garde of the industry. They made an early appearance when Hollywood was depicting glamorous lives in ballrooms and swimming pools, happily married couples with well behaved and impeccably dressed children, and romantic scenes that faded into an idyllic horizon when things started to get out of hand. Italians also visited some mundane themes that appealed to the masses, like the spaghetti western. However, these are not representative of Italian cinema and have hardly left a mark in the awareness of…

In part because readers and audiences continually find meaning and insight in Hamlet, the play comes to us with a great deal in tow: legendary stage and film performances, notable critical analyses, and a multitude of interpretations. In a close cooperative reading solely of the text, bringing the collective questions and perceptions of the group to bear through discussion and occasional voluntary performance, we shall seek to develop our own sense of the play. No prerequisites or special training will apply beyond a willingness to read thoughtfully, share…

If we try to imagine a 19th century Romantic artist, this person would have to be highly emotional, possess great talent, and also suffer from mental instability. The composer, Robert Schumann (1810–1849), was the perfect specimen. His was a difficult, but rich and fruitful life with a supporting cast almost as interesting as the composer himself. There was his wife, Clara, the most famous pianist of her time; Clara’s father and Schumann’s teacher, Frederick Wieck, a man of towering presence who was unnaturally bound to Clara, his best…

We live in an exciting time for science, with rapid and fundamental discoveries coming from the biomedical sciences, technology, and the physical sciences. This seminar brings a series of graduate students or postdoctoral scholars from Harvard or MIT to discuss their research. All speakers have been trained in science communication by Harvard’s Science in the News graduate organization. Past topics have included renewable energy technology, the use of bacteria to improve the productivity of agriculture, and current topics in robotics. This seminar is a great choice for students…

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has been a leader of significant environmental victories in New England. A local advocacy group, CLF has been a prime mover in bringing clean energy online using law, science, and markets to create change. CLF President Brad Campbell and other advocates — all on the frontlines of environmental advocacy — will share the tactics and strategies used to outpace the nation on environmental issues, i.e. protecting our oceans and iconic marine life and fighting for clean drinking water. We’ll learn our legal rights…

The Wittlesbacher Prince Electors in Bavaria and the Dukes in Wurtemberg were significant art and music patrons. The Ludwigsburg Palace outside Stuttgart and the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich are well-known pieces of their legacy. And the music at these courts was significant. While many of these musicians are less famous today, the music was no less splendid than the palaces where it was presented. In this course we will explore this rich musical heritage by looking closely at music by Johann Caspar Kerll, Agostino Stefanni, Johann Christop Pez,…

In today’s highly partisan political environment, many worry that our country has lost its way and is headed in the wrong direction. Don’t despair. Jon Meacham’s recent book, The Soul of America: the Battle for Our Better Angels, offers hope that these angels will indeed prevail, although the outcome is far from certain. To examine Meacham’s thinking in more detail and consider the assumptions on which he bases his argument, join Andy Hertig for six sessions of discussion in October and early November. For maximum benefit from each…

Few major events in history are more often misconstrued than the (roughly) two centuries of the wars of the Crusades. On the one side, traditionalists claim the mantle of religious righteousness or social liberation of the oppressed as the justification of these wars. Revisionists see in them all the evils that can possibly be attributed to Western religious and social practices: intolerance, violence, racism and colonialism. In the simplest view, a bunch of armored fanatics show up in the Holy Land, and after a few crashing battles with…

The first two lessons in this course on Islam will cover the first 13 centuries from the death of Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire in World War I. It is important to understand Islamic military expansion over those centuries because it is the foundation for what occurs in the 20th and 21st centuries. In the last six sessions there will be a significant discussion of how European colonialism impacted Islam following World War I and the interwar period from 1919-1939. Much of what occurred during that period set…