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History and Culture

  • Explores Varying Interpretations of Historic Events
  • Identifies Patterns and Trends
  • Provides Lively Discussion and Debate

To understand the present, we first must know the past. These courses focus on the origins of civilization, explore the causes and effects of world events, and debate conflicting interpretations of past events. From the world stage to New York City’s five boroughs, examine how history impacts our lives today.

This semester, study in-person or from anywhere in the world from the safety and comfort of your home through online or remote instruction.

The Immigration Act of 1924 (Almost) 100 Years Later

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Oscar Handlin famously wrote, “Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I...

2024 Fall
1 section

From Manors to Museums: Discovering the Treasures of Victorian England

Explore the fascinating architecture, interiors, decorative arts, and fine arts of Victorian...

2024 Fall
1 section

Great Trials in American History

Examine influential and controversial trials and decisions that have affected American history.

2024 Fall
1 section

Russian History: From Lenin to Putin

Explore Russian history from the Tsarist regime to Putin.

2024 Fall
1 section

The City and the Book: Florence, Venice, London, New York

Explore the history of books from the illuminated manuscripts of the Renaissance to the mass market paperbacks of...

2024 Fall
1 section

Global Hotspots Through Foreign Film

Watch powerful foreign films that serve as catalysts for post-screening discussions about present-day issues in the associated geopolitical regions.

2024 Fall
1 section

Politics and Leadership in a Changing Middle East

This course will look at the historical and ideological legacies that influence politics and leadership in the Middle East. It will cover the...

2024 Fall
1 section

The Evolution of American Free Speech

Explore the key free speech debates that have demarcated the boundaries of what can—and cannot—be said in the United States.

2024 Summer
1 section

London's Royal Parks

Explore the rich history of London’s famous royal parks.

2024 Summer
1 section

The American Presidency: Fact vs. Fiction

American presidents are among the most glamourized and villainized, mythologized and fictionalized government figures in the world. Yet the...

2024 Fall
1 section

England¿s Medieval Queens: The Three Eleanors

Learn about the fascinating lives and historical importance of three English queens.

Exuberant Splendors: The Baroque Palaces and Mansions of 17th-century Europe

Explore magnificent palaces and mansions in England, France, Italy, Holland, and Sweden, to reveal the architecture, interiors, and decorative...

Holocaust Memory in America

Explore how the Holocaust has been commemorated, memorialized, and taught in the United States.

The History of Controversial Supreme Court Cases

Explore the history of controversial Supreme Court cases and the country’s reaction to them.

US Foreign Relations: 1960s to the Present

Explore the history of US foreign relations from the first decades of the Cold War and Vietnam to the “present Cold War.”

Espionage: Fact vs. Fiction

Taught by a veteran intelligence professional, this course separates myth from reality in the field of espionage.