As a young social worker, Frances Perkins witnessed the traumatic Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911, which killed 146 workers. She immediately became an activist, as well as a lifelong advocate for critical reforms and programs. Learn how Labor Secretary Perkins teamed with FDR to create the New Deal legislation, which continues today.
Delve into the reality and psyche of the brave women who tempted both fate and the ire of King Henry VIII for the title of Queen. Read how history has painted Henry and the Queens. Did some “fail” in the end because they wanted more than the Tudor life? Were they trying to break out of a mold?
With regards to Western civilization, all roads do indeed lead to Rome. Mary Beard, the esteemed classicist at Cambridge University, takes us on a journey to the heart and soul of Rome, from its inception in 753 BC, through its Republican phase, and into its Imperial age -- nearly a thousand-year span of triumph and tragedy, success and strife.
"... A magisterial account of Rome and its remarkable ascent from an obscure agrarian backwater to the greatest empire the world has ever known." The reader is not only witness to the fascinating birth of Rome, but also its inevitable decline.
This course will be conducted as a book seminar/reading seminar drawing from the book “The Search for Modern China” by Jonathan D. Spence. The book will be read by all participants and thoroughly discussed in the four sections (one quarter in each session).
Picasso's work is like a diary, as he stated. Through a chronological approach, examples of his paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, sculptures, and his designs for decor and costumes for the Ballets Russes will be discussed.