History   

On the surface understood as opposing colors, black and white represented the eternal battle between good and evil—but they also played far more nuanced roles in artistic iconography, fashion, and the ideologies that helped medieval people understand their place in the world. Black was the color of both demons and the Benedictine monastic attire; white, eschewed by the ancient world in favor of garishly painted marble, became a medieval symbol of purity. This lecture will explore the multivalent meanings of these “essential” colors across a broad array of media to unpack their complicated roles in the medieval imagination.

 

Winston Churchill’s life was a roller coaster of bitter failures and glorious achievements, of which recent film biographies only scratch the surface. This 2-lecture series tells the full story, including Churchill’s youthful meteoric rise to the corridors of British political power, and his ensuing setbacks in World War I and dubious party-switching that left him, at middle age, a near-forgotten back-bencher. Only his prescient diagnosis of Hitler’s threat propelled his resurgence, setting the stage for his unparalleled leadership of Britain during World War II and beyond. Also, Churchill's support of Jewish causes, while far from perfect, stood out compared with those of his British contemporaries. Still, Churchill’s willingness to cede spheres of influence to Stalin undercut FDR’s bid for a new international order, and his clinging to a dying British imperialism and stubborn indifference to wartime India’s mass famine hastened the demise of British rule. Throughout, we will listen to and watch Churchill’s speeches, which defined the preeminent value of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.

Reaching a peak in 13th-14th century Paris, medieval ivory carving stands on the shoulders of ancient Greek and Roman ivories—but what was this unique material used for, and why? Artists opted to use this warm, lustrous material for the covers of liturgical books as well as for boxes carved with scenes of romances. How was ivory acquired, from what animals, and relying on which trade connections? Join us as we examine some exquisite carvings first intended for the medieval eyes of bishops, pilgrims, and besotted noblewomen.

Created during the golden age of manuscript illumination, this 15th-century devotional masterpiece boasts exquisitely painted miniatures, showcasing a wide array of scenes from the labors of the seasons to God dramatically casting Lucifer out of heaven. A feast for the eyes, this lecture will explore the manuscript imagery in depth, European courtly patronage, and the lives of the three brothers (who ultimately died of plague) credited with this masterwork.

 

In this lecture, Jess Velona, who was an appellate law clerk for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will mix personal stories from his work for RBG with video clips to show how Ginsburg never fit into anyone's mold. A quiet, unassuming person, she became a pioneer for women in the legal profession and the top advocate for women's constitutional rights. And yet, while supportive of Roe v. Wade, she urged that abortion rights be anchored in something sturdier than privacy - advice that liberals ignored to their detriment. RBG was a moderate, consensus-building federal appellate judge who won near-unanimous support for the Supreme Court, but then she became "Notorious RBG," a liberal icon known for her passionate dissenting opinions. Finally, her decision not to retire early was lamented by many of those who most admired her life and career.