Flowers For a Country by Mindy Weisel (detail)

How Culture Works

Driven by the Intersection of Peoples

What good are the arts? Two faculty members of Harvard University, Martin Puchner, a professor of English and comparative literature, and Maya Jasanoff, a professor of history, converse on how humanity has sought to understand and transmit to future generations not just the “know-how” of life but the “know-why”— the meaning and purpose of our existence, as expressed in art, architecture, religion, and philosophy. They also explore how contact among different peoples has driven artistic innovation in every era.

Mon., April 17, 12–1:15 p.m.; CODE 1J0-264; Members $20; Nonmembers $25

Celebrating Brahms

The Man, His Music, and His Legacy

Impassioned romanticism and classical principles are reconciled in the masterworks of Johannes Brahms. Opera and classical music expert Saul Lilienstein examines the breadth of Brahms’ extraordinary career, from his teenage years playing piano in the brothels of Hamburg to his sweeping triumphs in Vienna and international recognition as the greatest living symphonist. Explore the full range of his work in this series highlighted by film clips and music recordings.

APR 18 Music for Piano and Chamber Ensembles

APR 25 Choral Masterworks and Lieder

MAY 2 Concertos

MAY 9 Symphonic Music, Part I

MAY 16 Symphonic Music, Part 2

5 sessions: Tues., April 18–May 16, 12–1:30 p.m.; CODE 1M2-255; Members $85; Nonmembers $95

More Stories from the American Songbook

Here are more of those wonderful songs we love and the stories behind their long and unexpected lives. Each program takes up the work of one songwriter and a few of his familiar, forever songs, where daydreams, blue skies, and love lost and found still live. Combining a lively lecture with a wide variety of film clips, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson traces how these favorite songs from the Great American Songbook came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same.

APR 19 Blue Skies: Songs by Irving Berlin

MAY 3 My Huckleberry Friend: Songs by Johnny Mercer

MAY 17 The Look of Love: Songs by Burt Bacharach

3 sessions: Wed., Apr. 19, May 3, May 17, 12–1:15 p.m.; CODE 1K0-357; Members $45; Nonmembers $55

Individual sessions: Wed., Apr. 19 (CODE 1K0-358); Wed., May 3 (CODE 1K0-359); Wed., May 17 (CODE 1K0-360); 12–1:15 p.m.; Members $20; Nonmembers $25

Gods and Mortals

A Modern Look at Ancient Greek Myths

Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Gods transform themselves into animals, humans, and shimmering gold to visit the earth in disguise, and mortals use their wits and strength to conquer the forces unleashed by the gods.

Classicist Sarah Iles Johnston looks at some of the best-known tales as well as others that are seldom told; highlights rich connections among characters and stories; and draws attention to the often-overlooked perspectives of female characters.

Wed., April 26, 6:45 p.m.; CODE 1K0-361; Members $20; Nonmembers $25

Ever-Green Vietnamese Cooking

Starring Plants from Land and Sea

Although many people think of Vietnamese cooking as beefy pho and meat-filled sandwiches, traditional Vietnamese cooking has always involved a lot of plants and seafood and a little meat. Andrea Nguyen, a James Beard Award–winning author and one of the country’s leading voices on Asian cuisine, explores where plant-based cooking meets the dynamic flavors of Vietnamese cuisine in her new book Ever-Green Vietnamese. It details how cooks in her home country draw on their natural resourcefulness and Buddhist traditions to showcase a wide array of herbs and vegetables in flavorful, comforting recipes.

Join Nguyen in conversation with the Washington Post’s Joe Yonan, as she discusses her inspiration behind the book and its dishes and shares some practical cooking tips. Following the conversation, enjoy light bites provided by chef Kevin Tien of the modern Vietnamese restaurant Moon Rabbit at The Wharf in D.C. Copies of Ever-Green Vietnamese (Ten Speed Press) are available for purchase.

Sun., April 30, 4 p.m.; CODE 1L0-515; Ripley Center; Members $30; Nonmembers $35

Virgil’s Aeneid

Perusing Ancient Rome’s Greatest Epic Poem

Two millennia after it was composed, Virgil’s Aeneid remains one of the most influential and remarkable works in Western literature. Joseph Luzzi, a professor of comparative literature at Bard College, delves into what makes Virgil’s great work tick.

This ancient poem that recounts the myth of how the Roman empire was founded remains relevant today, Luzzi says. He explains why the Aeneid has unusual force and how it continues—as well as departs from—the storyline of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey

Thurs., May 11, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1J0-262; Members $30; Nonmembers $35

Robinson Crusoe: The Classic Castaway

Robinson Crusoe (1719) is one of the first English novels and still one of the best. Everyone knows the basic story: Marooned alone on an island, Crusoe must create a new life of security and self-sufficiency from local resources and the items he’s able to rescue from the ship.

Daniel Defoe’s fascinating account of the survival—and the eventual triumph—of Robinson Crusoe represents a key field test of Enlightenment economics. Which is the climax of the novel: when Crusoe discovers the footprint of another man on the island or when he re-invents agriculture there with a few discarded seeds he finds in a small bag? Defoe’s prose style is entirely accessible to 21st-century readers. Join public humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson for an evening with this splendid and influential work of English fiction.

Tues., May 16, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1K0-365; Members $30; Nonmembers $35

Jazz and Blues on Film

While 20th-century jazz and blues artists have been well documented in books and documentaries, the cinematic achievements of these remarkable performers have either been downplayed or deeply undervalued. This is especially puzzling, says film historian Max Alvarez, because of the tremendous impact blues musicians and singers had on commercial films from the late 1920s to the early 1960s, where they easily stole any musical comedy, show business biopic, or edgy melodrama in which they had fleeting cameos.

Alvarez leads an electrifying two-part musical journey that begins in 1929 with Bessie Smith’s only screen appearance (Dudley Murphy’s St. Louis Blues) and culminates in Dave Brubeck’s work in the 1962 British drama All Night Long. As a bonus, Alvarez pays tribute to a 1986 French film many consider to be the greatest ever made about jazz and blues: Bertrand Tavernier’s ’Round Midnight starring brilliant tenor sax player Dexter Gordon.

2 sessions: Wed., May 17 and 24, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1K0-367; Members $50; Nonmembers $60

George Gershwin: Our Love Is Here to Stay

George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was a brilliant composer of both popular songs (Swanee, I Got Rhythm, They Can’t Take That Away From Me) and more serious music, including Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess. Pianist and Gershwin authority Robert Wyatt explores the composer’s life and legacy, sharing film clips, music recordings, and rare film footage, along with unpublished photographs. Archival recordings of his 1934 radio program, “Music by Gershwin,” are also featured. S’wonderful! Tues., May 23, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1M2-261; Members $30; Nonmembers $35

Music Inspired by the Natural World

A painter can create entire worlds on a flat piece of paper. But where is a composer to start when seeking to represent the natural universe through sound? Centuries of exquisite nature-inspired concert works show just how well it can be done through direct imitation, allegory, and symbolism. Over time, composers have fashioned powerful musical vocabularies that guide us to “see” harmonies as visual images.

In this 4-session course, popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin uses her unique live piano demonstrations and fascinating film clips to explore how such masters as Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Vivaldi, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Saint-Saëns, and countless others composed beloved works that conjure our natural world.

MAY 24 Earth: Its Creation, Seasons, and Landscapes

MAY 31 Heavenly Marvels

JUNE 7 Creatures of the Earth, Sea, and Sky

JUNE 14 Water, Water Everywhere

4 sessions: Wed., May 24–June 14, 12–2 p.m.; CODE 1K0-366; Members $95; Nonmembers $105

Bob Dylan and American Memory

“’Twas a dark day in Dallas, November ’63,” begins Bob Dylan’s most recent magnum opus, the song Murder Most Foul. From his earliest days as a songwriter, he presented himself as a witness to American history in songs about dispossessed workers and racial injustice. As his musical output unfolded, Dylan increasingly focused on how our art forms construct a common American culture and memory—topics that have become more significant in his work since the beginning of the current century.

Timothy Hampton, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, examines some of Dylan’s most famous songs to reveal his deep interest in historical themes and social change as well as how his music asks us to think about the way the past is remembered and shaped by art.

Thurs., May 25, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1H0-768; Members $20; Nonmembers $25

How Disney Conquered the Entertainment Universe

Over the last nine decades, the Walt Disney Company has played a huge role in transforming every facet of the entertainment business, including feature-length cartoons, television, theme parks, film, Broadway musicals, and streaming services. Media historian Brian Rose examines a remarkable story of creativity and media growth as he traces how the company evolved from a small cartoon studio in 1923 to one of the most powerful forces in worldwide entertainment today.

Mon., June 12, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1J0-269; Members $20; Nonmembers $25

Jane Austen: Forever Fascinating

Why do so many readers throughout the world still clamor for the books of Jane Austen? How did she help reinvent the novel with her powerfully original writing and unique artistic vision? And why is her life the subject of ongoing fascination—and Hollywood movies? Joseph Luzzi, a professor of literature, explores the remarkable career and astonishing life of a woman who overcame countless obstacles to become one of the most revered authors in the literary tradition.

10 a.m. Jane Austen: Life and Work of an Unlikely Legend

11:15 a.m. Sense and Sensibility

12:15 p.m. Break

12:45 p.m. Pride and Prejudice

2 p.m. Persuasion and Concluding Thoughts

Sat., June 3, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; CODE 1J0-267; Members $80; Nonmembers $90

Reading Moby-Dick

The World in a Whale

“In its vast spaces and in Melville’s blazingly original style, Moby-Dick is about…the whole world; it willingly incorporates everything,” writes the critic Edward Said. This tale of yearning, obsession, wreckage, and deliverance has drawn generations of readers into its obsessive, unfinished quest. Readers have seen reflected in its pages the urgent questions of their times, including issues of democracy, race, sexuality, labor, and environment. Diverse artists in astounding number have responded to Herman Melville’s words. Samuel Otterson, a professor of English at Berkeley University, explores topics including the reception of Moby-Dick, ways of reading this surprising and heterogeneous book, and the strange qualities of a work that attempts to “incorporate everything.”

Tues., June 13, 6:30 p.m.; CODE 1H0-774; Members $20; Nonmembers $25

Henry David Thoreau on Work

Meet your new favorite coworker: Henry David Thoreau. The popular conception of the transcendentalist writer as a navel-gazing recluse who was scornful of work and other mundanities isn’t an accurate one. In fact, Thoreau worked hard—surveying land, running his family’s pencilmaking business, writing, lecturing, and building his cabin at Walden Pond—and thought intensely about work in its many dimensions.

In their new book, Henry at Work, authors John Kaag and Jonathan van Bell invite readers to rethink how we work today by exploring an aspect of Henry David Thoreau that has often been overlooked: Thoreau the worker. They reveal that his ideas about work have much to teach us in an age of remote work and automation, when many people are reconsidering what kind of working lives they want to have.

Copies of Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living (Princeton University Press) are available for purchase.

Tues., June 27, 6:45 p.m.; CODE 1L0-518; Members $20; Nonmember $25

Virginia Woolf’s Literary Genius

Why is Virginia Woolf considered one of the most important authors of all time? Join Joseph Luzzi, a professor of literature at Bard College, as he explores Woolf’s remarkable literary contributions. Discover why her innovative writing style, extraordinary emotional insights, and profound level of learning continue to enchant readers worldwide and attract new audiences.

10 a.m. A Masterpiece: Mrs. Dalloway

11:15 a.m. Rethinking a Woman’s Place in the World: A Room of One’s Own

12:15 p.m. Break

12:45 p.m. Reinventing Stream of Consciousness: To the Lighthouse

2 p.m. Identity’s Many Masks: Orlando Sat., July 15, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; CODE 1J0-276; Members $80; Nonmembers $90

All Smithsonian Associates online programs are closed captioned

Unless noted, all programs are presented on Zoom; listed times are Eastern Time. Online registration is required.

Close-up on Warblers

Birding fans are familiar with year-round feathered friends such as northern cardinals and blue jays, but there’s a secret world of neotropical birds that temporarily make their home in North America. Many of these tiny colorful gems are warblers, beautiful insect-eating birds that migrate from as far as South America to breed. Migrating hundreds of miles overnight, these warblers look for any suitable habitat to drop into as dawn approaches. Join naturalist Matt Felperin to learn more about why warblers undertake such a dangerous journey and how to find them in the wild—and enjoy some fantastic warbler photographs.

I N SI DE S C I ENCE Wed., April 12, 7 p.m.; CODE 1NV-034; Members $25; Nonmembers $30

The Geology of Western National Parks

Join geologist Kirt Kempter as he explores the geology of Western National Parks over the course of 2023, with an in-depth look at one location every month. Each program’s content is enhanced by geologic maps, photos, and Google Earth imagery.

APR 10 Zion and Bryce, Utah

MAY 1 Valles Caldera, New Mexico

JUN 5 Death Valley, California

I N SI DE S C I ENCE 3 sessions: Mon., April 10, Mon., May 1, and Mon., June 5, 7 p.m.; CODE 1NV-GE2; Members $60; Nonmembers $75

Individual programs: Mon., Apr. 10 (CODE 1NV-029); Mon., May 1 (CODE 1NV-030); Mon., June 5 (CODE 1NV-031), 7 p.m.; Members $25; Nonmembers $30