History Lessons in NYC, New York

Dinosaurs! Science! Adventure! Break out your pith helmet as we embark upon a brazen expedition through the halls of New York City's world-famous American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Join your maverick tour guide as we deftly navigate this massive 27-building, 1.6 million square foot landmark cultural institution. Learn the science...

From the debauched slums of Victorian London to dry martinis and fancy cocktail parties,gin has had a remarkable journey, a story that reflects the ever changing moods and sensibilities of society at large. Like many other spirits, it began life in the alchemist’s workshop as a medicinal cure-all, a link it would retain as a mainstay of European...

In this talk, we'll first discuss the origins of coffee and coffee houses as a shared communal space. On our world tour, we will sample different coffeehouse experiences throughout history. After that we'll dive into the United States's love affair with coffee shops,particularly in the last century: coffeehouses as a counterculture performance...

Meet the badass Brooklynites who brought us the ballot. Behind the stately facades of Brooklyn Heights’ most gracious brownstones lies the history of firebrand feminism! The wise “women of Brooklyn” were doctors, lawyers, educators and orators who made some of the foremost contributions to the Suffrage movement. Join us for a walk through their...

Full Course Name: Meet the Curators: Donald Albrecht, Curator of Architecture and Design As part of the new “Meet the Curators” tour series, join Donald Albrecht, Curator of Architecture and Design, as he guides you through the exhibition Cycling in the City: A 200-Year History. Park your bike outside and come inside to explore the complex, creative,...

WrestleMania meets Debate Club Your hosts Meg Pierson, Zak Martellucci, and Dustin Growick lead a rotating cast of special guest experts in a battle royale of serious—and not so serious—topics.  Who will come out on top? Dinosaurs or mammals? Biology or physics? Space or oceans? Chock-full of trivia, games, and prizes,...

Cities are inherently contradictory. For example, only about 3% of the land area in the U.S. can be qualified as ‘urban’, yet those areas host about 80% of our total population. Urban space is both a minority in its use and a majority in terms of how many people live within it. Another contradiction is how dependent urban space is on...

Deconstructivism: 1980-present Leaders of the deconstructivism movement: Frank Gehry (USA), Zaha Hadid (England), Peter Eisenman (USA), Rem Koolhaas (Holland), Daniel Libeskind (USA)

Why do we want what we want? The critique of capitalism is very often associated – by both proponents and antagonists – with a critique of consumerism which, in turn, is treated as a pathology of individual desire. People should stop shopping; people should eschew goods; people should want less; people should police their own desires (or, if they...

For more than two decades, production artist John Kurdewan worked side by side with the late, great Bill Cunningham, who as a photographer, fashion documentarian, and writer, captured New York's ever-changing social and sartorial scenes for The New York Times. Cunningham's iconic Times pages have long been...

History Series: The Rise of the Modern World - The Industrial Revolution & The Factory System The first successful example of the modern factory was built in Derby-England in 1721. This one event would change the world's history forever. Today, the factory system is still going strong. The largest factory in the world is the Foxconn factory in...

Since the launch of Napster in 1999, there has been a massive transformation in how we create and consume media. This class charts the waves of change over the past two decades. We’ll start by looking at the tools and technology that underpin the digital revolution.  We’ll then trace what’s happened...

Why Your Train is F*cked: A love/hate show about the history of the MTA You know when your train is f*cked – this is the show that tells you WHY. Get on board for a deep dive into the history of the MTA. Whether you love it, hate it, or want to compose more informed rage-tweets about it during your next 20 minute delay – we’ve got you covered....

Post Modernism: 1960-1980s The contributions of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Michael Graves (USA), Aldo Rossi, Carlo Scarpa (Italy), Charles Moore (USA) who defined Po-Mo

At first glance, the work of science seems to provide empirically-grounded, universal explanations of natural and cultural phenomena. Yet as historians, anthropologists, and philosophers of science contend, such an understanding is at odds with the actual history of science, a history littered with racialized others serving as foils for the development...