NEW Across PMA and PAFA, A Nation of Artists appears less as a patriotic survey than as a contested question: who is allowed to picture America, and who is pictured in return? Prof. Grewe's tour follows the exhibition’s dual structure—PMA’s chronology and PAFA’s thematic encounters—to test the promise of national belonging against histories of expansion, inclusion, patronage and reinvention. We will explore American art as argument, inheritance, cultural unifier and unfinished civic work. (3 Feet: Extensive Walking and Lengthy Periods of Standing.)

NEW Enjoy an introduction to the great Baroque painter Caravaggio and his art, with explorations of some of his most famous paintings. Caravaggio was a mystery. As an artist, he relished in breaking the rules of “good painting,” and then resented it when people criticized his art. In life, he was no saint. Yet his art seems to possess a deep insight into the human condition, and perhaps even into the Divine.

NEW Often overlooked in historical accounts of our country's founding, visionary Black Philadelphians shaped our nation and left a rich legacy as entrepreneurs, civic leaders, abolitionists and soldiers. Consider Cyrus Bustill, Reverend Richard Allen, Reverend Absalom Jones, Reverend John Gloucester, Alice of Dunk's Ferry, the Forten women and others. (see walking tour on page )

IN PERSON Analyze a different topic in depth each week. The topics may currently be in the news while others are more eclectic and focus on timeless issues. American domestic politics as well as foreign policy are constant themes running through many of the topics. Classmates and guest speakers contribute regularly, ensuring a wide variety of points of view.

ONLINE Analyze a different topic in depth each week. The topics may currently be in the news while others are more eclectic and focus on timeless issues. American domestic politics as well as foreign policy are constant themes running through many of the topics. Classmates and guest speakers contribute regularly, ensuring a wide variety of points of view.

NOTE THE DATES HAVE CHANGED. THE CLASS BEGINS ON 10/7 AND ENDS ON 10/28. OTHER DETAILS REMAIN THE SAME.

NEW The stories of Samson, one of the favorite characters in the Hebrew Bible, appear in the Book of Judges, chapters 13-16. Take a look at various topics in the stories, such as historicity, style and genre, and humor. Is the saga of Samson a parody on demigods, an idea that was current in the ancient world (Gilgamesh, a Sumerian king, was 2/3 divine and 1/3 human, a mathematical combination I cannot figure out)?

Via keyboard accompaniment, let’s take a trip back in time when your only worry was what show to watch on TV or listen to on the radio. When Sunday nights belonged to Ed Sullivan, Lucy ruled Mondays and Tuesdays meant Uncle Miltie! When we were “Stuck on Bandaids” and drank that “Heavenly Coffee."

NEW You know about Bloody Sunday in 1965. Visit lesser-known episodes in the long fight for Black voting rights, a rescinding of those rights, a Philadelphia assassination, the Reconstruction-era bloodbaths, the unpunished killings of 20th Century activists, and the recent gutting of the Voting Rights Act. This story is full of heroes and villains, terrible setbacks and inspiring victories. And it's not over. Sara Rimer, Journalist