Join us as this summer as we explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites!
This is a weekly series that will begin on Friday, May 31st. You can join the series at any time, and you only need to register once. Each of the weekly gatherings will start with a short video lecture, followed by a group discussion.
Below is the schedule of the video topics we will cover in this series, along with a course overview.
Series Schedule:
- Friday, May 31st: Paleolithic Cave Art of Spain and France
- Friday, June 7th: Australia's Great Barrier Reef
- Friday, June 14th: Easter Island and the Moai
- Friday, June 21st: Canada's Rocky Mountains
- Friday, June 28th: Ancient Egyptian Thebes
- Friday, July 5th: We will not meet this week due to the Fourth of July holiday.
- Friday, July 12th: Timbuktu, Islam's Center by the Sahara
- Friday, July 19th: Virunga National Park, Gorilla Sanctuary
- Friday, July 26th: Earliest China: Yinxu and the Oracle Bones
- Friday, August 2nd: The Inca Estate of Machu Picchu
- Friday, August 9th: Iceland's Great Assembly at Thingvellir
- Friday, August 16th: Afghanistan's Lost Bamiyan Buddhas
- Friday, August 23rd: Palmyra, Oasis in the Syrian Dessert
Course Overview:
Since 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated locations of cultural and natural significance that are of outstanding value to humanity as World Heritage Sites.
Sites designated by UNESCO highlight masterpieces of human creative genius, such as great archaeological sites, sublime works of religious architecture, monumental sculpture and painting, classic urban landscapes, and masterworks of architecture and engineering. Similarly, UNESCO also notes our planet’s most magnificent natural features, physical and biological formations, and areas of noteworthy beauty and scientific value.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites comprise a breathtaking panorama of our world’s greatest treasures, both natural and man-made, now encompassing sites in 167 countries. To be familiar with even a sampling of these sites is to appreciate and understand the masterworks of human endeavor down through history, as well as our world’s most extraordinary natural wonders.
In World Heritage Sites: Exploring the World’s Greatest Places, celebrated historian Justin M. Jacobs of American University takes you on a sumptuous tour of 24 of the most outstanding UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [The full course is 24 lectures, but in our library series we will be watching 12 lectures together.]
You can view the full course description and all of the video topics here.
Registration for this event is required.
The library makes every effort to ensure a welcoming and accessible environment. We can provide accommodations for people with disabilities or food allergies at library events. Please contact programs@mfplibrary.org at least seven days before the event to request accommodations.
Successful library programs are designed with age in mind. Please note this program’s age guidelines will be enforced for all active participants.
