Arts & Culture

In his new book, “Guantánamo: An American History,” lecturer Jonathan Hansen uncovers the rich and controversial history of an American empire on the tip of Cuba.

Rem Koolhaas, a professor in practice of architecture and urban design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), shared his thoughts on those and other subjects before an overflow crowd at Piper Auditorium with a presentation titled “Current Preoccupations.”

On a chilly afternoon in January, nine students watched in excited amazement as three leather-clad metalsmiths lifted a glowing crucible filled with molten bronze and poured fiery metal into sculpture molds.

Through her art and articulate explanations of her own struggle with an eating disorder, visiting artist Judith Shaw explained the internal experience of victims of anorexia to her audience at the opening reception of “Body of Work” at the Student Organization Center at Hilles.

Through studio sessions at the New England Sculpture Service, the course “Cast in Bronze: A Workshop in Exploring and Creating Bronze Sculpture” provided the opportunity not only to create bronze sculptures, but also to better understand the practice and craft of making art.

Harvard students braved the snow to welcome Lady Gaga to campus.

During a lecture that is part of a series of master classes sponsored by Harvard’s Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard Professor Ingrid Monson explored the genius behind John Coltrane’s 1965 jazz album “A Love Supreme.”

On the tricentennial celebration of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s birth, the author and philosopher is being honored with an exhibition of his works at the Houghton Library. “Rousseau and Human Rights” continues through March 23.

A new book explores the connections among World War II scientists, the V-2 missile, and the U.S. race to the moon, led by German émigré Wernher von Braun.

A leading cultural and intellectual historian of Renaissance Europe, Princeton Professor Anthony Grafton suggests that the diligent work of 16th-century scholar Joseph Scaliger, in particular, led to the theory that the Last Supper may well have been in fact a Passover Seder.

A groundbreaking speech by Ralph Waldo Emerson at Harvard Divinity School in 1838 helped to transform faith, spur the transcendentalist movement, and change the future of Harvard.

Museum educators are using their collections to help members of the Harvard community explore salient issues like creativity and leadership in new ways.

As a liberal arts college, Harvard trains its students broadly so they can adapt nimbly to a rapidly changing world. Increasingly, appreciating and participating in music are integral parts of student life.

One of the many student-led musical groups on campus, The Nostalgics keep a Detroit sound tradition alive as Harvard’s Motown and soul band.

For his new book, Robert Sampson studied the Second City’s ups and downs for 15 years to outline patterns for many modern American cities.

Created in 2001, Mariachi Véritas de Harvard is a student-run group that focuses exclusively on the mariachi musical tradition.

Members of the Harvard community gather regularly in the basement of the Memorial Church for an informal hour of Gregorian chant singing under the guidance of Thomas Kelly, Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music.

Founded as the Pierian Sodality in March 1808 by a handful of students, today the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra is a collection of more than 100 accomplished musicians who present four major concerts each year.

During her time at Harvard, Jazz singer and junior Madison Greer has developed her skills in music theory and music performance and learned how to “front” a band.

Transit Gallery at Harvard Medical School, with a new show up, invites busy walkers to slow down and look. Co-exhibitors Svetlana Boym and Deb Todd Wheeler will discuss their work and attend a reception on Feb. 15.

At Harvard as part of an ongoing lecture and performance series, musician and composer Wynton Marsalis met with the Harvard community for two far-reaching discussions in which music and the arts played seminal roles.

“Queloides,” an art exhibit visiting Harvard, shows how racial stereotypes prevailed even after the Cuban Revolution.

Backed by an all-star band, Wynton Marsalis explored the “mulatto identity of our national music” with a rollicking performance and a thoughtful lecture on America’s porous tuneful genres at Sanders Theatre Feb. 6.

With a new museum wing in Tel Aviv, a Harvard architect offers a middle-ground paradigm for buildings that display art.

Two of Jane Austen’s letters — thousands of which were written but only dozens of which were preserved — undergo careful repairs at Harvard, where they reside at Houghton Library.

In his new book, noted historian Niall Ferguson sees Europe and America as facing a profound crisis of confidence in what the future holds.

The Music Department’s Blodgett Chamber Music Series will continue with a performance by the Chiara Quartet on Feb. 17. Tickets are free and available at the Harvard Box Office beginning Feb. 3.

Wynton Marsalis continues his two-year lecture series at Harvard with an exploration of root styles of American music in Sanders Theatre on Feb. 6.

The Silk Road Ensemble concluded its January Harvard residence with a Learning From Performers concert featuring four newly commissioned works.

Across campus, students participated in a series of arts intensives during January’s Wintersession that let them tap their creative talents.