Summer Spark

Summer Spark (formerly Blast Courses) is a series of interactive summer humanities courses offered by AGHI since 2020. These four‑week online seminars invite all members of the public to explore big ideas, ask questions, and develop new skills in a flexible and engaging format. Led by early-career instructors, Summer Spark courses create welcoming spaces where learners of all backgrounds—especially those with no prior experience in the topic—can listen, discuss, wonder, and connect with a community of curious thinkers. Although reimagined and renamed, Summer Spark continues the spirit of our courses by offering accessible, thought‑provoking humanities learning for everyone.

Every Summer Spark Course is:

  • Open to all students – truly, everyone! Adults aged 16 to 116+ are welcome.
  • Interactive – you can ask questions and get responses from the instructor, plus share relevant experiences and ideas of your own with the instructor and your coursemates
  • Online + Flexible – all class sessions are asynchronous video/audio, so you can watch/listen at whatever time works for you.
  • Low-commitment – about 2 hours/week, no homework
  • Entry-level – no previous knowledge or experience expected.
  • Question-focused – asking big, thought-provoking questions that will get you thinking about art, history, culture, and the world around you in new ways.

Note: As there’s no tracking or evaluation of individual students, there is no credit or certificate for completing a course.

Courses will run July 6 – July 31, 2026. Registration is now open! You can also browse the previous year’s courses below. Questions? Email ([email protected]).

Summer 2026 Courses

Registration is now open! Click a class below for full details and registration information.

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Square graphic with a bright yellow-green background. On the left side, bold uppercase green text reads “CAMILLE ROCHE.” Below it, in italic green text arranged across multiple lines, is the subtitle: “France & America: A Transatlantic Friendship.” In the bottom-right corner, there is a small circular green-and-teal icon containing a right-pointing arrow.
Square graphic with a bright teal background. On the left side, bold uppercase purple text reads “LEIB CELNIK.” Below it, in italic purple text arranged on multiple lines, is the subtitle: “Resisting Time: A Brief History of Art Conservation.” In the bottom-right corner, there is a small purple circular icon containing a right-pointing arrow.
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Past Courses

Summer 2025

  • Histories of Maryland in Africa, Africa in Baltimore, with instructor Sandy Peeples
  • Sweat, Study, Stay Strong: How the Ancient World Inspired Modern Fitness, with instructor Keisuke Nakajima (Classics)
  • How to Read a Translation, with instructor Brad Harmon (MLL)
  • The Mother of God: the Many Lives of the Virgin Mary, with instructor Marco Pomini (History of Art)
  • Media, Morality, and Mayhem: The History of Moral Panic, with instructor Magdalene Klassen (History)
  • Craft and Power: The Anthropology of Making in the 21st Century, with instructors Alaa Saad and Jonas Johnson (Anthropology)
  • Tombs, Temples, and Immortality: The Ancient Egyptian Afterlife, with instructor Tori Finlayson (Near Eastern Studies)
  • Camp, Kitsch, Sentimental, and Cringe: Understanding the Categories of Bad Taste, with instructor Noushin Ahdoot (CTL)
  • Herbs, Acupuncture, and Moxibustion: Living Histories of Medicine in Asia, with instructor: Yemok Jeon (History of Medicine)

Summer 2024

  • “Don’t Lose Your Head!: Tracing the Disembodied Head Through Culture, Fairy Tales, Food, and Beyond” with instructor Rini Barman (Anthropology)
  • “Truth & Historical Dramas: Slavery, Data & Film” with instructor Arianna Browne (History)
  • “‘Exquisite is her Splendor’: Women in Ancient Egypt” with instructor Tori Finlayson (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “From Clay to Code: A Journey Through the History of Writing” with instructor Marc Flores (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “Shakespeare on Screen and Stage: Adaptations and Us” with instructor Neah Lekan (English)
  • “Fatal Allure: Imagining Death” with instructor Keisuke Nakajima (Classics)
  • “More Than a Feeling: Sensory Experience in Ancient Egypt” with instructor Maarten Praet (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “Sushi, Ramen, and Tempura: The History of Food (Ex)Change in Japan” with Wesley Sampias (History)
  • “Chess as Art— From Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’ to ‘The Queen’s Gambit’” with instructor Jonah Shallit (English)
  • “Ancient Highways: Trade Routes of the Middle East and North Africa” with instructor John L. Shannon (Archaeology/Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies)
  • “2500+ Years of Artificial Life: A.I. and the Idea of the Human” with instructor Dr. Chris Taylor (CTL)
  • “The Image of China Abroad and at Home” with instructor Shengshuang Wang (Modern Languages/Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies)
  • “Poetic Architectures, Building Worlds” with instructor Jess Yuan (Writing Seminars)

Summer 2023

  • “1000 Bread, 1000 Beer: Food & Drink in Ancient Egypt,” Instructor: Dr. Morgan Moroney (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “Insurrection & Conspiracy: America & Ancient Rome,” Instructor: Juan Dopico (Classics)
  • “Listening to the Past: Clues to the Social Lives of Ancient Egyptians,” Instructor: Alison Wilkinson (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “The Meaning of Extinction: Cinema and the End of the World,” Instructor: Brad Harmon (German/Modern Lang. & Lit.)
  • “Nature Poetry,” Instructor: Martin Michálek (Classics)
  • “Power, Pleasure, Personhood: Indian Painting, 1500-2000,” Instructor: Meghaa Ballakrishnen (Art History)
  • “Reform or Revolution: Political Rebellion in German Thought and Literature from Plato to Star Wars,” Instructor: Luke Beller (German/Modern Lang. & Lit)
  • “The Stories Maps Tell: Ancient Civilizations to Modern Readers,” Instructor: Paige Paulsen (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “Writing Poetry of the Environment,” Instructor: Samantha Neugebauer (Writing Seminars)

Summer 2022

  • “The Atomic Age Today,” instructor: Ruoyu Li (Political Science)
  • “Ancient Poetry at the End of the World,” instructor: Martin Michalek (Classics)
  • “Fast Fiction,” instructor: Eric Emmons (Writing Seminars)
  • “A Voyage and the Marvel: Discovering Maryland in the 17th Century,” instructor: Ambra Marzocchi (Classics)
  • “Glory of an Ancient, Storied Land: Tolkien and the Ancient World,” instructor: Kathryn H. Stutz (Classics)
  • “Cut and Paste: Remediating the DIY Archive through the Creation of Cyber-Zines,” instructor: Lauren Mushro (MLL)
  • “Where Are We at Home? Literature of Exile,” instructor: Marta Cerreti (MLL)
  • “Tomorrow Will Be Too Late: Reading The Second Sex,” instructor: Thomas Mann (Political Science)
  • “Talk Like an Egyptian: Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs,” instructor: Maarten Praet (Near Eastern Studies)
  • “The Production of Forensic Space in Crime Fiction,” instructor: Antonia Grousdanidou (MLL)  

Summer 2021

  • “Exploring Uncanny Valleys in Contemporary Literature” – instructor: Antonia Grousdanidou [Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures]
  • “Surgery, Herbs, and Amulets: A Social History of Ancient Medicine” – instructor: Dr. Lingxin Zhang [Dept. of Near Eastern Studies]
  • “Medieval Irish Sagas” – instructor: Daniel McClurkin [Dept. of English]
  • “Reading Poetry for Everyday Life” – instructor: Martin Michalek [Dept. of Classics]
  • “Letters from Prison—Homegrown Terrorism and Basque Nationalism” – instructor: Lauren Mushro [Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures]
  • “Introducing Gilgamesh” – instructor: Michael Chapin [Dept. of Near Eastern Studies]
  • “Science and Utopian Fiction” – instructor: Mitchell Cram [Dept. of English]

Summer 2020

  • “Modern Painting and Prostitution” – instructor: Meghaa Ballakrishnen [Art History]
  • “How to Read Poetry” – instructor: Joel Childers [English]
  • “Science and Utopian Fiction” – instructor: Mitchell Cram [English]
  • “What is Knowledge?” – instructor: Cara Cummings [Philosophy]
  • “Discriminating Taste: Understanding the French Approach to Fashion, Conversation, Food, and Art” – instructor: Nicole Karam [Modern Languages and Literatures]
  • “Latinx Immigration and Literature: Interpreting the Border” – instructor: Alexandra Lossada [English]
  • “The Northern Irish Troubles: Literature of Conflict” – instructor: Daniel McClurkin [English]
  • “Bad Mothers in Literature, On Screen, and Across History” – instructor: Sarah Ross [English]
  • “Conceptualizing the Pandemic: Emergency Humanities during COVID-19” – instructor: Arpan Roy [Anthropology]
  • “Astronomy and Astrology in Ancient Egypt” – instructor: Lingxin Zhang [Near Eastern Studies]