Course Schedule: 8 weeks, Mondays, June 29th–August 17th, 2026, 4–6 pm CDT/5–7pm EDT. Classes meet online via Zoom with recordings available.
Experience traveling through the South Caucasus in the 19th and early 20th centuries through a joint course taught by experts from ARISC and the University of Chicago! With the advent of the railroad, the 19th century saw a revolution in travel with more people journeying further afield than ever before. At the time under the control of the Russian Empire, and subsequently the Soviet Union, the South Caucasus, now the independent countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, were an attractive location for the adventurous traveler. From the famous diarist Anne Lister who visited Georgia with her partner Ann Walker and died at Kutaisi in 1840, to Alexander Dumas père, author of The Three Musketeers who marveled at the fire temple of Baku in Azerbaijan in 1858, and Russian poet Alexander Pushkin’s visit to Armenia in 1829, the region has fascinated travelers. This course explores the South Caucasus through photography, painting, music, and literature as viewed through the eyes of travelers.
Instructors: Brian Fairley (Univ. of Pittsburgh), Rebecca Ruth Gould (SOAS Univ. of London), Polina Kasian (Univ. of Chicago), Anna Oldfield (Coastal Carolina Univ.), Rebecca Ruth Gould (SOAS Univ. of London), Alyssa Mathias (Knox College), Arpi Movsesian (Univ. of Notre Dame), and Tasha Vorderstrasse (Univ. of Chicago).
For more information, and to register for the course, visit this website.
This course has been developed in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) at the University of Chicago.