Class Description
This class is full, but you can still register for the second section of the class on Saturdays!
“In Pursuit of Color: How Obsession with Dyes and Pigments Drove Civilizations” is a global history of humanity’s desire for color—and the extraordinary lengths it inspired. From ancient seashells and Himalayan lapis lazuli to Mesoamerican cochineal insects, saffron harvests, industrial synthetic greens, and even the unsettling use of “mummy brown,” this course traces how pigments and dyes functioned as far more than decoration. They were engines of trade, catalysts of exploration, markers of political power, and objects of religious devotion.
Across six vivid case studies, we follow how the search for stable, brilliant, and rare colors shaped empires, redirected commerce across continents, and transformed science, labor, and culture. Each session reveals a different dimension of this hidden global history, showing how something as seemingly aesthetic as color became deeply entangled with economics, empire, and human ingenuity. The course combines rich visual materials with guided discussion to bring this overlooked history to life.
Nina Wieda teaches at Northwestern University. She received her PhD in Russian literature from Northwestern University and an MA in nationalism studies from Central European University.
Interested but not available on these days? Register for the other section of this class running on Saturdays!
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 28
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
No Required Materials
A Brief Syllabus
- Imperial Purple: Seashells and Sovereignty
- Ultramarine Blue: The Stone That Crossed Empires
- Crimson Conquest: Insects, Empire, and the Atlantic Shock
- Saffron Gold: The World’s Most Expensive Harvest
- Verdigris and Scheele’s Green: The Beauty That Turned Toxic
- Mummy Brown: Bodies, Antiquities, and the Limits of Color
Cost and Registration
This class is full, but you can still register for the waitlist or the second section of the class on Saturdays!
6 Sessions, $270 ($243 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($270), Community Supported ($250), and Sponsor ($290). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
Having trouble signing up? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to registration by clicking here.
Register for WaitlistThe views and opinions expressed in this class and/or by the instructor are not necessarily representative of the Newberry. We aim to ensure that in our classes, participants can have respectful disagreement to foster critical thinking. This is a space to challenge and expand our own worldviews to work towards better understanding and appreciating humanity.
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