Heaven on Earth: The History, Art, & Architecture of the Vatican from Antiquity to the Renaissance with Earle Havens, PhD

Lifelong Learning Logo Course Title: Heaven on Earth: The History, Art, & Architecture of the Vatican from Antiquity to the Renaissance

Instructor: Earle Havens, PhD

Brought to you by Odyssey

October 20, 2025 - November 24, 2025 (6 Sessions)

Monday, 6:00PM ET - 7:30PM ET

Virtual via Zoom

Course Description: We will explore in this course the history, art, and architecture of the Vatican in Rome. Following a exploration of its formation in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, we will focus in on several key elements: the history of St. Peter's basilica, the Belvedere Courtyard and Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and Apostolic Palace, and the Vatican Library. The course will draw heavily from the rich rare book and manuscript collections of Johns Hopkins University.

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Johns Hopkins Tuition Remission Policies

Johns Hopkins alumni, staff, faculty and their spouse or domestic partners are eligible for tuition remission for Odyssey lifelong learning courses. Select the correct ticket pricing during registration. If we cannot confirm your eligibility, you will be requested to pay the full registration price for the course. Eligibility details can be found here.

Withdrawals & Refunds:

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100% refund: Prior to the start of the course and after the first class.
No refunds: After the first week of each course unless in exceptional cases.

For single-session courses:
100% refundable within two (2) business days of the event.

Please note, refunds apply only to the tuition portion of an Odyssey participant’s charges and are not applicable to any fees or gifts made to the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association. Registrants will be notified by email if a refund is approved within five (5) business days.

ABOUT Earle Havens
Nancy H. Hall Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, Director of the Virginia Fox Stern Center for the History of the Book in the Renaissance, and Adjunct Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Earle Havens is Nancy H. Hall Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, director of the Virginia Fox Stern Center for the History of the Book in the Renaissance, and an adjunct professor of modern languages and literature at Johns Hopkins University. His academic teaching and published scholarship focus on the history of the book and material texts in early modern Europe, from 1400 to 1750.

Dr. Havens has authored, co-authored, and edited thirteen scholarly books and exhibition catalogues, and dozens of journal articles and book chapters, including Fakes, Lies, and Forgeries: Rare Books and Manuscripts from the Arthur and Janet Freeman Bibliotheca Fictiva Collection (Sheridan Libraries, 2014; 2nd ed. rev., 2016); and (with Walter Stephens, Literary Forgery in Early Modern Europe, 1450-1800 (JHU Press, 2018). He is currently co-editing several books, including with Mark Rankin, The Elizabethan Catholic Underground: Clandestine Printing and Scribal Subversion in the English Counter-Reformation (forthcoming with Brill); and with Erin Rowe and Kelsey Champagne, Women of the Book: The Spiritual Lives of Early Modern Women, 1450-1800 (forthcoming with the Pennsylvania State University Press). In Spring 2024 he once again taught his popular undergraduate seminar, “The History of Fake News from the Flood to the Apocalypse.”

Dr. Havens earned an interdisciplinary joint-PhD in Renaissance Studies and History from Yale University.

Event Date
Starts:
Monday, October 20, 2025
6:00pm EDT

Ends:
Monday, November 24, 2025
7:30pm EDT

Contact
Odyssey
1-800-JHU-JHU1 (548-5481)
odyssey@jhu.edu

Ticket Options

	General Registration	$
	JHU Alumni (all divisions) 50% discount. Alumni status will be confirmed.	$
	JHU Tuition Remission- Faculty, Staff, or Retiree 80% discount. Employment status will be confirmed.	$
	JHU Tuition Remission- Spouse or Domestic Partner 50% discount. Employment status of Spouse/Domestic Partner will be confirmed.	$

Registration Information

Select your registration type

General Registration ($180.00)

JHU Alumni (all divisions) ($90.00)

JHU Tuition Remission- Faculty, Staff, or Retiree ($36.00)

JHU Tuition Remission- Spouse or Domestic Partner ($90.00)

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Heaven on Earth: The History, Art, & Architecture of the Vatican from Antiquity to the Renaissance with Earle Havens, PhD

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