They appeared in a period of upheaval. They saw the rebuilding of Paris, the rise of industrialism, the ruin of the Franco-Prussian war. They displayed their startling and shocking works in a series of exhibitions from 1874 to 1886. And by the 1890s, this "loose coalition" of artists who rebelled against the formality of the French Academy had created the most famous artistic movement in history. "They" were the Impressionists, and Professor Brettell is your expert curator and guide to a movement that created a new, intensely personal vision of the world.

The global economy in 1950 was defined by a lack of interconnectedness and U.S. economic dominance. More than half a century later, stronger international economic ties and the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies are just two of the dramatic changes that are underway as globalization-the process of the world's diverse countries coming together and sharing experiences, events, and trade-continues to be a force in our economic climate.