Cruise Ship Lectures


BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Rebecca Knuth, a cultural historian, is the author of Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century and Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction. She is a specialist in the global phenomena of cultural preservation and destruction—from war, colonialism, neglect, and greed.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Rebecca Knuth, author of Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the 20th Century, is a cultural historian. She is a specialist in the preservation and destruction of culture and British social history and biography.


Azamara Pursuit   “10-Night Amalfi & Dalmatian Coasts”

Aug. 3-13, 2019

Taormina, Gem of the Mediterranean   We’ll walk Taormina in the footsteps of Greeks, Romans, Arabs, tourists on the Grand Tour, writers including Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote, actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Greta Garbo, and The Godfatherfilm crew.

Discovering Kotor, Montenegro  With its gorgeous bay, medieval roots, and status as a World heritage site, Kotor casts a powerful spell. But is it being loved to death?

Dubrovnik Under Fire  Between 1992 and 1995, Yugoslavia exploded into war and split into six states. What happened to historic Dubrovnik and why was this World Heritage Site shelled?

Venice and the Sea   Explore the fascinating story of how Venice rose from the marshes and became one of the richest maritime cities in the world. Having survived centuries of human enemies, the city now faces modern threats: flooding, population loss, and congestion.


Azamara Pursuit  “7-Night Gems of the Western Med”

July 27-Aug. 3, 2019

       

Artists in Provence   Cezanne lived and died in Aix-en-Provence and Van Gogh immortalized Arles and St. Remy. We’ll walk in their footsteps and trace the influence of Provence on the two painters’ lives and paintings and those of Gauguin and Picasso.

Monaco and Its Royal Family   This is the story of the tiny city-state of Monaco, glamorous Monte Carlo, and tempestuous royal family, the Grimaldis—Prince Rainier, Grace Kelly, and their three children.

Florence and Surviving the 20thCentury. Discover the beauties of Renaissance Florence and probe the city’s response to modern threats from war, looting, bombing, and devastating floods.


Azamara Quest  “Australia-New Zealand Voyage”

January 6-22, 2019

        

World Heritage in Australia and New ZealandUNESCO sites are places of outstanding value to humanity. We’ll explore Australia’s 19 sites which include the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House, historic convict sites, and aborigine sacred places, and New Zealand’s 3 sites.

The Convict Heritage of Australia: Over 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia from 1788 to 1868. They left their mark on the nation’s landscapes and mindsets, and on their descendants–20% of modern Australia’s population. Port Arthur.

Art Deco and New Zealand: The art deco movement of the 1920s and 30s and New Zealand. Because of a destructive earthquake, Napier has the largest collection of art deco buildings outside of Miami.

Destroying Aboriginal Culture: Aboriginal culture has been under threat since colonists came to Australia in the 1780s. Aborigines died from new diseases, were massacred, lost their land, and had their children taken away from them. Since the 1970s, progress has been made toward civil rights and cultural recognition.

The World of Agatha Christie:Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, inhabited and created very English worlds: Torquay, her home Greenway, country villages and homes where bodies are found in the library, and Poirot’s art deco London.  Hers was a quiet life with passion fueling scandal just once.

Highgate Cemetery: London’s Quirky Angkor Wat:Explore burial Victorian style and the world of London’s dead with its sentimental monuments, trailing vines, and high camp Egyptian tombs favored by 1970s horror filmmakers. Meet the inhabitants: Karl Marx, Radclyffe Hall, Dickens’ wife, Douglas Adams, the defector Litvinenko, scientists, and a famous prize fighter are buried here.


Azamara Pursuit  “Mediterranean Mosaic”

Oct. 28-Nov. 6, 2018

Italy’s World Heritage Sites: The UNESCO World Heritage Program and Italy’s 54 sites including Mount Aetna, Florence, Pisa, Rome, historic city centers, villas, churches, and archeological sites.

Napoleon, Corsica, and Looting Italy: Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica. He became the first Emperor of the French, conquered Europe, and looted the cultural treasures of Italy.

Italy and the Monument Men: The incredible story of how a unit of unlikely soldiers, British and American art experts, fought to save Italy’s cultural treasures and sites during World War II.They preserved the past for the future.


Azamara Journey “Bali to Sydney”

January 21 – February 8, 2018

Australia’s World Heritage SitesUNESCO world heritage program and Australia’s 19 sites including the Great Barrier Reef, rainforests, the Sydney Opera House, historic convict sites, and aborigine sacred places.

The Convict Heritage of Australia: Over 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia from 1788 to 1868. They left their mark on the nation’s landscapes and mindsets, and on their descendants–20% of modern Australia’s population.

Destroying Aboriginal Culture: Aboriginal culture has been under threat since colonists came to Australia in the 1780s. Aborigines died from new diseases, were massacred, lost their land, and had their children taken away from them. Have they made progress towards civil rights and cultural recognition?

The Dutch and Indonesia: Ties between Indonesia and the Dutch have spanned 4 centuries of trade, colonization, and power struggles. The Dutch left their mark, but not on what the Indonesians find worth listing with UNESCO: heritage sites and Intangible Heritage—traditions and expressions to be safeguarded, such as dances, puppets, daggers, and batik.

Queen Victoria’s Life and Loves: Victoria mourned her husband obsessively, may have had an affair with one servant—John Brown, and almost lost her throne for love of another—Abdul Karim.  No wonder Victoria’s children burned her letters and censored her diaries.

Jim Thompson, Thai Silk, and a Mysterious Disappearance: Jim Thompson revived the Thai silk industry, only to disappear in 1967 on an afternoon walk. What happened to this famous former spy?

Highgate Cemetery: Explore London’s famous Victorian cemetery and its 160,000 inhabitants including Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, the defector Litvinenko, and a famous prize fighter.

The World of Agatha Christie: Agatha Christie inhabited very English worlds: Torquay, her home Greenway, Poirot’s art deco London, and country villages and homes where bodies are found in the library. Hers was a quiet life with passion fueling scandal just once.


Azamara Journey “Sydney to Singapore”

March 22 – April 8, 2017

Australia’s World Heritage Sites: UNESCO’S natural and cultural sites are places of outstanding value to humanity. We’ll explore the concept of world heritage through Australia’s 19 sites which include the Great Barrier Reef, rainforests, the Sydney Opera House, historic convict sites, and aborigine sacred places.

Destroying Aboriginal Culture: Aboriginal culture has been under threat since colonists came to Australia in the 1780s. Aborigines died from new diseases, were massacred, lost their land, and had their children taken away from them. Since the 1970s, progress has been made toward civil rights and cultural recognition.

The Convict Heritage of Australia: Over 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia from 1788 to 1868. They left their mark on the nation’s landscapes and mindsets, and on their descendants–20% of modern Australia’s population.

Queen Victoria’s Life and Loves: Victoria mourned her husband obsessively, may have had an affair with one servant—John Brown, and almost lost her throne for love of another—Abdul Karim. No wonder Victoria’s children burned her letters and censored her diaries.

The Dutch and Indonesia: Historical ties between Indonesia and the Dutch have spanned 4 centuries of settlement, trade, colonization, and power struggles. They’ve left their mark on the landscape and culture.

Indonesia’s Intangible Heritage: Indonesians are a profoundly artistic people. UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage List identifies these traditions and expressions to be safeguarded: traditional dances, Noken bags, Angklung—a musical instrument, Wayang puppets, Kris daggers, and Batik.

Highgate Cemetery: Explore burial Victorian style and the world of London’s dead with its sentimental monuments, trailing vines, and high camp Egyptian tombs favored by 1970s horror filmmakers. Meet the inhabitants: Karl Marx, Radclyffe Hall, Dickens’ wife, Douglas Adams, the defector Litvinenko, scientists, and a famous prize fighter are among the 160,000 people buried here.

The World of Agatha Christie: Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, inhabited and created very English worlds: Torquay, her home Greenway, country villages and homes where bodies are found in the library, and Poirot’s art deco London. Hers was a quiet life with passion fueling scandal just once.


Queen Elizabeth World Cruise

March 20-30, 2016

Japan and World Heritage: UNESCO’s 1000 natural and cultural sites are places of outstanding value to humanity. We’ll explore the concept of world heritage and Japan’s sites, including historical Kyoto, Mount Fuji, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Queen Victoria’s Life and Loves: Victoria mourned her husband obsessively, may have had an affair with one servant, John Brown, and almost lost her throne for devotion to another, Abdul Karim. No wonder Victoria’s children burned her letters and censored her diaries.

Taiwan’s National Palace Museum: Artifacts representing 10,000 years of Chinese history, including Imperial objects from Beijing’s Forbidden City, were imperiled during World War II and fought over in the Chinese Civil War. These hostages of war and politics finally found safe haven in a great museum in Taipei. The possession of cultural objects matters.

The World of Agatha Christie: Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, inhabited and created very English worlds: Torquay, her home Greenway, country villages and homes where bodies are found in the library, and Poirot’s art deco London. Hers was a quiet life with passion fueling scandal just once.


SeaDream II “Lisbon to San Juan”

Nov. 1-13, 2015

Highgate Cemetery: London’s Quirky Angkor Wat: Explore burial Victorian style and the world of London’s dead with its sentimental monuments, trailing vines, and high camp Egyptian tombs favored by 1970s horror filmmakers. Meet the inhabitants: Karl Marx, Radclyffe Hall, Dickens’ wife, Douglas Adams, the defector Litvinenko, scientists, and a famous prize fighter are buried here.

Keeping Secrets: The diaries of Queen Victoria, letters of Jane Austen, Radclyffe Hall, and the Brontes, the poems of Emily Dickinson, and files of J. Edgar Hoover—for two centuries, family members and executors have burned and suppressed the letters, diaries, and manuscripts of the dead. Why?

Queen Victoria’s Life and Loves: Victoria mourned her husband obsessively, may have had an affair with one servant—John Brown, and almost lost her throne for love of another—Abdul Karim. No wonder Victoria’s children burned her letters and censored her diaries.

Jane Austen and a Life in Place: Who was Jane Austen? What happened to her letters and how did her family whitewash her image (and construct “Aunt Jane”). How is it that we know so little about the woman who lived a constrained life, yet left an enthralling legacy?

Looting the World: Looting is a by-product of war, colonialism, and the lucrative antiquities trade. Temples like Cambodia’s Angkor Wat have been under siege for centuries. Currently, the cultural treasures of the Middle East are being carted away or smashed at a phenomenal rate. Who steals history and why, and who simply wants to erase it?

The World of Agatha Christie: Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, inhabited and created very English worlds: Torquay, her home Greenway, country villages and homes where bodies are found in the library, and Poirot’s art deco London. Hers was a quiet life with passion fueling scandal just once.


Azamara “Discovering Vietnam and Thailand”

January 5 – January 19, 2015

Looting the Temples of Asia: Looting is a by-product of war, colonialism, and the lucrative antiquities trade. Temples are vulnerable and Ayutthaya, Thailand, and Angkor Wat, Cambodia have been under siege for centuries. Who steals history and why?

The French in Vietnam: France’s domination of Vietnam, part of a land they called Indochina, lasted for six decades and ended at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. But Vietnam is still a little bit French. Baguettes are sold in the streets and the seedy colonial buildings of Hanoi are irresistibly charming.

Vietnam’s World Heritage Sites: UNESCO’S 1000 natural and cultural sites are places of outstanding value to humanity. We’ll explore the concept of world heritage through Vietnam’s sites: Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An Ancient Town and the nearby My Song Sanctuary, Phong Na-Ke Banga National Park, Tran An Scenic Landscape Complex, and first ever Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage, the royal music of Hue.

Jim Thompson, Thai Silk, and a Mysterious Disappearance: Jim Thompson achieved fame by creating a Thai silk industry and building a world class art collection. Then, in 1967, he disappeared while on an afternoon walk. Why was Thompson pivotal in preserving Thai culture and what happened to this famous former spy?

The Destruction of Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge’s unbounded war on traditional and modern Cambodian culture, effectively demonstrated that the line between cultural purification and the obliteration of a people is very thin indeed.


Page last updated: 06/28/19
Page created: 03/24/18