Past Minicourses

Since 1992, the Minicourse Program has offered the Madison community and the surrounding area over 312 courses in history, political science, literature, poetry, art, and science.

Summer 2022 (Virtual)

  • Early 20th Century Art of Europe – Dr. Kimberly Rhodes

Spring 2022 (Virtual)

  • Romanesque Art and Architecture – Dr. Rita Keane
  • Environmental Psychology – Dr. Graham Cousens
  • War and Peace: Music of the 40s – Dr. Robert Butts

Winter 2022 (Virtual)

  • New Exhibition Strategies in Art Museums: The Frick Collection, MoMA and British Museum – Dr Barbara Tomlinson
  • Presidential Elections Past and Their Importance for American Government — Dr. Ian Drake

2021 (Virtual)

  • The History of U.S. Constitutional Themes and Concepts – Ian Drake
  • Churchill – Dr. Jonathan Rose
  • 19th-Century European Art: Romanticism to Post-Impressionism – Kimberly Rhodes

Summer 2021 (Virtual)

  • Rock-n-Roll and the Sixties – Dr. James Carter
  • American Architectural History and Materials: The Stuff of Dreams – Janet Foster

Spring 2021 (Virtual)

  • The Romantic Symphony (1820-1910) – Dr. Robert Butts
  • Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture – Dr. Margaret Kuntz

Winter 2021 (Virtual)

  • Exhibitions Interrupted – Dr. Barbara Tomlinson
  • Great Thinkers in the History of Western Political Thought: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx – Dr. Ian Drake

Fall 2020

  • Gothic Art (virtual) – Dr. Rita Keane

Summer 2020

  • The Story of the Symphony (virtual) – Dr. Robert Butts

Winter 2020

  • The World of Exhibitions – Dr. Barbara Tomlinson
  • Religious Pluralism in America – Dr. Jonathan Golden
  • The United Nations in a Changing World – Dr Carlos Yordan
  • How Things Work II – More Physical Concepts in Our Daily World – Dr. Robert Fenstermacher

Fall 2019

  • Nice Presidents Finish Last: The Evolution of Presidential Power — Dr. Dan Cassino
  • Alienation and Civic Culture in America and Europe:  From Kennedy Campaigning to 2020 — Dr. David Cowell
  • Supreme Court of the United States: ‘Top Ten’ Cases You Need to Know and Understand —  Dr. Bruce Peabody
  • Music in America —  Dr. Robert Butts
  • Slavery and the Founding Fathers — Dr. Nicole Yanoso

Summer 2019

  • Utopias in History and Literature — Dr. John Lenz
  • Musicals on Film: Part II — Dr. Robert Butts
  • Short, but not Small: Notable American Short Fiction from Jack London to Lucia Berlin — Laura Driver

Winter/Spring 2019

  • Art That Can Take Your Breath Away — Dr. Barbara Tomlinson
  • How Things Work–Physical Concepts in Our Daily World — Dr. Robert Fenstermacher
  • Romanticism and Modernism: The Story of Russian Composition from Glinka to Shostakovich — Dr. Robert Butts
  • The World Wars and the Great Dictators: Europe 1914-1945 — Dr. Jonathan Rose
  • Franklin Roosevelt and American Democracy: 1933-1945 — Dr. Perry Leavell
  • Tchaikovsky: Russia’s Greatest Composer — Dr. Robert Butts

Fall 2018

  • New Jersey Forests: Diversity, Ecology and Challenges – Sara Webb
  • Mozart: The Creativity of Genius – Robert Butts
  • Memory and the Brain – Graham Cousens
  • Romantic Poetry-British Romantic Extremes – Robert Ready

Summer 2018

  • Looking and Thinking Outside the Box – Barbara Tomlinson
  • Musicals on Film – Robert Butts
  • The Reformation at 500 – David Cowell

Spring 2018

  • The Great War and Modern Memory – William Rogers
  • Natural Beauty and the Appreciation of Natural Environments  –  Erik Anderson
  • Exploring Beethoven  – Robert Butts
  • Great Leaders and Political Ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome  –  John Lenz
  • Music from the Films of Alfred Hitchcock  –  Robert Butt
  • Using Poetry as Access to the Universal – Sean Nevin

Fall 2017

  • A New Era for American Foreign Policy  – Douglas Simon
  • Challenges to Democracy in America – J. Perry Leavell
  • New Jersey at 350+ – David Cowell
  • The Operas of Giacomo Puccini – Robert Butts

Summer 2017

  • Morris County, USA: A Living Tapestry – DelGiudice
  • Leonard Bernstein and American Music – Butts
  • Globalization, Migration and the Refugee Crisis – Goldman

Spring 2017

  • In Search of a Visual Language – DelGiudice
  • Great Art Exhibitions – Tomlinson
  • Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art – Anderson
  • Va Pensiero: the Operas of Verdi – Butts
  • The Politics of Ireland  –  Cowell
  • The 60s and the Vietnam War –  Carter

Fall 2016

  • Music of the 1960s  – Butts
  • Waging Peace – Cowell
  • Greek Tragedy and Comedy – Lenz
  • Five Social Theorists – Reader

Summer 2016

  • Five Centuries of NJ Architecture  –  Foster
  • East Meets West  –  Golden
  • Great Film Scores V – Butts

Spring 2016

  • Art Museums of Washington – Tomlinson
  • The Self and the Illusion of Self – Anderson
  • Introduction to Poetry – Occhiogrosso
  • Key Issues for American Foreign Policy – Simon
  • Music in the Modern Era 1900-1920 – Butts
  • From  Famine to Freedom – Mullan

Fall 2015

  • The Mind-Body Problem – Anderson
  • Topics in Amer. History – Leavell
  • Music in the 1890s – Butts
  • Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey – Lenz
  • Rome – Hamilton
  • What’s going On in Europe? – Cowell

Summer 2015

  • The Middle East in the New Millennium – Jonathan Golden
  • Go for Baroque – Robert Butts

Spring 2015

  • How a Linguist Looks at English –  James Hala
  • Music in the Fifties – Robert Butts
  • America in the Sixties – J. Perry Leavell
  • Five Great Challenges for Philosophy – Erik Anderson
  • Shakespeare: An Introduction – Frank Occhiogrosso
  • The Art of the Italian Renaissance –  Roberto Osti

Fall 2014

  • Churchill: His Britain, His World – Jonathan Rose
  • Music in the 1940s – Robert Butts
  • Egypt Rising: The Making of Modern Egypt – David Cowell

Summer 2014

  • New Jersey at 350 – David Cowell
  • Great Film Scores !V  –  Robert Butts

Spring 2014

  • Artists Who Happen to be Women – Barbara Tomlinson
  • Music in the Twentieth Century: Between the Wars, Part II – Robert Butts
  • Non-State Actors Shaping the International System  – Doug Simon
  • The Poets of Tin Pan Alley – Frank Occhiogrosso
  • America in the Forties and Fifties – J. Perry Leavell
  • The Hebrew Bible and the Religion of Ancient Israel – William Stroker

Fall 2013

  • Causes and Aftermath of the Great Recession – Marc Tomljanovich
  • New Jersey at 350:  A Survey of New Jersey’s History  – David Cowell
  • A Brief History of American Photography  – James DelGiudice
  • Religion and Social Ethics  – Darrell Cole
  • Music in the Twentieth Century: Between the Wars  – Robert Butts
  • America in the Twenties and Thirties  – J. Perry Leavell

Summer 2013

  • Great Film Scores III – Robert Butts
  • The Art of Medieval Europe  –  Alison Poe

Spring 2013

  • Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein – Frank Occhiogrosso
  • Changing Nature of National Security – Douglas Simon
  • The Operas of Giacomo Puccini – Robert Butts
  • Five Weeks in Philadelphia – Barbara Tomlinson
  • America in the Progressive Era –  Perry Leavell
  • The Gnostic Gospels — William Stroker

Fall 2012

  • The World of Islam – Christopher Taylor
  • The Renaissance Reconsidered – Barbara Tomlinson
  • A Brief History of Business in America – Perry Leavell
  • Irish Poets and Playwrights since 1900 – Christine Kinealy
  • Political Psychology and the 2012 Presidential Election – G. Scott Morgan
  • Romanticism, Revolution, Realism: The Operas of Giuseppe Verdi – Robert Butts

Summer 2012

  • Music of the Cinema II – Robert Butts
  • The Emergence of Modern Turkey  – David Cowell

Spring 2012

  • Russian Musical Genius: Despite Stalin – Robert Butts
  • The English Sonnet – Frank Occhiogrosso
  • The Power of the American Presidency, 1945 to the Present – Perry Leavell
  • Biomedical Ethics – Darrel Cole
  • History, Society, and Memory in Great French Novels – Andre Benhaim
  • The Religions of Ancient Israel – William Stroker
  • Art for the Masses – Barbara Tomlinson
%d bloggers like this:
search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close