Since 1992, the Minicourses program has offered the Madison community and the surrounding area over 280 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
Fall 2011
- Art for the Masses – Barbara Tomlinson
- China’s Rise to Superpower Status – Catherine Keyser
- The American Presidency from the Civil War to World War II – Perry Leavell
- Beethoven’s Symphonies and Concertos – Robert Butts
- The Geologic History of New Jersey – Don Monteverde
- Classical Greek and Hellenistic Art – Alison Poe
Summer 2011
- Science of the Kitchen – James Roche
- Music of the Cinema – Robert Butts
- Changing Britain – David Cowell
Spring 2011
- The World of the Future – Douglas Simon
- The Craft of Comedy – Jennifer Plants
- Contemporary Poetry – Peggy Samuels
- American Presidents and the Presidency I – J. Perry Leavell
- Varieties of Early Christianity – William Stroker
- Bel Canto Opera – Robert Butts
Fall 2010
- Small Details/Big Pictures – Barbara Tomlinson
- The Culture of Japan -Yasuko Grosjean
- The Cold War – J. Perry Leavell
- The Gnostic Gospels – William Stroker
- The Music of Stephen Sondheim – Robert Butts
Summer 2010
- Five Composers for the Cinema – Robert Butts
- Waging Peace in Northern Ireland – David Cowell
Spring 2010
- Mozart and the Creation of Modern Opera – Robert Butts
- America and the World 2010 – Douglas Simon
- Ancient Greek Art – Alison Poe
- American Stories – Barbara Tomlinson
- From Isolationism to Internationalism and Containment – J. Perry Leavell
Fall 2009
- Painting Against the Grain – Barbara Tomlinson
- Becoming “Paris” – Andre Benhaim
- Victorians – Robert Ready
- Chamber Music in the Romantic Era – Robert Butts
- The Major Christian Celebrations – William Stroker
- Woodrow Wilson – J. Perry Leavell
Summer 2009
- The Making of Modern Ireland – David Cowell
- Leonard Bernstein – Robert Butts
Spring 2009
- Commerce and Culture in the 17th Century – Barbara Tomlinson
- Green Economics for a Sustainable Environment – Fred Curtis
- British Romantic Extremes: Poetry and Prose – Robert Ready
- What Hath the Computer Wrought? – Steven Kass
- The Evolution of Our Political Parties – Joseph Romance
- Beethoven at Home – Robert Butts
Fall 2008
- The Power of Art – Barbara Tomlinson
- Ten Photographs: Images that Changed Our world – Jim DelGiudice
- Great Poems of Walt Whitman – Merrill Skaggs
- Wagner’s Ring Cycle: The Curse of Love and Power – Robert Butts
- Secrets of Life: The History of Genetics in the 20th Century – Luis Campos
Summer 2008
- The Literature of the Harlem Renaissance – Geraldine Wright-Smith
- A Brahms Sampler – Robert Butts
Spring 2008
- Brain, Mind, and Neuroethics – Graham Cousens
- On The Edge: Avant-Garde Musical Masterpiece – Robert Butts
- Shakespeare: All the Gifts of Nature – Gloria Rojas
- Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages – Alison Poe
- Terrorism in Global Perspective – Andrea Talentino and Carlos Yorda
Fall 2007
- The Art Collectors – Barbara Tomlinson
- International Relations of the Future – Douglas Simon
- Musical Masterpieces – Robert Butts
- Robber Barons and Reformers – Wyatt Evans
- British Drama of the 20th Century – Brandon Fralix
Summer 2007
- Middle East Politics – Carlos Yordan
- The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach – Robert Butts
Spring 2007
- African American Heritage Through the Arts – Philip Peek
- Post Romanticism in Music: 1880-1920 – Robert Butts
- Varieties of Early Christianity – William Stroker
- Ancient Roman Art – Alison Poe
- Preserving Our Historic Places – Janice Armstrong
Fall 2006
- Global Challenges for the 21st Century – Douglas Simon
- Exploring Alzheimer’s Disease – Roger Knowles
- Classical Mythology- John Lenz
- Late Romantic Passion in Music- Robert Butts
- Goddesses, Madonnas and Whores – Barbara Tomlinson
Summer 2006
- China in Transition – Catherine Keyser
- The Spiritual Journey in Contemporary American Memoir and Fiction – Elizabeth O’Brien
- Popular Music in America – Robert Butts
Spring 2006
- Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World – Douglas Simon
- A Linguistic view of Language – James Hala
- The Early Romantic Age in Music – Robert Butts
- The Art of Late Antiquity – Alison Poe
- Buddhism: The Path of Enlightenment – Karen Pechilis
Fall 2005
- Six Who Shaped American Art – Barbara Tomlinson
- The Hebrew Bible and the Religion of Ancient Israel – William Stroker
- Great American Musicals of the 1950s – Frank Occhiogrosso
- The Classical Era: Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven – Robert Butts
June 2005
- Feminine Geographies: Women Artists and Writers of the Southwest – Elizabeth O’Brien
- Sacred Fury: The Rise of Global Fundamentalism – Charles Selengut
Spring 2005
- The History of The Portrait – Barbara Tomlinson
- Yeats and Joyce – Bernard McKenna
- Public Works and Politics in Ancient Rome – John Muccigrosso
- Bach and the Baroque – Robert Butts
- Early Christianity – William Stroker
Fall 2004
- Sacred Fury: The Rise of Global fundamentalism – Charles Selengut
- The Concerto II – Robert Butts
- 20th Century Irish and British Drama – Bernard McKenna
- The Election of 2004: Who Will Win and Why? – Joseph Romance
- Human Evolution – Tammy Windfelder
June 2004
- Tuesdays with Leonardo: The Artist, the Novel and the Code – Michael Christensen
Spring 2004
- The Evolution of the Art Museum – Barbara Tomlinson
- Music in the Modern Era – Robert Buttts
- Exploring the Brain – Roger Knowles
- Great American Musicals of the 1940s – Frank Occhiogrosso
- Faces of Our Civil War – Charles Wetzel
June 2003
- The Third Renaissance: The History of Modernism – Mark Daniel Cohen
Spring 2003
- Drugs and Behavior – C. Robbin Timmmons
- How to Read a Great Book – Merrill Skaggs
- The History and Meaning of Abstract Painting – Mark Daniel Cohen
- Isms and Schisms: Music in the Early Twentieth Century – Robert Butts
- A History of Zionism and the Birth of Modern Israel – Allan Nadler
Fall 2002
- America in the Progressive Era – Perry Leavell
- Opera Verismo: Puccini, Leoncavallo, and Mascagni – Robert Butts
- The Great Broadway Musicals – Frank Occhiogrosso
Spring 2001
- A Virtual Tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Barbara Tomlinson
- The History of Britain: Victoria to Tony Blair – Jonathan Rose
- The Classic Russian Novel – Jason Merrill
- The Music of Giuseppe Verdi – Robert Butts
- Political Islam – Christopher Taylor
Fall 2001
- Adams to Arbus to Avedon: A Brief History of American Photography – Jim DelGiudice
- The Story of the Symphony, Part II – Robert Butts
- The Poets of Broadway: Great Lyricists of the American Musical Theater, Part II – Frank Occhiogrosso
- European Art of the Nineteenth Century – Loughran O’Connor
Spring 2001
- Four Challenges to the Idea of Human Rights – Johannes Morsink
- The Story of the Symphony, Part I – Robert Butts
- Willa Cather’s Gendered quartet in Five Parts – Merrill Skaggs
- How Things Work: Physical Concepts in the World Around Us – Robert Fenstermacher
- The Jewish Experience: An Introduction to Judaism – Allan Nadler
Fall 2000
- Abraham Lincoln in American Memory – William Rogers
- Burghers, Sultans, and Courtesans: Commerce and Culture in the 17th Century – Barbara Tomlinson
- Mendelssohn and Schumann: Music of German Romanticism – Robert Butts
- The Poets of Broadway: Great Lyricists of the American Musical theater – Frank Occhiogrosso
Spring 2000
- European Art from AD 1000-1500 – Loughran O’Connor
- The Music of Tchaikovsky – Robert Butts
- The Congress and The Presidency at the Turn of the Century – Philip Mundo
- The World of Islam – Christopher Taylor (repeat)
Fall 1999
- China in Transition – Catherine Keyser
- Russian Romanticism in Music – Robert Butts
- The American Folk Song – Frank Occhiogrosso
- The Short Story in 19th Century Russian Literature – Jason Merrill
Spring 1999
- The Music of Beethoven – Robert Butts
- Mark Twain – Merrill Skaggs
- Understanding Today’s Russia Through Its Past – Jason Merrill
- DNA: Biotechnology for the 21st Century – Louise Temple
- The Business of America – Perry Leavell
Fall 1998
- Masters of American Drama – Frank Occhiogrosso
- The Meaning of Life in Ancient Greece – John Lenz
- The Music of Mozart – Robert Butts
- The World Wars and the Great Dictators: Europe 1914-1945 – Jonathan Rose
Spring 1998
- The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach – Robert Butts
- Religions of India – Karen Prentiss
- Three Southern Writers – Merrill Skaggs
- The Middle East Since 1800 – Christopher Taylor
Fall 1997
- English Poetry from Shakespeare to Auden – Frank Occhiogrosso
- A Centennial Celebration: The Music of Johannes Brahms – Robert Butts
- Vexing Issues in Biomedical Ethics – Donald Jones
- The Vietnam Experience: A Retrospective – Douglas Simon
Spring 1997
- Giacomo Puccini: Final Bloom of Italian Opera – Robert Butts
- Criminal Justice in America – Paul Wice
- The Theatre of Conscience – Rosemary McLaughlin
- Ancient Civilizations of the Aztecs and the Maya – Maria Masucci
- Art Collections and the Politics of Culture: A Journey Through the Art Museums of Russia – Lori Citti
Fall 1996
- African and African-American Art – Philip M. Peek
- A Tale of Two Cities: A History of New York and Newark – Kurt Piehler
- The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: The Lyrics of the Great American Songwriters – Frank Occhiogrosso
- Beyond Binoculars: The Natural History of New Jersey Birds – Jerald Dosch
Spring 1996
- American Identity: Then and Now – Perry Leavell
- The Universe: What’s Really Out There – Patricia Boeshaar
- Classical Theories of Justice in Today’s World – Johannes Morsink
- Don Juan on Stage and Screen: The Making of a Myth – Elaine Bunn
- Giuseppe Verdi, Master of Italian Opera – Robert Butts
Fall 1995
- The World of Italian Opera – Robert Butts
- An Introduction to Islam – Christopher Taylor New Jersey at 350+
- The Plays of Shakespeare – An Introduction – Frank Occhiogrosso
- A Little Darwin, Then and Now – David Kohn
Spring 1995
- Genetics in Society – James J. Nagle
- United States Foreign Policy: Approaching the Twenty-First Century – Douglas Simon
- Hollywood’s Golden Years: 1930 – 1950 – Charles Wetzel
- The Novels of Willa Cather – Merrill Skaggs
Fall 1994
- The Romantic Era in Music – Lydia Ledeen
- Vodka and authority Under the Tsars and Commissars – Lori Citti
- The Quest in Mythology and Folklore – Joan Chamberlain Engelsman
- The State of the Language and the Language of the State – James Hala
Spring 1994
- Twentieth Century Short Fiction – Jill Fritz-Piggott
- Confucianism an Taoism: Understanding the Chinese Mind – Mai Leung Thayer
- Economic Issues of the Developing World – Fred Curtis
- America in the Great Depression – Perry Leavell
Fall 1993
- America in the Progressive Era: 1900 – 1920 – Perry Leavell
- Bright Lights, Big City – The Literature of New York – Jaqueline Berke
- The Reality Behind the Greek Myths – Johanna Glazewski
- The Social History of American Jazz – John von der Heide
Spring 1993
- Fin de Siecle Vienna and the Birth of Modernity – John von der Heide
- Men and Women in Recent Cinema – Wendy Kolmar
- Congress: What’s Wrong and What’s Right – Philip Mundo
- Beneath the Surface: Philosophical Questions – Johannes Morsink
Fall 1992
- Raising the Curtain on the Classics: An Exploration of Greek Tragedy – Johanna Glazewski
- A History of the American Presidency – Perry Leavell
- Matisse and Les Fauves: The Wonder Years – Karen Spitzberg