The Friends of the Madison Public Library are offering two new minicourses for the winter 2024 semester, beginning on January 29 and 31. The minicourses will cover topics relating to the ‘U.S. Civil War’ and ‘Art in the U.S. from the American Revolution to the Civil War.’ All classes will be held in person for five consecutive weeks at the Florham Park Library while the Madison Library is being renovated.

The United States Civil War taught by Dr. Gary Darden, Associate Professor of History and Chair, Department of Social Sciences and History Fairleigh Dickinson University will be on 5 Monday afternoons, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm; January 29, February 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2024.

This minicourse covers the Civil War in U.S. history with a look at its origins in slavery –– from its common practice in colonial times to that "peculiar institution" that endured the first 87 years of the American Republic. The insurrection of 1860-1865 was the most violent conflict in U.S. history and one that redefined both democracy and citizenship and became an era justly called the "Second American Revolution" for its destruction of slavery in a preserved and redefined Union. 

The five lectures are as follows:

1. "Original Sin: American Slavery from the Age of Compromise to the Age of Crisis: 1776-1859”

2. "Ballots to Bullets: the 1860 Election to the Secessions of 1860-1861"

3. "Presidents & Generals: Strategies for Confederate Victory & Strategies for Union Victory"

4. "Blood & Redemption in 1862: Antietam & Emancipation // Alters of Sacrifice in 1863: Gettysburg, Vicksburg & New York City"

5. "The Long View of Union Victory in 1865: the Civil War as the Second American Revolution"

Art in the United States from the American Revolution to the Civil War by Dr. Kimberly Rhodes, NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities & Professor of Art History, Drew University. The classes will be on 5 Wednesday mornings from 10:00 am to 11:50 am; January 31, February 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2024

This minicourse will cover the development of the visual arts in the United States from colonial times to the 1860s. Topics will include the discussion of exchanges between European and American artists, the education of American artists in Europe and the United States, the relationship between political events and visual culture, and the creation of professional institutions. Artists under discussion will include John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, John Trumbull, Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, and Winslow Homer.

The tuition for each course is $95. No refunds or credits will be issued once the course begins. These minicourses are organized by the all-volunteer Friends of the Madison Public Library, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. All proceeds benefit the Madison Public Library. These non-credit courses are open to the public with no prerequisites or examinations. For more information or to register, please visit the minicourses tab. You can also email minicoursesmadisonlibrary@gmail.com or call 929-450-7940. Students will be notified by email in case of a cancellation due to inclement weather.