Minicourse on Italian films to begin Sept 5 and US Governance, Sep 17

Registration is ongoing for two minicourses organized by the all-volunteer Friends of the Madison Public Library. ‘Italy of the Mind: Die-Hard Romantic-Comedy Stereotypes.’ will begin on Thursday, September 5 at 1:30 pm, and ‘Governance in the U.S.: Congress, the Presidency and the Federal Administrative System’ will begin on Tuesday, September 17 at 10 am. Minicourses will be held for five weeks, two hours for each class, at the Florham Park Library while the Madison Library is undergoing renovations.

The tuition for each course is $95. For more information or to register, please visit www.friendsmadisonnjlibrary.org/minicourses. Email: minicoursesmadisonlibrary@gmail.com. Phone: Leave a message at 929-450-7940.

The Friends are 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.

The Fall 2024 Semester is dedicated to the memory and vision of Frank Benedict, co-founder of the minicourse program and coordinator for 24 years, who passed away at the age of 95 years on June 27, 2024.

‘Italy of the Mind: Die-Hard Romantic-Comedy Stereotypes,’ Dr. Gloria Pastorino, Professor of Italian and French, Department of Literature, Languages, Writing and Humanities, Fairleigh Dickinson University; 2 hours, 5 Thursday afternoons, 1:30 – 3:30 pm.

September 5, 12, 19, 26, Skip Oct 3 [Rosh Hashanah]), and October 10, 2024

Lecture 1, September 5: introduction. (Info on how to access films)

Lecture 2, September 12: the film that started it all

please watch Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953)

Lecture 3, September 19: Tuscan obsession

please watch Under the Tuscan Sun (Audrey Wells, 2003)

Lecture 4, September 26: beyond retro

please watch Shadows in the Sun (Brad Mirman, 2005)

Lecture 5, October 10: normalizing the landscape

please watch A Summer in Genoa (Michael Winterbottom, 2008)

‘Governance in the U.S.: Congress, the Presidency, and the Federal Administrative System’ Dr. Philip Mundo, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Environmental Studies and Sustainability Program, Drew University

2 hours; 5 Tuesday mornings, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

September 17, 24, October 1, 8 and 15, 2024.

The course describes and assesses the roles of Congress, the Presidency, and the Federal Administrative system with respect to governance. The course evaluates each of these parts of government in terms of their institutional characteristics: origin, history, structure, and function. Building on this basic understanding, the course examines each institution’s role in policy making ideas, legislative formation, and implementation. In an era where the partisan divide draws most elite and public attention, it is important to take a step back to understand how governance actually works in the U.S. and to take an unvarnished look at its effectiveness historically and its potential for success in the near-term future.

Class 1, September 17: American Political Institutions

Class 2, September 24: Origins, Purposes, and History

Class 3, October 1: Congress: Contemporary Issues Presidency: Origins, Purpose, and History Class 4, October 8: Presidency: Origins, Purpose, and History (continued) Presidency: Contemporary Issues

Class 5, October 15: The Federal Administrative System, aka “Bureaucracy” Wrap-up: Reforming American Political Institutions