The Bucket Courses

Everything you want to learn before you kick the bucket.

Fall 2023 Bucket Courses Schedule

All Classes Wednesdays 10:00-11:30 am | Caulkins Community Room at Drake Community Library
No preregistration required | No fee for attendance

September 13, 2023

"Westward Expansion and the Lewis & Clark Expedition"

Jim Gilbert, Elementary School Principal, Retired

September 20, 2023

"From Beijing to Venice: The Arts of the Mongol Empire"

Eiren Shea, Associate Professor of Art History, Grinnell College

September 27, 2023

"The Care Crisis and Social Justice"

Tammy Nyden, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Grinnell College
Co-founder Mothers on the Frontline

October 4, 2023

"The Experience and Meaning of Homeland Trips Among Filipino Immigrants"

Sharon Quinsat, Associate Professor of Sociology, Grinnell College

October 11, 2023

Part 1:
"BS and How to Recognize It""

J.R. Paulson, Family Practice Physician, Retired

October 18, 2023

"Network Science: Making sense of complex interactions"

Nicole Eikmeier, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Grinnell College

October 25, 2023

Part 2:
"BS and How to Avoid Stepping In It"

J.R. Paulson, Family Practice Physician, Retired

November 1, 2023

"The Middle Ages Today: how medieveal culture continues to move the modern imagination"

Anne Harris, Professor of Art History and President, Grinnell College

November 8, 2023

TBD

BUCKET CLASSES
TAKE A BREAK AFTER THANKSGIVING

TBD

WATCH FOR MORE TO COME

TBD

IN JANUARY 2024

TBD

Latest Courses

October 11, 2023

Part 1 of 2
J.R. Paulson, Family Practice Physician, Retired

October 25, 2023

Part 2 of 2
J.R. Paulson, Family Practice Physician, Retired

November 1, 2023

Anne Harris, Professor of Art History and President, Grinnell College

Bucket Courses Archive

*Below is an archival list of Bucket Courses, listed from newest to oldest. You can watch videos of previous courses online by clicking on the session in the right-hand column. Some presenters choose to not have their course videos posted online. Videos before 2021 are available on DVD at the Drake Community Library in Grinnell. The Bucket Class Planning Committee and the library has archives of all videos.

2023-24

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2023-24

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

Westward expansion and the Lewis & Clark Expedition	Jim Gilbert	Sept 13	One Video
From Beijing to Venice: The Arts of the Mongol Empire	Eiren Shea	Sept 20	Video available by request
The Care Crisis and Social Justice	Tammy Nyden	Sept 27	Class postponed
The Experience and Meaning of Homeland Trips Among Filipino Immigrants	Sharon Quinsat	Oct 4	Video available by request
Part 1: BS and How to Recognize It	J.R. Paulson	Oct 11	One video
Network Science: Making Sense of Complex Interactions	Nicole Eikmeier	Oct 18	Video available by request
Part 2: BS and How to Avoid Stepping In It	J.R. Paulson	Oct 25	One video
The Middle Ages Today: How Medieveal Culture Continues to Move the Modern Imagination	Anne Harris	Nov 1	One video

Human and Machine Relations	Karla Erickson	Nov 9	One Video
The Golden Cut: The Story of Phi	Dr. JR Paulson	Nov 3	One Video
Our Address in the Universe	Dr. JR Paulson	Oct 26	One Video
Lessons on Violence: The Power of Telling-The-Truth	Kesho Scott	Oct 12	One Video
Britain in the Age of Enlightenment: Classes will explore how 18th century Britons experienced the Enlightenment in their daily lives.	Michael Guenther	Sept 21, 28 Oct 5	Three Videos
Spectacle of Grief: Public Funerals and Memory in the Civil War Era.	Sara Purcell	Sept 14	One Video

COVID-19 Quarantine Health Tips	Dr. JR Paulson	April 12	Two Videos
World Writings: A look at post-colonial literature from Africa, Caribbean, South Asia, settler colonies of New Zealand and Australia.	Shuchi Kapila	Mar 4	One Video
Messy Humans: A Sociology of Robots and Artificial Intelligence	Karla Erickson	Feb 12, 19, 26	Two Videos Three DVDs*
The Ethical Shopper	Cori Jakubiak	Feb 5	One Video
The Black Holocaust: Castles or Dungeons?	Kesho Scott	Jan 15, 22, 29	Three Videos
Tip of the Iceberg: The Conductor’s Invisible Craft	Eric McIntyre	Jan 8	One DVD*

Americans We Should Know More About: Henry Clay vs James Polk and the importance of the election of 1844.	George Drake	Nov 20	One Video
Influenza A Virus: A tale of ducks, pigs and People: 1918-2018	Bruce Voyles	Nov 6, 13	Two Videos
You and Your Drugs: A look at pharmaceuticals and your body; a comparison of differing belief systems about medicine around the world.	Josh Sandquist	Oct 9, 16, 23, 30	Four Videos
Othello Revisited: Performance and Difference in Shakespeare and Verdi	Kelly Maynard John Garrison	Sep 11, 18, 25 Oct 2	Four Sessions*
Americans We Should Know More About: John Marshall	George Drake	May 1	One Video
Fun and Games: Using a Mathematical Outlook to Find the Best Strategies in Games	Chris French	Apr 24	One Video
Becoming “International Student Friendly”	Karen Edwards	Apr 17	One Video
Kids These Days	Ross Haenfler	Mar 27 Apr 3, 10	Three Videos
Becoming American: Immigration Narrative and U.S. Autobiography	Dr. Liz Rodrigues	Mar 20	One Video
Driverless Trucks and The Future of Work	Karla Erickson	Feb 20, 27 Mar 6, 13	Four Videos
The Hidden Life of Technology	Mike Guenther	Jan 16 Feb 6, 13	Three Videos
Grinnell and Amana: Utopias on the Prairie, 1854	Jon Andelson	Jan 9	One Session*

Reflections on the 2018 U.S. Elections	Barb Trish	Nov 14	One Video
The Path to Armistice in World War II	Jim Ahrens	Nov 7	One Video
The Burghers of Calais	David Harrison	Oct 31	One Video
Racism by Genetics	Leslie Gregg-Jolly	Oct 24	One Video
What would it mean to be Thoreau’s neighbor?	Steve Andrews	Oct 17	One Video
2018 Grinnell College National Poll	Peter Hanson	Oct 10	One Video
Rural Development and the Role of the Federal Government	Bill Menner	Sept 12, 19, 26, Oct 3	Four Videos
Ansel Adams: Artistic Beauty of Black and White Photography	Sig Barber	May 9	One Session*
Wind Tunnels: Tools That Advanced Aviation	Ben Guenther	Apr 25, May 2	Two Videos
Mental Illness: Causes and Treatments	J.R. Paulson, MD	Mar-Apr 2018	Four Videos
The First Amendment: Is Free Speech Really Free?	Judge Stephen Carroll	Mar 21, 2018	One Video
More Than Meets the Ear: Musical codes, secret messages and inside jokes.	Eric McIntyre	Feb-Mar 2018	Four Sessions*
Modern Architecture in Grinnell: From Sullivan to Pelli	Alfredo Rivera	Feb 14, 2018	One Video
The Dark Universe: Discovery of dark matter, dark energy, and the fate of the Universe	Charlotte Christensen	Jan 24, 2018	One Video
The Wider History of the Vietnam War – More than an American tragedy	Mike Latham	Jan-Feb 2018	Four Videos

Winston Churchill: Man of the 20^th Century – Military and Political Adventures	Jim Ahrens	Nov 15, 2017	One Video
Tyrants and Tunesmiths: Four operas and the times in which they were written	Kelly Maynard	Oct-Nov 2017	Four Sessions*
Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence: What Jobs Will Be Left for Us?	Bill Pollak	Oct 11, 2017	One Video
Political Science of Dietary Fat	Gene Wubbels	Oct 04, 2017	One Video
U.S. in the Middle East	Caleb Elfenbein	Sep 27, 2017	One Video
Friend or Foe: International Trade Partners	Jack Mutti	Sep 20, 2017	One Video
Power and Honor: A Few Ancient Greek Statues and Their Modern Counterparts	Monessa Cummins	Sep 13, 2017	One Session*
Joe Rosenfield and Grinnell College	George Drake	Apr-May 2017	Four Videos
The World War II Homefront	Michael Latham	Apr 19, 2017	One Video
German History and Culture Through the Eyes of Literature	Sig Barber	Mar-Apr 2017	Four Videos
The Real Story Behind the Salem Witch Trials	Kathy Wilson	Mar 15, 2017	One Session*
The Evolution of Medicine	J.R. Paulson	Feb-Mar 2017	Four Videos
The 4^th Amendment: Search, Seizure, and Surveillance in an Age of Advanced Technology	Judge Stephen Carroll	Feb 08, 2017	One Video
From Synapse to Self: How Our Synapses Make and Break Us	Clark Lindgren	Jan-Feb 2017	Four Videos

Oops! Engineering Errors	Howard Raffety	Nov 16, 2016	One Video
Disability and Being Human	Jean Ketter	Oct-Nov 2016	Four Videos
Know Your Type: An Examination of Fonts	Mike Guenther	Oct 12, 2016	One Video
Sound Stories: Overview of Film Music	Eric McIntyre	Sep-Oct 2016	Four Sessions*
The History of Buckets—Part I	Byron Hueftle-Worley	May 04, 2016	One Video
The Iowa Judicial System: An Insider’s View	Judge Stephen Carroll	Apr 2016	Three Videos Readings
T.E. Lawrence and the Modern Middle East	James “Jim” Ahrens	Mar-Apr 2016	Four Videos Readings
Lessons Learned from Baboons	Vicki Bentley-Condit	Mar 09, 2016	One Video
Fractured South Africa	George Drake Ron Charles	Feb-Mar 2016	Four Videos Readings
Metallic Elements: How They Kill Bacteria	Todd Linden Shannon Hinsa-Leasure	Feb 03, 2016	One Video*
If It Sings: How Composers Match Music and Spoken Text	Eric McIntyre	Jan 2016	Four Videos*

The Plague of the Spanish Lady: The 1918 Flu Pandemic	Sig Barber	Dec 02, 2015	One Video
Muscular Assimilation or Societal Change	Andy Hamilton	Nov 25, 2015	One Video
Long Live the King: The Pipe Organ	Montie Redenius	Nov 18, 2015	One Video
Herbert Hoover: Return of the Exile	Bill Menner	Nov 11, 2015	One Video
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?	J.R. Paulson	Oct-Nov 2015	Four Videos
Stories of Old Grinnell	Byron Hueftle-Worley	Sep 30, 2015	One Video
Creativity: A Lifelong Journey	Dan Weeks	Sep-Oct 2015	Four Videos
The Grinnell Cyclone of 1882	Byron Hueftle-Worley	May 06, 2015	One Video
Grinnell a Century Ago	Dan Kaiser	Apr 2015	Four Videos
Death of Abraham Lincoln: How it Shaped American Identity	Sarah Purcell	Apr 2015	One Session*
Writing: History of a Technology	Gerald LaLonde	Mar-Apr 2015	Three Videos
Dead or Alive: Language in the 21^st Century	Cynthia Hansen	Mar 11, 2015	One Video
Criminal Brains	Clark Lindgren	Feb-Mar 2015	Four Videos Readings
Trailblazers: Notable Women in Grinnell	Ann Igoe and Barb Lease	Feb 04, 2015	One Video
Good Grief (Charlie Brown)! How to Deal with Loss	J.R. Paulson	Jan 2015	Four Videos

Creative Processes in Music	Eric McIntye	Oct-Nov 2014	Four Sessions*
Biography: Niels Bohr	Luther Erickson	Oct 22, 2014	One Video
Biography: Knut Hamsun	Doug Caulkins	Oct 15, 2014	One Video
Biography: Geoffrey Chaucer	Elizabeth Dobbs	Oct 08, 2014	One Session*
Biography: Wilma Mankiller	John McIntyre	Oct 01, 2014	One Video
Biography: General W.T. Sherman	Jim Ahrens	Sep 24, 2014	One Video
Biography: Muhammad	Caleb Elfenbein	Sep 17, 2014	One Video
Biography: Eugene O’Neill	Sandy Moffett	Sep 10, 2014	One Video
Emotional Well-Being	J.R. Paulson	Apr-May 2014	Five Videos
The Rise and Fall of a Grinnell Giant	Dan Kaiser	Apr 16, 2014	One Video
From Newton to Darwin	Mike Guenther	Mar-Apr 2014	Four Videos
The Constitution: From Origin to Implementation	George Drake	Feb-Mar 2014	Five Videos
Introduction to a Farewell: Beethoven’s Last String Quartets	Eric McIntyre	Feb 5, 2014	One Session*
Neuroscience in Four Literary Forms	Clark Lindgren	Jan 2014	Four Videos

Vietnam: The War Nobody Won	Jim Ahrens	Oct-Nov 2013	Four Videos
Teachings of Confucius in the Context of Chinese History	J.R. Paulson	Oct 16, 2013	One Video
Language: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly	Cynthia Hansen	Oct 9, 2013	One Session*
Beginning of the Scientific Enterprise	Beryl Clotfelter	Oct 2, 2013	One Video
Footprints on the Moon: The Apollo Project	Jim Kottmeier	Sep 25, 2013	One Video
The Art & Science of Psychotherapy	Peter Daniolos	Sep 18, 2013	One Session*
Making Art in Ghana with Former Slaves (Ages 14-17)	Tilly Woodward	Sep 11, 2013	One Video
Leadership in Crisis	George Drake	Apr-May 2013	Five Videos
Alexis de Tocqueville: Observations of Early American Society	Don Smith	Apr 10, 2013	One Session*
Critical Thinking	J.R. Paulson	Mar-Apr 2013	Three Videos
The Art of Archiving	Catherine Rod	Feb 20, 2013	One Session*
Framing “Rigoletto”	Eric McIntyre	Feb-Mar 2013	Four Sessions*
Fear No Music! Guided Listening Tour of New Musical Territory	Eric McIntyre	Jan-Feb 2013	Four Sessions*

Brain Science and the Human Animal	Clark Lindgren	Oct-Nov 2012	Four Sessions*
The Bizarre Universe	Beryl Clotfelter	Oct 2012	Four Sessions*
Korea: The Years after WWII	James Ahrens	Sep 2012	Four Sessions*
Statue and Temple: Cultural Interaction in Ancient Greece and Rome	Monessa Cummins	Apr-May 2012	Four Sessions*
Iowans in the Civil War	Shane Estes	Apr 4, 2012	One Session*
Finding the Truth: The Importance of Critical Thinking	J.R. Paulson	Mar 2012	Three Sessions*
History of Money and Currency	Byron Hueftle-Worley	Mar 7, 2012	One Session*
Biotechnology	Diane Robertson	Feb 2012	Four Sessions*
The Old Monroe Hotel	Betty Moffett and Frank Heath	Feb 1, 2012	One Session*
Anatomy of the Orchestra	Eric McIntyre	Jan 2012	Four Sessions*

A Bird’s-Eye View of Psychiatric Disorders in Children	Peter Daniolos	Oct-Nov 2011	Four Sessions*
Louisa Mae Alcott from a Grinnell Perspective	Sarah Purcell	Oct 19, 2011	One Session*
First Industrial Revolution	Beryl Clotfelter and George Drake	Sep-Oct 2011	Six Sessions*
U.S. Environmental History	Mike Guenther	Apr-May 2011	Four Sessions*
World War I: Causes and Consequences	James Ahrens	Feb-Mar 2011	Six Sessions*
What to Listen for in Music	Eric McIntyre	Jan-Feb 2011	Five Sessions*

From Europe to America	George Drake	Oct-Nov 2010	Seven Sessions*
Time: Its Many Facets	Beryl Clotfelter	Sep 2010	Four Sessions (Not Recorded)
Theatre: A User’s Guide	Steven Palmquist	May 2010	Four Sessions*
The Civil War in Context	James Ahrens	Mar-Apr 2010	Six Sessions*
Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists in a Religiously Plural America	Harold Kasimow	Jan-Feb 2010	Four Sessions*

The Bucket Courses

Everything you want to learn before you kick the bucket.

Fall 2023 Bucket Courses Schedule

All Classes Wednesdays 10:00-11:30 am | Caulkins Community Room at Drake Community Library No preregistration required | ​No fee for attendance

September 13, 2023

September 20, 2023

September 27, 2023

October 4, 2023

October 11, 2023

October 18, 2023

October 25, 2023

November 1, 2023

November 8, 2023

BUCKET CLASSES TAKE A BREAK AFTER THANKSGIVING

WATCH FOR MORE TO COME

IN JANUARY 2024

Latest Courses

October 11, 2023

October 25, 2023

November 1, 2023

Bucket Courses Archive

All Classes Wednesdays 10:00-11:30 am | Caulkins Community Room at Drake Community Library
No preregistration required | No fee for attendance

BUCKET CLASSES
TAKE A BREAK AFTER THANKSGIVING