Fine Arts Monday

Music and the visual arts are, too frequently, relegated to extra-curricular opportunities. At Northfield, they are essential components of our liberal arts education. In addition to taking part in the many opportunities to study and practice art and music in our art class and in our choirs, bands, and ensembles, all students attend Fine Arts Monday. Grace Langness, Erin Sundquist, and Bill Coleman lead this year-long survey of the arts from the ancients to now.

The Fine Arts Monday program strives to give our community a fluency in the language of art and music, as well as an understanding of how those arts both reflect and shape the cultures they exist within.

How to Listen to the Ancients Tuesday

In An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis writes, "In coming to understand anything, we are rejecting the facts as they are for us in favour of the facts as they are." Such a process requires attentiveness, rigor, and humility.

On Tuesdays, Warren Snyder leads Northfield toward such understanding as he leads a discussion on how to read and listen to the ancients as they intended to be heard. Several issues are considered: how to determine the central theme of a passage; how the author developed his thought; and what purpose his passage or speech served.

Work Wednesday

Each Wednesday, students put aside their books and academic studies to put their time and attention into work for others. We assign students the tasks that they can best manage, whether it’s clerking for a consignment shop, weeding for a rescue mission, or building a house for those who could not otherwise afford to buy one.

For more information, visit our Work Wednesday page.

Western Civilization Thursday

Northfield history teacher Nathaniel Lutke presents a year-long survey of the history of The West in the Western Hemisphere, from the earliest explorers to twentieth century immigrants. Topics include "Conquerors & Crucifixes: Mexico and its neighbors, Hernando Cortez & the Aztecs, The Influence of the Catholic Church" ; "Samuel de Champlain: Exploration & Initiative (Toward Building New France)"; "Jamestown & Virginia, 1600s" and "Into the Interior: the First Westward — Immigrants and Cultures—European-Indian Relations."

Great Books Friday

Each Friday, Garrett Jeter presents a writer from the Great Books curriculum. Authors include Sophocles, Eurpides, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Shakespeare, Kepler, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Tolstoy. A special emphasis is placed upon how these writers' ideas resonate with current concerns.