Interest: History
Interest: History
Religions and Beliefs
Do you ever wonder why people from very different religious backgrounds might peacefully coexist, while others from mostly similar backgrounds find themselves in conflict? In this course, students will explore a wide range of belief systems, religious and spiritual ideologies, learning about the origins, practices, and adaptations over time. Investigations into how belief systems shape contemporary politics, government, and society will also be explored.Chroma
Chroma is an ensemble that offers instrumentalists an in-depth study of expansive ensemble works across a wide range of musical genres. This ensemble is open to all instruments including strings, woodwinds, brass, and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass, percussion). Students will study and play a broad selection of intermediate and advanced repertoire with a focus on building technical skills while exploring the cultural and historical context of the repertoire. This course utilizes custom arrangements, taking components from the classical music tradition as well as contemporary styles such as pop/rock and jazz as vehicles to develop students’ technique and creative processes. Class material will integrate music theory, instrumental technique, and rehearsal/performance skills. The ensemble will perform in formal mandatory concerts throughout the year. Weekly individual instrumental lessons are not required but are available on campus to students for an additional fee. Students who are on financial aid at Beaver have the same percentage of aid applied to private lessons. Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. Two Term Course Prerequisite: Instrumental Ensemble II, Ikonoclastic or placement audition.A Cappella Foundations
A Cappella Foundations will introduce students to the fundamentals of a cappella singing, including vocal technique, music literacy, and artistic expression. They will also cultivate a working knowledge of fundamental music theory and explore the wider cultural context of the repertoire they study. Throughout the course, students will learn how to listen for tuning and ensemble blend during rehearsal. The aim of the course is to develop confident musicians and prepare for a public concert at the end of the term. Weekly individual voice lessons are not required but are available on campus to students for an additional fee. Students who are on financial aid at Beaver have the same percentage of aid applied to their private music lessons. Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. One Term Course Prerequisite: No prerequisiteInstrumental Ensemble II
The Instrumental Ensemble II course builds on and further develops the skills introduced in Instrumental Ensemble I. This ensemble is open to all instruments including strings, woodwinds, brass, and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass, percussion). Students will study and play a wide range of repertoire with a focus on building technical skills while exploring the cultural and historical context of the repertoire. This course utilizes components from the classical music traditions as well as contemporary styles such as jazz and blues as vehicles to develop students’ technique and creative processes. Class material will integrate music theory, instrumental technique, rehearsal/performance skills, and improvisation skills. The ensemble will perform in formal mandatory concerts throughout the year. Weekly individual instrumental lessons are not required but are available on campus to students for an additional fee. Students who are on financial aid at Beaver have the same percentage of aid applied to private lessons. Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. Two Term Course Prerequisite: Instrumental Ensemble I, Ikonoclastic or placement auditionEnglish 10: American Literature
Interests:
Debate, History, Identity, Law, Literature, Politics, Psychology, Reading, Required Course, Writing
What does it mean to be American? From the perspectives of indigenous people to the revolution that defined our independence to slavery and its legacy to the very cases contended today in the Supreme Court, we address the range of Americanism, the beautiful and the sordid. Students write, read, debate, create, reflect, act, film, craft, and present as ways of asking big questions, answering the questions with specific evidence, and acknowledging the complexities of those answers. Readings include fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, and drama, and writings ask students to question the literature, its language and its purpose. Students hone their thesis development skills, practice finding and incorporating meaningful, interesting evidence, and build their analytical reasoning, and they bring these skills to all of their work.
Myth and Meaning in American Literature
In this course, we turn to great American writers whose work articulates contemporary America, and we use these writings to ask the questions: What does it really mean to be American? What are the myths about America and how do they show up in literature? How do those myths shape our understanding of characters and their actions? How do these myths evolve? How are they being disrupted? How do authors create characters and narratives who wrestle with America’s past? How do these characters and narratives help us face their futures?
Identity in American Literature
How does love show up in the world? How do self-love and friendship and romantic love and love of place show up in our world and in literature? What happens when love isn’t there? How does love help us understand ourselves better? There are myriad tangible and intangible ways that love helps us define ourselves and our world -- from large scale identifiers like nation and religion, to the little things, like choosing what shoes to wear in the morning. In this term, we look at America through a range of lenses, and all of these lenses ultimately help inform our own perspectives of who we are and why we believe the things we do.