Christianity and Pop Culture is the theme of this year’s Day of Learning and will feature the speaker Jeffrey Keuss.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in chapel. Professors replacing sweater vests and pleated pants with “Star Wars” costumes. These are just a few of the ways the campus has already gotten involved in the Day of Learning.
For the last two years, students and faculty have been given a day off from classes and activities to participate in the Day of Learning. This year, on March 24, the campus will learn about Christianity and Pop Culture through a variety of speakers and workshops. Every year, Day of Learning looks different due to the new theme.
“This year we kicked the Day of Learning off with faculty dressed as characters from pop culture to gain attention for our Facebook fan page,” Day of Learning coordinator Jill Haarsma said.
With the help of the Student Activities Council, students can participate in the “Sodexo World Series of Pop Culture,” and the finals will be emceed by this year’s keynote speaker, Jeffrey Keuss, a professor of Christian Ministry at Seattle Pacific University.
Keuss’s colleagues have called him “an engaging interpreter of theology in pop culture.”
According to Northwestern’s Web site, “Keuss’s work with youth and scholarly research on Christ and culture has led to books, articles and presentations on diverse subjects like the Columbine killings, Dr. Seuss, Stanley Kubrick, Cormac McCarthy, “Narnia,” Bruce Springsteen, “Star Wars,” Donald Trump and U2.”
Aside from Keuss’s discussions, students will also be leading workshops relating different aspects of pop culture to Christianity.
Pop culture is something that students and faculty alike can relate to, and both students and staff have been working to make this year’s theme very relatable and exciting.
“It can be really fun to think and talk about the familiar things we surround ourselves with every day, like TV shows, video games, social networking sites, etc.,” student coordinator junior Rachel Rager said. “Then when you try and relate those things to Christianity, it can make for a very intriguing discussion.”
Students can get involved in discussion before the day comes by taking part in a faculty-led discussion of current pop culture trends on the Day of Learning’s Facebook fan page.
“I think the topic for this year will definitely get more people involved, both from the community and campus,” senior Brittany Moore, who will be hosting a session, said. “As college students, I think that this year’s topic will be something that in some way interests everyone.”
