Hey y'all! I'm Caroline York, and I'm a '25 from Georgia! My hope is to share my Dartmouth experience with potential '28s, '29s, '30s and beyond! On campus, I write sports for The Dartmouth, am a Center for Social Impact SIBS mentor, am in Christian life, a Tour Guide, a Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services (EMS) member, and am a Hood Museum Intern! Otherwise, you'll find me in the Connecticut River, studying in the Tower Room, and running along the Appalachian Trail. Welcome to my world!
I initially took this class because I wanted to know more about Dartmouth’s history with Native Americans. It ended up being my favorite class because Professor Duthu was so enthusiastic about Native American affairs. He related the lectures to his own experiences growing up on a reservation, which made the class come to life.
As a potential Classics major on the pre-health track, this class was perfect for me! We learned about different medical practices from Rome and Greece and how medicine had changed in the past 2,000 years. We had a class in the Geisel School of Medicine and got to hold human organs!
I took this class because I wanted to learn more about the economy. Econ 2 focuses on the current economic climate in the US, so we would follow the DOW Jones on a daily basis to establish trends. In an economy impacted by a pandemic, inflation, and a war, this class was so helpful in my understanding of the financial climate of the country.
Physics with Professor Blencowe was delightful. His enthusiasm for the subject matter created excitement for students. The labs were hands-on and interactive to learn about the mechanics of the world.
This class fulfilled the Interdisciplinary Approach to my Global Health minor, and I enjoyed every minute of it. With Professor McCabe, we discussed gender and how its structure impacts our daily lives. My final research project studied gender within "Grey's Anatomy," which was created by Shonda Rhimes '91.
I used my "off-term" to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam for a Dartmouth Dickey Center Global Health Internship. I worked for the Institute of Population, Health, and Development, and studied health disparities in Vietnam.
This class was taught by a visiting professor, and she did an excellent job of engaging the class and making the material exciting. We learned about the historical Jesus figure in a Jewish context, and we connected the class content to modern day movies about Jesus.
I did a transfer term at Trinity College, Dublin, which means I took three courses at Trinity. My favorite was "Roman Archaeology" because I had never taken an archaeology course yet for my Classical Studies major.
1. Horrors of Survival: American Literatures of Modernity
This class, offered by the English department, introduced students to American texts related to surviving tragedies. For homework, we would read texts and write blogs about particular parts that intrigued or perplexed us, and in class we would discuss the texts together. My favorite text was Moby Dick because it is often referenced in popular culture and reading it in this class allowed me to understand the plight of living and dying within the novel. I especially enjoyed our class field trip to Rauner Special Collections Library, where I had the chance to encounter letters written home and photographs during the Civil War that related to texts from class. Though the texts we read were helpful in understanding the war, the first-hand accounts really brought the war into focus.
2. The Jewish Jesus
The Jewish Jesus was a brand new course offered by the Religion department. The class was taught by a visiting professor who was excellent at engaging the class and making a 2,000 year old subject come alive. The class focused on Jesus' identity as a Jewish man and what life was really like in Israel 2,000 years ago. After studying this, we learned about the roots of anti-Semitism as well as how Jesus' image has been distorted over several centuries. With a class trip to the Book Arts Workshop, we learned how the Bible was originally written on vellum (animal skin) by doing it ourselves! We wrote out Bible verses and turned in the final assignment for a grade, which was a really exciting experience.
3. Magic and the Occult
After taking several classes in the Classics department, I decided to be a Classics major, and this class looked very interesting because it focused on the mystical side of Antiquity that I had never learned before. The class centered around several projects that students did to compare and contrast magical traditions in Antiquity—a bonus was that several of my friends happened to be in this class!
4. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
I took this class to fulfill a requirement for my Global Health minor, which is offered through the Anthropology department. This class covered the basics of anthropology on a cultural level by studying different groups of people all around the world, starting with the culture at Dartmouth and as far-reaching as cultures in Asia.
At Dartmouth, there is an undergraduate requirement for language; after all, it is the liberal arts! Fulfilling this requirement looks different for various people and I will focus on my experience.
Traditionally, Dartmouth students take three courses during a term, but I decided to take four courses this term! Learn about course load and the academic system at Dartmouth.
Planning on visiting Dartmouth as a prospective student or an interested person wanting to see our beautiful campus? In this post, I share insider tips to ensure your visit is fulfilled!
As I approach the halfway mark of my Dartmouth journey this spring, I find myself reflecting on the significance of distributive and world culture requirements in shaping my academic experience.
