“Anthropology is taught in virtually all liberal-arts colleges, but rarely in high school,” says Dr. Kerry M. Dore, one of Trinity-Pawling’s new faculty members. “Offering Introduction to Anthropology to the young men at Trinity-Pawling gives them exposure to a field of study that many students never hear about until they reach college.”
Designed as a true college-preparatory course, the challenging material and activities are presented in a way that encourages good study skills and techniques, giving our students a significant advantage when entering college.
The study of anthropology helps the boys understand why people living in different cultures act the way they do. While it is human nature to categorize people, the stereotypes we assign to those categories are cultural. Dr. Dore’s course focuses on biological and cultural anthropology. The biological anthropology component shows the students the depth of human evolution and how we are, in fact, one of the least diverse species in the world. The cultural anthropology component allows them to view other cultures through a lens that does not see their own culture as better, more important, more modern, or more “civilized” than any other. This knowledge gives students the sensitivity required to be successful in a global society.
Dr. Dore began teaching in 2007 while still in graduate school, and has been teaching anthropology as a part-time professor at Marist College since 2012. Having lived on Trinity-Pawling’s campus with her husband, Will Dore, an English teacher at Trinity-Pawling; and their children for four years, Kerry decided she wanted to get to know the boys in a classroom setting, share her passion for science – especially her research area of ethnoprimatology – and guide them to have a better understanding of our ever-changing world.
Darien Clay ’16 admits, “The expectations are high, like a college course – but the way she presents the material makes it fun to learn, and the topic gives us a perspective on how we became to be – it’s very interesting.”