Hello, Eda here: full-time learner, part-time writer, and pretty much a happy amateur at everything else. My hobbies include reading, discovering new movies, and looking at the pictures of my cat. On campus, you can find me peer supporting for the Mental Health Union and SAPA, writing for Spare Rib, doing research in psychology, or listening to Turkish & English alt-rock. Feel free to ask me about taking a gap year, transitioning to a new cultural space, or college in general!
This class discusses the concepts of sex and gender in the broader context of issues related to race, class, national identity, and more. I loved this class because it helped me better understand how systemic inequality affects individual lives and made me think about ways to change it. Professor A'Ness is such an inspiring prof!
In this first-year writing seminar, we discussed how avant-garde movements from futurism to punk rock have constituted a rebellion against the status quo. I loved all the readings for this class and Professor McCann inspired me to take more courses in the English department!
In this course, we learned all the basics of fiction: character, plot, setting, etc. My favorite parts of the course were receiving feedback from other students, reading my peers' work, and having fiction readings as assigned course work! I also appreciated all the guest speakers we had, who were experienced writers in their respective genres.
As an aspiring clinical psychologist, this course has been one of the best classes I have taken at Dartmouth so far. The class focused on the etiology, diagnosis, characteristics and treatment of various mental disorders. Professor Hudenko has been one of the greatest lectures I had the pleasure of meeting. As a clinical psychologist himself, he had extensive knowledge in not only the theory, but also the practice of clinical psychology. He also succeeded in making a lecture-based class feel interactive and dynamic.
We covered the complex neural and biological mechanisms of multiple mental health disorders ranging from common conditions like anxiety to more complicated illnesses such as schizophrenia. In addition to reading about the cutting-edge research in this area, we also read memoirs and watched documentaries about the mental illnesses to focus on how these conditions are affecting people in real life. Professor Funnell is one of the best profs I had!
As an aspiring clinical psychologist, this has been one of my favorite classes at Dartmouth. We learned about different therapy methods, how and when to use them, their advantages, and shortcomings. The class was incredibly engaging with Professor Hudenko's frequent demonstrations of methods, therapy videos, and guest speakers. I would recommend this class to every psychology major.
I worked at Dimock Health Center as part of my community health internship. I was part of a team of summer interns who were college students like myself. We worked as patient advocates that helped people reach out to resources regarding housing, food, utilities, etc. Most of our work involved calling patients, helping them fill out forms, and researching resources. I learned so much about community health resources and how to communicate with a diverse set of patients. It was an invaluable experience!
I took classes in the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary University of London. My favorite class of the term was called London Performance Now, which involved going to different performance events in London and discussing them in class. It was the perfect opportunity to explore the cultural landscape of London.
As the title of the course suggests, this class was about food: its history, economics, and cultural practices. I learned a lot through this course thanks to guest speakers, thought-provoking readings, and engaging assignments. My favorite assignment in this course was writing about a family recipe; I learned so much about my family's history as well as the cultural conflicts in my home country. Overall, it was among the best classes I have taken at Dartmouth. Plus, we even got to eat delicious food cooked by our classmates!
Hello, once again, from London, where I will be spending my fall term, doing a Foreign Study Program in English and Creative Writing at Queen Mary University of London! It's been a little over a week since I moved into Queen Mary halls, so let me tell you a little about what I have discovered so far in Queen Mary's campus and the similarities/differences between Dartmouth's campus!
As you may already know, Dartmouth has one big (269-acre!) campus in Hanover, New Hampshire, that includes the undergraduate schools as well as the medical and graduate schools. Unlike Dartmouth, Queen Mary University of London, as the name implies, has city campuses. It has a few different campuses across London, housing different schools. I am staying at the biggest Queen Mary campus that houses primarily undergraduate schools and undergrad students in Mile End. Queen Mary is one of the few universities in London that is campus-based, meaning that I can leave my dorm and be at class in about 10 minutes maximum, just like at Dartmouth. Such convenience is a luxury for London's city universities, as most students have to commute to class using public transportation. I am grateful that we are the first cohort of Dartmouth students that will be housed in Queen Mary dorms instead of flats in central London, which would have been around 20-40 minutes of public transportation depending on where you live. I am lucky that I get to have access to such a modern and comfortable campus while being close to the center of London. Plus, you can meet almost all of your needs in the Mile End campus. We have two shops, a student gym, and a cafe run by the Student Union at Queen Mary.
I am fairly settled in my dorm in Queen Mary, which is a single room with a full bath! It is a difference from Dartmouth for sure, where I stayed in a two-room triple with a half-bath, sharing a living space with two of my best friends. Don't get me wrong, I love having my own space at Queen Mary, but I understand that it can get lonely quickly. That's why I am happy that we are a cohort of Dartmouth students all living on campus. It is easy to find people that want to explore London with you! Plus, we are still having trips organized by Dartmouth. For instance, last week, we had a trip to see St. Paul's Cathedral. It was the first cathedral I have seen and the atmosphere was mesmerizing. I cannot wait to explore more of London's cultural landmarks!
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.
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.
This is part two of me "nerding out" about my honors thesis! If you want to learn more about independent projects, theses, or the humanities at Dartmouth, check it out!
