Hello! My name is Cal Shin, and I am a '27 double-majoring in Economics and Philosophy. When I'm not studying or writing a blog post, you can find me drawing as the Design Editor for The Dartmouth, hosting my radio show at WebDCR, or spending time with my friends. And if I'm not doing any of those, I'm probably watching cat videos. Follow along as I share the moments that make Dartmouth feel like home!
I took this course with Professor James Binkoski and loved it! I had never taken a philosophy course prior to Dartmouth, so this introductory course in the department was perfect! After all, it combined my interests of philosophy with time and time travel — at least, how time and time travel are depicted in the media. This course may initially seem to be on the more technical side, but Professor Binkoski made sure to break down the various time travel theories — various ways scientists and philosophers think of time and its supposed movement — in a manner that’s easy for anyone to understand. A very popular course overall; I am fortunate to have been able to take it during my first term here!
I took this course with Professor Ha Yan Lee and it was absolutely amazing! I had my initial reservations about this course, mainly because I knew a lot of my classmates would have had some background knowledge while I had none. Professor Lee did a wonderful job of breaking down concepts in a manner that, as she often put it, is easy for even “your grandparents to understand”. Even beyond the course, the level of care Professor Lee exhibited towards her students is significant. She’s one of the most popular professors at Dartmouth, and for good reason! I ate lunch with her at The Pine through the Take a Faculty Member to Lunch program, and she gave me tremendous insight and advice! Because of this course, I have been inspired to explore more courses within the Econ department and potentially major in Economics.
I took this course with Professor Jasmina Savic and examined how the vampire figure evolved over time, starting with Slavic literature, going through Dracula and Twilight, and ending with “vampire” political figures. I realized what the portrayal of vampires could tell me about the thoughts of that society, including the fact that the early notions of vampirism are akin to modern-day diseases. For my final project, I wrote a research paper comparing the gumiho (the Korean nine-tailed fox) to several Western vampires.
SummerNew York City, New York
I had the opportunity to visit New York City for the summer! I met up with a good friend of mine, explored the city itself, and went to a networking event with other college students.
ECON 10 is one of the required courses for the Economics major. Based on my stellar experience with Professor Ha Yan Lee during ECON 1, when I saw that she was teaching ECON 10 this term, I immediately jumped at the chance to take the course with her. Once again, Professor Lee did an amazing job of breaking down concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. (The fact that her slideshows were colorful and featured various pictures of cats helped.)
My main interest in philosophy lies in normative and applied ethics, so when I saw the opportunity to take a class on the former, I didn’t hesitate! The class focused on consequentialism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. I enjoyed the ample opportunities for discussion, including discussion posts about the readings, as well as the table-wide conversations. My table, in particular, had lots to say, and there was one reading in particular where we ended up diving into discussion, not once, but twice! In fact, we had so much to say that all of us coincidentally chose to write our essay on this reading — and none of us knew until after we started talking about our papers!
While not explicitly required for the Philosophy major, you can choose to take this (and many other Philosophy courses!) as one of your four electives. Prior to taking this class, feminist philosophy was completely new to me. I had traditionally been exposed to “traditional” European philosophers, and taking the class helped me realize that my lack of exposure to other philosophers outside of this demographic was a product of epistemic injustice. The class consisted of weekly readings and discussion posts, some reflections, guest lectures from the authors of several readings, and a final project of pretty much any format about any topic of our choice! I walked away from the class with a much more nuanced understanding of agency, commodification, and labor; the harms that are a result of the very nature of women tailoring themselves under male desire seemed much more insidious.
Sophomore summer is one of Dartmouth's quintessential traditions, hailed as amazing, phenomenal, and perhaps even legendary among those who have experienced it. Sophomore summer is a time when students are on campus and take classes the summer right before their junior year. As the name alludes, the majority of those on campus during the summer are sophomores, although there may be students in other class years doing research or pursuing other opportunities in the Upper Valley. I am excited to experience sophomore summer and see whether it lives up to its hype, yet nervous because I will be taking some particularly challenging courses, along with having multiple other obligations. Still, my goal is to take some time to unwind and spend time with others in my class year while taking advantage of the warm weather. To make the most of sophomore summer, I've made a bucket list!
Audition for a summer performance group: There are a variety of performance groups that operate only during the summer, including a cappella, dance groups, and improv. I have my eye on summer a cappella groups in particular, and am excited to go through the audition process, regardless of whether I get in!
Visit the Norwich Farmers' Market: Every Saturday, there is a farmers' market in Norwich, Vermont, which is a 5 minute drive from campus. I've been meaning to go to the farmers' market since sophomore fall, and this term, I'm hoping to finally make that trip! (For those without a car, you can take the free Advanced Transit buses to make that journey.)
Stargaze at the golf course: It has been too long since I last went stargazing (freshman fall)! I remember being surprised at how many stars were visible due to the lack of light pollution. The golf course is a perfect place to sit on a blanket and gaze at the sky, and I intend to take advantage of the warm weather to stargaze with my friends.
Attend a Book Arts workshop: I actually subscribed to receive notifications about upcoming Book Arts workshops a while ago, but never attended them — that is, until (hopefully) this summer. I do not have any book binding experience whatsoever, but upon finding out that all workshops are free for Dartmouth students, I hope to intentionally carve out some time to make it to at least one workshop.
Dartmouth offers a variety of study abroad programs. In this post, I interviewed a member of the class of 2027 who went on the ASCL Chinese LSA+ during the summer of 2024.
When asked about my favorite term at Dartmouth, I'll enthusiastically answer, "Sophomore Summer!" Whether it's the enhanced beauty or community on campus, one aspect stands out as the highlight of my term: the start of summer dance ensembles!
