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.
Dartmouth is no stranger to a variety of student-run full-year performance groups in dance, a cappella, improv, and comedy. With seven dance groups, eight a cappella groups, and three comedy and improv groups, there are plenty of options should you want to expand your creative horizons. Sophomore summer is particularly special, as most performance groups become spin-offs, allowing sophomores to audition and join any of these groups just for the summer.
Here is a comprehensive table of full-year and summer 2025 performance groups!
At the end of the first week or the beginning of the second week of the summer term, student performance groups hold sophomore summer auditions. Groups will advertise auditions to everyone on campus via email; however, the process itself may vary depending on the group. I auditioned for a cappella, which involved signing up for a time slot and completing a form indicating my preferred group. I arrived at the audition location during my scheduled time slot, where I participated in an icebreaker, performed pitch matching exercises, and sang a verse and chorus of a prepared song. Later, I received word that I was part of The Doms!
Rehearsals for my a cappella group are 2 hours a week, twice a week. We started learning two songs for our first show, Streetfest! Streetfest is an annual event featuring performances from all sophomore summer performance groups, as well as fundraisers to support various organizations in the Upper Valley. Rehearsals consisted of warmups and learning our songs, "Love Club" by Lorde and "Super Trouper" by ABBA, as well as some simple choreography to accompany our singing.
The day of Streetfest was a remarkable one. Each performance group began the afternoon with a technical check, ensuring that all necessary equipment was functioning properly. I walked around, making sure to watch performances of my friends and sorority sisters. About half an hour before showtime, we gathered to run through our songs once more. We all then walked together towards our stage, where we put on a spectacular performance for Dartmouth students, parents, and community members in the Upper Valley.
While the Hanover community is always strong and thriving, it's hard to imagine what it's like when you are thousands of miles away from The Green. Read on to learn about my Dartmouth life in Rome, and the community within Dartmouth while abroad.
In one of my previous posts, I mentioned how I joined a sorority earlier this fall by going through the recruitment process. I've come a long way since then. In fact, I am living in my sorority house for my sophomore summer!
I've just finished my first four weeks as a Concord Monitor news intern, having delved into journalism in ways I couldn't have without the help I received from Dartmouth's Center for Professional Development.
Dartmouth is not just a college. With world-renowned graduate schools, why would we choose to call ourselves a college instead of a university? The story behind that decision dates back to a significant Supreme Court ruling.
On a quiet spring Saturday in Hanover, I traded the usual campus buzz for Monet in the morning and archery in the afternoon—a reminder that Dartmouth weekends can be just as meaningful when they're slow, reflective, and a little unexpected.
During my sophomore spring quarter, I took on the challenge of four STEM courses, and while it has been intense, the unexpected connections across subjects and the joy of learning have made it one of my most rewarding academic experiences yet.
