Hello! My name is Cal Shin, and I am a '27 planning to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. Outside of academics and blogging, you can find me drawing (perhaps even designing for The Dartmouth), hosting my radio show as a proud deejay at WebDCR, perusing the Free Market, or hanging out with friends. Ultimately, I am an artist and a storyteller. I hope you enjoy reading about my Dartmouth experience; the journey has just begun!
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.)
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a phenomenal total solar eclipse occurred—and we happened to be within the path of totality. The last time this happened was in 1959—more than 60 years ago! As a result, Dartmouth hosted a variety of eclipse-related events on and off campus. There was an eclipse watch party on the Green, where tons of people gathered to watch wearing eclipse-glasses provided by the College.
I didn't do that. Instead, I was fortunate enough to go to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, through a trip hosted by the Programming Board. The Programming Board provided us with free transportation, snacks, and eclipse glasses for each person who went! As a result, I got to see the eclipse at 100% totality.
A statue at the St. Johnsbury Athenauem
Before the time of totality, I stopped by the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, a "public library and art gallery," according to their website. There were lots of beautiful statues like the one pictured above, as well as wonderful books for me to read! There was even a shelf filled with free books for people to take, with an emphasis that we were NOT to return them!
I picked up Translations of Beauty by Mia Yun, and managed to get through a good chunk of the book before the eclipse occurred!
Of course, how can I forget the actual eclipse? I have never actually seen a solar eclipse in person, let alone complete totality, and I was awed at how beautiful it was. Mere smartphones cannot capture such beauty.
This photo doesn't do the eclipse justice!
After the eclipse, I discovered a nearby bowling alley and went bowling for the first time.
I'm not the best bowler in the world, but for my first time, I think I did great!
My trip to St. Johnsbury was a great way to end the weekend! I never counted myself as an avid sun chaser, but this particular day may have changed my mind.
