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.)
Time flies. Before I knew it, my first fall at Dartmouth was over, and I was wrapping up the last of my final exams. As I said my goodbyes and "See you in six weeks!" to the friends I made on campus, I reflected on my decision to stay on campus during winterim.
Winterim is a combination of the words winter and interim, and it's the long winter break that incompasses Thanksgiving to New Year's, right before winter term starts. Most people choose to go back to their hometowns during winterim, but there are some who, for various reasons, decide to stay on campus - I being one of them.
Initially, I was somewhat anxious - and, if I'm being honest, still am. I tend to be someone who likes to keep themself busy, so I was worried that I wouldn't have anything to do. While the campus wasn't full of the usual crowd of people walking to and fro, I was pleasantly surprised at the things I could do.
During the first week of winterim, I focused on spending time with my friends. A friend of mine who lives in Vermont invited me to his family's place for Thanksgiving, and I took him up on that offer! Cue a somewhat chaotic and fun weekend that consisted of exploring White River Junction, relaxing with friends, rest, and good food.
Back to Hanover from Vermont!
I also took the time to familiarize myself with spaces closer to home - right on Dartmouth's campus. I took the chance to grab a meal with someone I hadn't really had the chance to talk to, and was surprised at how quickly we got along! We showed each other our favorite underrated spots on campus, and eventually, we settled in an empty classroom and watched a movie together.
That's a short recap of how my first week of winterim went, and there is more to come! Stay tuned.
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
