Hello friends! My name is Diana D'Souza and I am pursuing a double major in Economics and Chinese. On campus, I live in the Humanities LLC and write for the Opinion section of The Dartmouth. I also serve on the Women in Business (WIB) Executive Board as the Co–Alumni Relations Chair. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, curating Spotify playlists, and baking with friends.
Clustered between the Hop and Wilson Hall, you will find the Hood Museum of Art, home to some of the most impressive Native American and Australian indigenous art. Although I had frequently passed the Hood during my late night food dashes, I never stepped foot inside until my Humanities floor joined Professor Timothy Baker '08 and Associate Curator Amelia Kahl '01 for a tour.
Curator Amelia Kahl '01
Our tour was divided into two parts, the first of which was a guided tour, where Amelia spoke about the history of the artwork and answered questions. We began by entering the landscape exhibit and I vividly remember a painting reminiscent of the Lorax—with puffy, cotton candy-like trees, a pink sky, and a spattering of flowers in rolling green grass. Next, we proceeded to look at Native American art (baskets, wallets, and pottery) before entering my favorite exhibit: The Politics of Pink. This exhibit, which was designed by Charlotte Grussing '19, embraced how women are stereotypically associated with the color pink. By drowning the exhibit in pink and showcasing the works of women, she was successful in proving that women can reclaim the color pink.
"The Butcher's Tale" (La Mesa del Carnicero), part of the Politics in Pink Exhibit
The second part of the tour took us upstairs, where we had ten minutes to explore as much as we could before the tour concluded. As I admired masks, sculptures, and expansive paintings, I found myself drawn to Allison Saar's "Cache," the focal point of the room. The sculpture features a naked woman curled on the floor with a massive ball of hair weighing her down. Kahl mentioned that it was a symbolic piece that spoke to the woman's struggle of being of both African and European ancestry.
At the end of the tour, we broke out into a Q&A session. Kahl informed us that Dartmouth owns over 150,000 pieces of art, but only 1.5-2% of them are showcased at a time. Every term, the Hood attempts to update or replace exhibits in order to keep the novelty of the museum alive. Besides stopping by for a quick stroll, she encouraged us to conduct research in the museum as an intern, to design our own exhibits, or to request to study an artifact for class. Being able to engage with the Hood staff while discussing beautiful yet intriguing pieces of art made me better appreciate the value Dartmouth places in the humanities.
Looking back at my housing selection process, I realized there is very little information available about the LLCs. I wrote this blog post to tell you five reasons why I love the Humanities LLC.
When exploring potential colleges to apply to, one criterion I had was that the college should have a vibrant arts culture. At Dartmouth, there are many opportunities to delve into the arts, ranging from theatre to music and studio art.
What is an independent study? Good question! It wasn't until fellow blogger, Catherine, and I took "Cultural Analytics" that the possibility of doing an independent study came to life.
The reason I tell this story is to pretty much show that Dartmouth is somewhat of a "nerd sanctuary" — a place where people can do whatever and explore whatever passion they want.
Between figuring out what clubs I wanted to join, trying out for sports teams, and finding new study spots, each day looked a little different for me this fall.
If you're interested in creating a project based on your interests and leaving an impact on the world around you, I encourage you to check out Dartmouth's Social Impact Practicums!
My friend's student organization, Musical Empowerment (ME), helps teach music to elementary school students in under-served communities to build confidence, creativity, and self-discipline.
