Aloha to the page of a wanderlusting writer juggling college life and several other hobbies into an eternally-short 24-hour day. I hope to shed light on the Dartmouth experience as I explore the brave new world of Hanover, NH and everything going to college here has to offer. In my free time, you can find me trying to learn a new language or building the perfect Spotify playlist (alternative/indie, anyone?). I hope you enjoy!
Taught by Gordon Henry, an Anishinaabe poet and author, this class taught me to explore Indigenous storytelling within digital contexts. I took this class with only seven other classmates, allowing us to really engage with films, comic books, and television shows in Indigenous languages or produced by Indigenous artists.
Taught by Timothy Pulju, this class taught me how to identify and understand how languages evolve over time and why. I analyzed and reconstructed fictional languages of imaginary nations in order to understand the link between language and culture, and ended up having such an appreciation for the complexity and beauty of language's place in history!
Taught by Lindsay Whaley, this class let me discover a newfound love for ancient apocalyptic literature. We analyzed ancient texts and compared them to modern apocalypses, looking at the zombie apocalypse phenomenon and other apocalypses in pop culture and comparing them to the ancient tradition of writing apocalypses. Additionally, I learned the Greek alphabet and now I can even stumble through ancient Greek passages.
FallNew Orleans, LA
Favorite Class: Native American Literature and the Law
Taught and organized by David Peterson, this class let me get into the shoes of a real linguist as we did fieldwork (virtually!!) with the Zophei language. I learned how to describe a never-before-learned language's phonology (sound system), how to characterize its grammar and words, and ultimately got to present my research to experts in the language family around the world in a workshop at the end of the term!
WinterHanover, NH
Favorite Class: Native American Literature and the Law
Taught by N. Bruce Duthu, this class taught me how Native literature can provide lens by which to evaluate, critique, and ultimately revise Federal Indian Law. During this class, I read works by Native authors like Tommy Orange and Louise Erdrich '76 alongside the opinions of definitive case opinions in American law and explained how literature can be a catalyst for Indigenous sovereignty.
Supervised by N. Bruce Duthu, I spent this off-term performing research after being awarded a Sophomore Research Scholarship to study contemporary Hawaiian cultural and linguistic revitalization. I studied 19th-century newspapers and contemporary Hawaiian texts in order to understand how Hawaiian language revitalization both past and present has advanced and continues to enable a contemporary bodied Hawaiian politic of sovereignty.
Taught by Laura McPherson, this class taught me about how languages create meaning through words. During this class, I learned how to analyze different languages' morphological processes and compare different approaches within the field as to morphological structures.
Taught by N. Bruce Duthu, this class offered me a glimpse into the lived realities of Native people in Indian Country Today. I learned about the economic, social, cultural, and historical roots for the struggles of Indigenous people today within the United States, and was able to write about the contemporary battle for Native Hawaiian visibility and Hawaiian sovereignty.
Taught by Laura McPherson, this class taught me how to engage in language documentation and how, as a linguist, we can put our skills to use to help communities seeking to document and revitalize their languages. I worked on the Satawalese language, spoken on the island of Satawal in the Federated States of Micronesia. Ultimately, my team created two dictionaries - one in English, one in Hawaiian, a website, and several materials that focused on the Satawalese tradition of wayfinding and non-instrumental ocean navigation.
Taught by Charles Eastman fellow Sunaina Kale, this class taught me about the role of sound in delineating, conceiving, and comprehending relations between people and the land in Indigenous musical traditions. Over the course of the class, we discussed Indigenous musicians, listened to music from Native peoples around the world, heard from masterful Indigenous musicians, and ultimately presented a project that creatively analyzed a song of our choice. My project focused on the song "Ask Yourself" by Foster the People, and I wrote a poem that integrated aspects of Indigenous languages and worldviews to answer questions posed by the song.
This term, I formally began the research process for my upcoming honors thesis in the Linguistics department on Hawaiian semantics! While living in Hanover, I also began working as a Senior Fellow with the Admissions department—a position I will be holding for the entirety of my last year at Dartmouth.
Just under a year since my last time calling Hanover home, I will be resuming classes and student life on campus again -- a little older, a little wiser, and yet no less excited to be able to fall countless times while attempting to ice skate. Upper Valley winter, here I come.
I'm excited to be writing to you all again as I document campus life during the COVID-era. While I spent fall in the beautiful city of New Orleans, as I described repeatedly, there's something about the charm of campus that supercharges the student experience, and when I was given the opportunity to signal my interest in returning to campus, my friends and I couldn't resist. Over the term, I'm so excited to document everything and, as always, to pad my blog with as many snow-covered Green pics as possible. As you can see from my cover photo, taken from my backyard, I'm a little pressed for the seasons at the moment (but never for coffee!). Rest assured: winter is coming.
As my sophomore winter, this marks the term where I'll finally be able to formally declare my major. At Dartmouth, you don't have to declare a major until your fifth term. The liberal arts is very much about exploring -- to imagine myself as a Government/Classics major at Dartmouth (which I had originally written on my college application) is almost unthinkable at this point. I didn't foresee Linguistics and all of these other, smaller departments stealing my heart when I stepped onto campus for the first time, but since I've been here I've had the unique pleasure of fully embracing these new fields of study. Dartmouth expects you to change your mind! Part of the liberal arts is being encouraged to try things, both familiar and unfamiliar, and I think that Dartmouth also wants us to change our minds. For some, they have their college trajectories mapped out, but treating this time as a kind of impromptu road trip when it comes to picking classes will most definitely surprise you -- can't recommend it enough.
This term, I'm taking a class on language revitalization, one on the linguistic study of semantics and pragmatics, and a course that studies the intersection between Native Americans, Native literature, and the legal system. While I haven't stopped reading since classes started, I'm so excited to be able to broaden my horizons and learn from professors both old and new. All of my classes are synchronous, but considering all my lectures start after lunchtime which gives me the opportunity to sleep in whenever I want, I'm excited. It's the little things, guys.
When I arrive on campus, my classmates and I will partake in a weeklong quarantine before we're allowed to leave our rooms -- for our safety! But when we get there, Dartmouth has planned a ton of programming to allow us to enjoy as much of Dartmouth life as possible, as safely as possible. While the precautions mean that this won't be a traditional Dartmouth campus term by any stretch, I'll be seeing friends I haven't seen for a year now (how is that possible?) and being able to study in my favorite libraries and on-campus cafe spots. I wouldn't trade that opportunity for anything. See you all so soon!
Planning on visiting Dartmouth as a prospective student or an interested person wanting to see our beautiful campus? In this post, I share insider tips to ensure your visit is fulfilled!
As I approach the halfway mark of my Dartmouth journey this spring, I find myself reflecting on the significance of distributive and world culture requirements in shaping my academic experience.
Witnessing an eclipse was one of the most exciting days in my life to date, and a solid reminder of our place in this universe. Read on to hear about it!
Coming back from Spring break usually means coming back to an entirely different campus than the one you left in the Winter – but that was not the case this year! Read on to hear more...
This is my final term before senior year, which is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. One thing I am excited about is the classes I am taking this term, so let me tell you more!
