Hi, my name is Liliana (or Lili, for short) and I'm a '26 from Hawaiʻi! On campus, I can be found performing with my dance troupe, hanging out with friends, and testing out food hacks at Foco. I also love collectible stickers, iced matcha with peppermint syrup, cute dogs on the streets of Hanover, and ultra-specific Spotify playlists. Excited to share my Dartmouth journey with you all! :)
At Dartmouth, students cannot declare a major until their fifth term. For many second-year students like myself, this term is usually sophomore fall or sophomore winter! I just recently declared my major in the Government department, and below, I'd like to take you on my personal journey towards this declaration.
This story begins way back - like, *way* way back. I'll set the scene for you: I'm in middle school, and I watch Legally Blonde (2001) for the first time. As an argumentative 13-year-old, my career plan seemed clear: law! I progressed through the rest of my schooling, joining activities like my high school speech & debate team and advocacy club - all with the end goal of studying something law-related.
This goal still rings true. Law is such a broad field, with so many niches to discover. Much like the field of law, Dartmouth's liberal arts curriculum offers countless departments to take courses in. As we enter Dartmouth, we are encouraged to explore various academic departments. I spent my first five terms exploring, taking courses in Sociology, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Economics, and Government.
The Government courses really stood out to me because of their breadth - the department has four "subfields": American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Public Law. Each of these subfields contains countless courses to take - and, there are courses that span multiple subfields! This was so exciting to me, and was a huge reason why I decided to pursue this department.
I'm currently enrolled in two Government courses: one is an introductory course, with a mix of first and second year students, and the other is a mid-level course, with a mix of all four class years. Both of these courses are really focused on political theory and the philosophical side of government, which is of great interest to me! I am considering taking most of my Government courses in this subfield, but I'm open to all of the interesting courses this department has to offer.
My intro course is GOVT 6 (Political Ideas). In this course, we are studying the Classics - right now, it's Plato and other Greek philosophers. I was never one of those kids who went through an ancient Greek phase, so trying to read these Greek names does not come easily to me. However, I am fascinated by the history of political philosophy. My professor is also super engaging, and despite our dense texts, she makes class enjoyable! One of my favorite moments was when some students in class acted out some lines from Clouds by Aristophanes. Much like studying Shakespeare in high school, these sorts of texts are much more exciting and entertaining when acted out.
My mid-level course is GOVT 20.03 (Morality and Political Economy). This might just be my favorite course I've ever taken at Dartmouth! The course revolves around one guiding question: how have people attached moral significance to their economic conduct? Our in-class discussions are certainly fast-paced, but it's always really exciting. I like hearing what my classmates have to say since most of them are upperclassmen (and also Government majors)! I'd highly recommend this course to anyone who's interested in history as well as political science. So far, we've studied Abrahamic religions, Greek and Roman philosophers, and the Middle Ages!
Next term, I'm planning to take GOVT 10 (Quantitative Political Analysis), which is a statistics class! I'm really looking forward for what's to come as I continue along with my major. :-)
In the Winter term of 2024, I composed and performed an hour-long, avant-garde concert as the culmination of the grant award. Here is more on my experiences with research as a musician.
Sometimes in my courses I find myself thinking, "Hey that seems familiar!" I think it speaks to Dartmouth professors' ability to cover a broad range of relevant topics and the interdisciplinary nature of the College.
