Hello everyone! My name is Natasha Raman and I'm a freshman at Dartmouth. Although I'm undecided on my major, I am leaning towards something related to government, economics, and Asian studies. In my free time, I like to watch The Office, keep up with current events, learn new languages, and hang out with my friends. I am excited to explore my interests at Dartmouth and take advantage of the amazing opportunities offered here!
Now that we are well into fall term, I have gotten into the groove of things. Here are the classes I am taking this term:
1. Making of the Modern World Economy
Making of the Modern World Economy is a history course taught by Professor Stefan Link. In this course, we learn about the major economic developments that have occurred over the past two centuries. The class meets three days a week—2 days are reserved for lectures, and one day is for class discussion. My favorite topic we have covered so far is the economic impact of WWI. It was really fascinating to look at the war from a purely economic perspective rather than a political or social one (like I had done in high school).
2. United States Political History in the Twentieth Century
This is another history course I am taking this term. Because I love history and might want to major in it, I really wanted to explore a variety of classes in the department this term. In this course, which is taught by Professor Bethany Moreton, we analyze American political life in the 1900s. Similar to the Making of the Modern World Economy course, we have both lecture-based and discussion-based classes weekly. Professor Moreton split up the class into two for the discussion groups, so each group has around fifteen people in it. These small discussion groups allow us to really dig into the material and have in-depth conversations about the readings. It has been interesting to see how applicable the things we have learned are to our current political climate.
3. Languages and Scripts of Gender, Class, and Nation
This course is taught by Professor Sachi Schmidt-Hori, who is in the Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages (ASCL) Department. In this course, we examine how Asian languages have formed gender, sexual, and national identities. Our assigned readings are usually journal articles or chapters from books, which has given me experience with tackling academic writing. Languages and Scripts of Gender, Class, and Nation is the second course I have taken within the ASCL Department, and I can't say enough about how excellent the professors are. This class only has 15 students, so I've been able to engage in substantive discussions with my peers and professor.
"Big Data Science in Hydrology" pulls content from computer science, environmental statistics, and hydrology—the study of the movement of Earth's water—to form a really interesting interdisciplinary class.
Spring has sprung in Hanover and the term feels like it's really getting off the ground with classes starting up in full swing, warmer weather, and the occasional muddy day.
Thinking back, this winter has been a whirlwind. I wanted to use this final blog post as an opportunity to organize my thoughts and share some reflections as I move into my final term!
Dartmouth is home to a ton of different departments, but one of my favorites is the Native American Studies (NAS) department. Let me tell you why you should take a NAS class at Dartmouth!
