Pleasing red wall with yellow leaves

Taylor Wen

Class of 2027
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Bio 

Hey! My name is Taylor, and I'm a '27 from Beijing, China. I'm majoring in Mathematics and Quantitative Social Science, with a potential minor in French. Outside of the classroom, you can find me going on hikes with the Dartmouth Outing Club, in the Spare Rib office writing creative pieces, or reading books in Sherman library

Academic Program 

Mathematics, Quantitative Social Science

Favorite Thing Right Now 

The New Hopkins Center for the Arts

Hometown 

Beijing, China

Pronouns 

she/her

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Taylor's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: FREN 3: Introductory French III

      Coming to Dartmouth with a solid background in French (Delf B2), I find French 3 a perfect fit for me -- it helps me to consolidate a lot of key grammar and vocabs, and fun weekly cultural activities like coffee hours and french lunch table offers me chances to relax in busy times. While the class is very rigorous and requires a lot of hard work, my professor is so nice and makes the class very fun! I also look forward to going to Dartmouth's Toulouse LSA program after completion of this class!

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Buddhism, Sexuality, & Gender in Southeast Asia

      This course explores how Buddhist concepts of embodiment affect daily life and society in Southeast Asian contexts, and how the intersection of religion, sexuality, and gender impact broader understandings of authority, wisdom, beauty, death, and loyalty. The class takes on many forms beyond mere lectures -- a visit to the Hood Museum of Art, mindfulness practices, and small Buddha-crafting projects. Our professor (the sweetest Prof. MK Long) also invites many of her colleagues at other institutes as guest lecturers to our class so that we can learn from real experts specializing in different countries in Southeast Asia. I have learned a lot from the class and decided to become a religion major after this course!

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: Calculus of Vector-Valued Functions

      Having never enjoyed math classes before college, I'm surprised (again) by how I'm becoming a math major and falling in love with math here! My professor (Prof. Shu Longmei, who graduated from the best university in my hometown) is incredibly good at teaching the concepts -- not just explaining things clearly but also showing us the beauty and elegance of calculus. I really look forward to taking more math classes in the future!

    • SummerVietnam & Beijing, China

      I first visited pagodas in Vietnam for a couple of weeks and had days of conversations with monastics! Then, I returned home to savor time spent with my family and old friends, focus on my mental and physical health, and study and work a bit.  

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: REL 20.08 Ethnography and Religion

      This is a really fun and engaging class taught by an award-winning professor. The mini-ethnography assignments provide a lot of hands-on experience in conducting fieldwork, making the methods we study feel real and applicable. From participant observation to interviews and field note coding, this course offers an immersive introduction to ethnographic research on religion. Plus, the discussions on research ethics and methodology are both thought-provoking and relevant, making this an incredibly useful class for anyone interested in studying contemporary religious communities through direct engagement.

    • WinterOn Campus

      Favorite Class: REL 46 Daoism: Transformations of Tradition

      This class is incredibly interesting because it feels like traveling through time—from the philosophical foundations of Laozi and Zhuangzi to medieval Daoist traditions and contemporary practices in northern and southern China and Taiwan. Even as a Chinese student, I’m realizing how much there is to learn, not just about Daoism but also about the broader religious landscape and practices in China.

    • SpringOn Campus

      Favorite Class: QSS 17: Data Visualization

      QSS 17 offered a rigorous and creative introduction to data processing and visualization. From replicating Florence Nightingale’s iconic rose plot to designing animated graphics and exploring datasets that captured my own interests, the course deepened both my technical skills and my ability to communicate insights visually. It taught me not just how to make graphs, but how to tell compelling, data-driven stories.

    • SummerHong Kong & Beijing, China

      I completed an internship in Hong Kong and spent the rest of the summer with my family in Beijing.

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: COLT 66: Literature and Psychoanalysis

      The class featured an incredibly engaging range of readings—from Virginia Woolf, Kafka, and Shakespeare to Almodóvar’s films, as well as theoretical works by Butler, Žižek, Lacan, and Freud. I learned a great deal from the diverse perspectives these texts offered and benefited immensely from the in-class discussions, which were always thought-provoking and inclusive. The professor also made a genuine effort to get to know every student (all of us invited him to the Pine restaurant for lunch during the term), creating a warm and intellectually stimulating classroom environment.

    • WinterToulouse, France

      Favorite Class: FREN 9.01 French Civilization LSA

      This class explores French art, music, and history from the Middle Ages to the modern period, offering a broad view of the country’s cultural heritage. I especially enjoy it because many classes are held in museums and cathedrals, where encountering artworks and architecture in their original settings makes the material feel immersive and vividly alive.

stained glass window

Why Do We Still Need a Liberal Arts Education?

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In essence, my diverse courses converge on a singular lesson: the art of thinking both critically and creatively, a skill essential in the age of artificial intelligence. To me, this epitomizes the essence of a liberal arts education.

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Posted 02/4/2024 at 9:00 AMAll Text Posts
jewelry workshop

Making Jewelry in the Midst of a Busy Week!

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Dartmouth has many hidden gems, and sometimes you can take it literally! With a free afternoon on my hand this Wednesday, I explored the Donald Claflin Jewelry Studio and made a necklace!

Dartmouth Jewelry Studio Website https://hop.dartmouth.edu/students/jewelry
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Posted 10/25/2023 at 9:00 AMAll Text Posts

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