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.
What is the house system like at Dartmouth? Do you live with your house?
A:
The house system is an amazing part of Dartmouth that you're automatically enrolled in when you arrive, and it shapes where you'll live, activities outside campus, and connects you with tons of different people. Understandably, it can be a bit confusing, so as a '23 who was fairly active with the house system without taking on any leadership roles, let's talk about how the house system affects the Dartmouth experience.
According to my upperclassman friends, the house system took on some really new developments when the class of 2023 arrived on campus, which means that my friends and I were able to really reap the benefits. And lucky for us, that usually meant Tuk Tuk Thai dinners. I miss them so much!
I am a member of West House, which is one of several houses at Dartmouth. Your house lives together for the entirety of your Dartmouth career, and will affect your housing — being in West House means West House housing, likewise for East Wheelock House, School House, and the rest of the crew. The exception to this rule is people who decide to live in a Greek house or with a Living Learning Community, the latter of which was my case. I lived in the McLaughlin Cluster during my freshman year with the Humanities LLC, but I was a member of West House, so most of my friends lived in French and Judge in the River Cluster. Additionally, your roommate(s) are always a member of your house.
As far as community goes, your house will put on several events each term. This could be a dinner catered by a local restaurant, a board game night, an ice cream social, or even an off-campus adventure. During my time alone, West House has planned and paid for my housemates to go to New York City and Boston. One of my friends had even planned on going to Puerto Rico because his house was paying for him to do so during spring break! Your house will run open events that you get to attend and enjoy, free of charge.
And if you're not a varsity or club athlete, the houses run intramural sports that compete against each other in a variety of sports — basketball, ice hockey, and soccer, just to name a few. It's a really fun pastime and a great way to blow off steam, can't recommend it enough!
Hopefully this clears up some of your questions, and feel free to read some of the wonderfully crafted posts on the blog about even more specific aspects. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the house system for the alternative vein of entertainment it adds to campus. I loved it as soon as I arrived, and I'm sure you will too!
Through Dartmouth's Guarini Institute for International Study, I am getting to take classes and experience life at Wellesley College, an all-women's school!
