Hello, Eda here: full-time learner, part-time writer, and pretty much a happy amateur at everything else. My hobbies include reading, discovering new movies, and looking at the pictures of my cat. On campus, you can find me peer supporting for the Mental Health Union and SAPA, writing for Spare Rib, doing research in psychology, or listening to Turkish & English alt-rock. Feel free to ask me about taking a gap year, transitioning to a new cultural space, or college in general!
This class discusses the concepts of sex and gender in the broader context of issues related to race, class, national identity, and more. I loved this class because it helped me better understand how systemic inequality affects individual lives and made me think about ways to change it. Professor A'Ness is such an inspiring prof!
In this first-year writing seminar, we discussed how avant-garde movements from futurism to punk rock have constituted a rebellion against the status quo. I loved all the readings for this class and Professor McCann inspired me to take more courses in the English department!
In this course, we learned all the basics of fiction: character, plot, setting, etc. My favorite parts of the course were receiving feedback from other students, reading my peers' work, and having fiction readings as assigned course work! I also appreciated all the guest speakers we had, who were experienced writers in their respective genres.
As an aspiring clinical psychologist, this course has been one of the best classes I have taken at Dartmouth so far. The class focused on the etiology, diagnosis, characteristics and treatment of various mental disorders. Professor Hudenko has been one of the greatest lectures I had the pleasure of meeting. As a clinical psychologist himself, he had extensive knowledge in not only the theory, but also the practice of clinical psychology. He also succeeded in making a lecture-based class feel interactive and dynamic.
We covered the complex neural and biological mechanisms of multiple mental health disorders ranging from common conditions like anxiety to more complicated illnesses such as schizophrenia. In addition to reading about the cutting-edge research in this area, we also read memoirs and watched documentaries about the mental illnesses to focus on how these conditions are affecting people in real life. Professor Funnell is one of the best profs I had!
As an aspiring clinical psychologist, this has been one of my favorite classes at Dartmouth. We learned about different therapy methods, how and when to use them, their advantages, and shortcomings. The class was incredibly engaging with Professor Hudenko's frequent demonstrations of methods, therapy videos, and guest speakers. I would recommend this class to every psychology major.
I worked at Dimock Health Center as part of my community health internship. I was part of a team of summer interns who were college students like myself. We worked as patient advocates that helped people reach out to resources regarding housing, food, utilities, etc. Most of our work involved calling patients, helping them fill out forms, and researching resources. I learned so much about community health resources and how to communicate with a diverse set of patients. It was an invaluable experience!
I took classes in the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary University of London. My favorite class of the term was called London Performance Now, which involved going to different performance events in London and discussing them in class. It was the perfect opportunity to explore the cultural landscape of London.
As the title of the course suggests, this class was about food: its history, economics, and cultural practices. I learned a lot through this course thanks to guest speakers, thought-provoking readings, and engaging assignments. My favorite assignment in this course was writing about a family recipe; I learned so much about my family's history as well as the cultural conflicts in my home country. Overall, it was among the best classes I have taken at Dartmouth. Plus, we even got to eat delicious food cooked by our classmates!
I officially declared my psychology major at the end of last winter term. Having finally taken most of the intro-level classes, such as Introductory Psychology and Introduction to Neuroscience, I can finally write about psychology classes that go into more depth. Here are my favorite psychology & neuroscience classes I have taken so far, so bear with me as I nerd out a bit.
Abnormal Psychology
I have written about this class before briefly here, so I will keep it short. As an aspiring clinical psychologist, I must say I am biased. I am naturally interested in clinical/abnormal psychology. Beyond the material itself, my favorite thing about the class was Professor Hudenko's practical knowledge as both a psychologist with clinical experience and a researcher. He was one of the best lecturers I had the pleasure of meeting in class.
Social Psychology
Prior to taking this class, social psychology was one of the subfields in psychology that I was least interested in. However, within a few weeks of taking this course, I changed my mind thanks to Professor Thornton's lectures. I realized there was more depth and nuance in social psychology research than I had assumed, especially in social neuroscience. I am now looking forward to taking more upper-level social psychology classes, as it has become my second favorite subfield in psychology after clinical psychology.
Neuroscience of Mental Illness
This class is not only one of the best psychology/neuroscience classes I have taken at Dartmouth but also one of the best classes I have taken, ever. Despite being a lecture-based class, the class meetings were interactive. I learned a lot from my classmates, which always ends up being my favorite kind of class to attend at Dartmouth. Professor Funnel, one of my favorite professors I had the pleasure of meeting, not only did a great job designing the class format, but also put tremendous thought and care into curating the topics, readings, and assignments that enriched the class discussions. She also gave us the fairest assignment I have taken in all my education. She assigned us research papers divided into subsections and allowed us to formulate our own research questions to learn more about. Yes, I thought when I first learned about the class, this is what STEM learning should be like. For the final research paper, she asked us to write about two wellness practices we have been trying throughout the term. It was a very well-designed assignment that taught me a lot about myself and the field we were learning about. In addition to all of this, Professor Funnel was genuinely interested in getting to know us both as students and individuals with complicated lives beyond the classroom.
Forms of Therapy
I am taking this class this spring term, which I have been looking forward to since last fall when I learned Professor Hudenko was teaching this class in addition to Abnormal Psychology. I am happy that I finally get to learn more in-depth knowledge in clinical psychology and whether I still want to specialize in this field. I look forward to it!
Academics can be challenging at Dartmouth. But there are lots of groups across campus here to support you through your academic journey. Read on for my experience asking for help and a few organizations that might be helpful to you!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
