Hello! My name is Cal Shin, and I am a '27 planning to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. Outside of academics and blogging, you can find me drawing (perhaps even designing for The Dartmouth), hosting my radio show as a proud deejay at WebDCR, perusing the Free Market, or hanging out with friends. Ultimately, I am an artist and a storyteller. I hope you enjoy reading about my Dartmouth experience; the journey has just begun!
I took this course with Professor James Binkoski and loved it! I had never taken a philosophy course prior to Dartmouth, so this introductory course in the department was perfect! After all, it combined my interests of philosophy with time and time travel — at least, how time and time travel are depicted in the media. This course may initially seem to be on the more technical side, but Professor Binkoski made sure to break down the various time travel theories — various ways scientists and philosophers think of time and its supposed movement — in a manner that’s easy for anyone to understand. A very popular course overall; I am fortunate to have been able to take it during my first term here!
I took this course with Professor Ha Yan Lee and it was absolutely amazing! I had my initial reservations about this course, mainly because I knew a lot of my classmates would have had some background knowledge while I had none. Professor Lee did a wonderful job of breaking down concepts in a manner that, as she often put it, is easy for even “your grandparents to understand”. Even beyond the course, the level of care Professor Lee exhibited towards her students is significant. She’s one of the most popular professors at Dartmouth, and for good reason! I ate lunch with her at The Pine through the Take a Faculty Member to Lunch program, and she gave me tremendous insight and advice! Because of this course, I have been inspired to explore more courses within the Econ department and potentially major in Economics.
I took this course with Professor Jasmina Savic and examined how the vampire figure evolved over time, starting with Slavic literature, going through Dracula and Twilight, and ending with “vampire” political figures. I realized what the portrayal of vampires could tell me about the thoughts of that society, including the fact that the early notions of vampirism are akin to modern-day diseases. For my final project, I wrote a research paper comparing the gumiho (the Korean nine-tailed fox) to several Western vampires.
SummerNew York City, New York
I had the opportunity to visit New York City for the summer! I met up with a good friend of mine, explored the city itself, and went to a networking event with other college students.
ECON 10 is one of the required courses for the Economics major. Based on my stellar experience with Professor Ha Yan Lee during ECON 1, when I saw that she was teaching ECON 10 this term, I immediately jumped at the chance to take the course with her. Once again, Professor Lee did an amazing job of breaking down concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. (The fact that her slideshows were colorful and featured various pictures of cats helped.)
As my first fall comes to an end, I wanted to take the time to reflect on my journey during my first term at Dartmouth.
When I arrived on campus, I was met with a schedule that initially seemed like a whirlwind. Through first-year trips, I met my fellow trippees and trip leaders. You can read more about my specific first-year trips experience here.
Before I knew it, classes began. I had no idea what I wanted to major in (and still don't!), so I decided to sign up for classes that I thought sounded interesting, while also making sure that I wasn't overwhelming myself during my first term at Dartmouth.
This fall, I decided to take Latin 3, COSC 10, and PHIL 1.08. While these may seem like random acronyms and numbers to you, allow me to elaborate.
Latin 3 is the 3rd class in the Latin sequence, following Latin 1 and Latin 2. I found that I really enjoyed Latin in high school, so I decided to continue my study of the language here at Dartmouth. We read and translated texts in small groups from a variety of authors, ranging from Martial to Catullus, and continued learning about Roman culture and lifestyle.
Our class visited the Rauner Special Collections Library, where we got to handle and read actual Latin texts and manuscripts!
COSC 10: Problem Solving via Object-Oriented Programming has been my most challenging class this term, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been fun! COSC 10 is mostly lecture-based, meaning the professor taught us coding concepts during class, while we applied the concepts we learned through short assignments and problem sets. Every week, I attended recitation, which is a smaller session hosted by a TA where they give one small coding assignment for us to complete within an hour or so. In this class, I learned how to code in Java, and created cool projects ranging from a webcam painting program, to a rudimentary drawing software.
A recent assignment for COSC 10 was to code a rudimentary drawing software that could draw basic shapes, such as ellipses, rectangles, lines, and scribbles. What a beautiful and compelling masterpiece!
Last but certainly not least is PHIL 1.08: The Philosophy of Time and Time Travel. I've never taken any sort of philosophy class before coming to Dartmouth, but I always have been interested in time travel, science fiction, and dystopia. This has definitely been my favorite class so far! I gained a deeper understanding of phenomena such as the Grandfather Paradox, and learned that there are a variety of different theories of time and whether the past, present, and future exist according to those theories. In what other class would I have gotten to read, discuss, debate, and write about time travel for a solid 10 weeks?
After some careful reflecting, I also made the decision to take a PE/wellness credit class called Learning at Dartmouth. Coming from a high school where classes lasted all year and were not challenging in the least, I felt unprepared for the academic rigor and fast-paced nature of the quarter system here. Learning at Dartmouth proved to be useful; I learned efficient note-taking strategies, active ways to study, and really analyzing a test or an exam so I could improve in the future. I consistently use these strategies in my other academic classes, and they are both useful and effective!
My class schedule this fall!
My fall has been a roller coaster in the best possible way. There is so much to do and so much to explore, yet there are also plenty of opportunities to take some time away and just relax! I've challenged myself, went outside of my comfort zone, and forged strong friendships. I cannot wait to further discover myself through the rest of my first year!
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!
