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.)
The idea of spending a day away from Hanover had been simmering in my mind for quite some time. After all, I have been on campus since August and had not gone home for breaks, so excluding some quick trips to West Lebanon and White River Junction, I hadn't really left Hanover! While I had been planning to go to Boston for my birthday, my birthday also happened to be Easter weekend; therefore, I decided to postpone the trip to the weekend after.
On April 6 at 8:30 AM, I boarded the Dartmouth Coach. Having already bought same-day round-trip tickets for only $55, the bus driver scanned the QR code on my ticket as I boarded the bus. Around three hours later, I arrived at Boston South Station.
Almost at South Station! Boston greeted me with this wonderful, albeit cloudy, view.
After our arrival, I headed to a nearby Chipotle to grab a relaxing lunch. Then I took the subway (for the first time ever, I might add!) to Harvard and MIT.
Harvard Square
I then walked along the Massachusetts Avenue bridge, surrounded by breathtaking views!
It's all water under the (Massachusetts Avenue) bridge!
After, I walked to a Korean restaurant called Bbanga to have a delicious dinner! I have missed authentic Korean food, so this was an opportune moment.
There's nothing like some hot sundubu-jjigae for dinner with some delicious side dishes!
I then weaved my way through Boston Commons, stopping at the Massachusetts State House to take a picture on the way.
I then weaved my way through Boston Commons, stopping at the Massachusetts State House to take a picture on the way.
Although the day I spent in Boston was tiring, rainy, and extremely windy, it has been one of my favorite moments this year. I couldn't have asked for a better post-birthday weekend.
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
