Hello! My name is Cal Shin, and I am a '27 double-majoring in Economics and Philosophy. When I'm not studying or writing a blog post, you can find me drawing as the Design Editor for The Dartmouth, hosting my radio show at WebDCR, or spending time with my friends. And if I'm not doing any of those, I'm probably watching cat videos. Follow along as I share the moments that make Dartmouth feel like home!
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.)
My main interest in philosophy lies in normative and applied ethics, so when I saw the opportunity to take a class on the former, I didn’t hesitate! The class focused on consequentialism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. I enjoyed the ample opportunities for discussion, including discussion posts about the readings, as well as the table-wide conversations. My table, in particular, had lots to say, and there was one reading in particular where we ended up diving into discussion, not once, but twice! In fact, we had so much to say that all of us coincidentally chose to write our essay on this reading — and none of us knew until after we started talking about our papers!
While not explicitly required for the Philosophy major, you can choose to take this (and many other Philosophy courses!) as one of your four electives. Prior to taking this class, feminist philosophy was completely new to me. I had traditionally been exposed to “traditional” European philosophers, and taking the class helped me realize that my lack of exposure to other philosophers outside of this demographic was a product of epistemic injustice. The class consisted of weekly readings and discussion posts, some reflections, guest lectures from the authors of several readings, and a final project of pretty much any format about any topic of our choice! I walked away from the class with a much more nuanced understanding of agency, commodification, and labor; the harms that are a result of the very nature of women tailoring themselves under male desire seemed much more insidious.
There are many reasons why someone might need accommodations during their time at Dartmouth. These can be medical, ranging from physical disabilities to chronic illness to mental health conditions, or religious based on certain practices and needs. Luckily, Dartmouth is committed to making sure students have the resources they need from day one (and sometimes before, if you are arriving early for a pre-orientation program). Dartmouth works to provide a variety of accommodations that suit each person's individual needs, whether they are academic, dining, or housing-related, just to name a few. This post is not meant to be an all-encompassing guide to accessibility at Dartmouth, but rather a window into how housing accommodations work. After all, living on campus is such a core part of the Dartmouth experience that it would be unfair and isolating to not be able to participate in it fully just because their housing doesn't meet their needs.
The housing accommodation process is designed for anyone who needs certain types of housing (e.g. single rooms, rooms with no carpet, single-gender floors, wheel-chair accessible dorms) due to medical or religious reasons. When filling out a housing questionnaire, you must indicate whether you have accommodations for medical or religious reasons, or both.
If you are applying for on-campus housing, the application will ask whether you need a housing accommodation.
You will submit two types of requests depending on the reason you are seeking accommodations:
Medical: If you are seeking housing accommodations due to medical reasons, you will apply for services by submitting a new request through Student Accessibility Services (SAS), the office that arranges all medical-related accommodations. You can also submit documentation from a medical provider about your condition(s). SAS will assign you an advisor, whom you will meet and work with to determine an accommodation that suits your needs. Once a housing accommodation is approved, your SAS advisor will notify both you and the Office of Residential Lifedetails of said accommodation.
Religious: After notifying the Office of Residential Life that you are seeking religious accommodations, you will fill out a form asking you to describe your faith, observances and practices, and accommodations you are seeking. Once you submit that form, you will meet with a Chaplain to discuss your needs.
At the end of the day, Dartmouth's commitment to accessibility ensures that all students, regardless of their medical conditions or religious practices, have the opportunity to feel safe and supported. Your dorm isn't just a place to sleep; it's where you can build friendships, unwind after a long day, and create your version of home away from home. If you think you might need accommodations, don't hesitate to reach out, because Dartmouth is here to help you every step of the way.
After a long winter term where everything was overlaid in snow and serenity, the weekly Norwich farmer's market is finally back—and I could not be more excited.
When I look back on my time at Dartmouth, and it is hard to believe I will be graduating in just two weeks, I know that Africa Week will always stand out as one of the moments when this campus felt most alive, most joyful, and most like home.
It's my first spring ever (!!!) and I have been blown away by the beautiful scenery that continues to bloom right in front of my eyes. Here are some of my favorite scenes from campus in spring!
