Kelsey Clark ’11
Government and Asian & Middle Eastern Majors, Public Policy Minor
F09-S10 D-plan: R-R-L

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: I love that the classes that count towards my major span across all different departments. I've taken or plan on taking religion, linguistic, history, and government classes all for my major; however, I wish there were more options for AMES seminars. While I was able to substitute mine for a Government seminar on the Middle East, AMES seminars are only offered in the spring and have limited topics. The good news though is that it's not too hard to petition for a substitute seminar from another department.

Important info for potential majors: There are no prerequisites! Don't be afraid to take upper level classes (my first major class was ARAB 63). They can be really interesting since they're less introductory and more focused on specific issues.

Talk to me if: Talk to me if you're interested in politics and society in the Middle East.

Most valuable academic information learned: You don't have to know what you want to major in freshman fall! I didn't decide to be an AMES major until sophomore winter, and I was still able to fulfill my major requirements easily. Take classes that interest you first; you always have time to declare a major later.

Favorite class and professor: History 68, History of North Africa, with Professor Trumbull. He has a lot of energy, and even though I usually don't take history classes I loved it! I also didn't know much about North Africa before this class, so it was great overview.

Major classes taken: ARAB 62, 63; AMELL 17/LING 50; COCO 4; HIST 68

Major journey: I knew I wanted to be a government major going into Dartmouth, but I didn't expect to do AMES as well. I kept finding AMES classes on the Middle East that sounded really interesting, and so I decided it might be a good major for me.

Thesis status: None (though intending to do a Government thesis on the Middle East)

Other activities: Women's Swimming; Alpha Phi – Formal Chair; Sexperts; Policy Research Shop (Rockefeller Center)

Tedmond FU ’11
Double Major AMES and Economics (modified with Environmental Studies)
F09-S10 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing about the AMES department must be the great flexibility and variety of classes you can take. I like the fact that I can get a taste of classes from all different departments but at the same time focus on the Asian culture I am interested in. Also, the close relationship between professors and students is definitely one of the reasons I chose to become an AMES major.

My least favorite thing is the limited language classes you can take in your selected concentration (max 4 classes), mostly because I am really fond of Asian languages.

Important info for potential majors: Planning AMES classes for future terms can be frustrating since most of the classes are not offered every term. You always have to check with the professor to make sure he/she is offering a class in specific term. Fit one of the LSAs or FSPs into your D- plan because it enriches your Dartmouth experience.

Talk to me if:

You're planning to double major or modify your major

You want to know more about Japanese LSA+ in Tokyo

You love East Asian food!

Most valuable academic information learned: Take some basic language classes on the culture you are interested in since language is a huge aspect in any culture. You will find yourself even more interested to the culture after knowing the language

Favorite class and professor: Japanese 2 with Ikuko Watanabe

Major classes taken: Japanese 10, 11, 21, 22, 23, Korean 11, Chinese 62

Major journey: Being an international student from Hong Kong, I have always been interested in different East Asian cultures. I took three consecutive terms of basic Japanese and was offered to go to LSA+ in Tokyo in my freshman year. After the LSA+, I became more interested in the differences between various East Asian cultures and decided to be an AMES major.

Major-specific activities: Japanese drill instructor

Thesis status: I plan to write a thesis, but not sure about the topic yet.

Other activities: Dartmouth Hong Kong Society – President 07-08, Alumni Connection 08-09 Dartmouth Chamber Orchestra 07F Chinese Language House UGA 09-10

Off-campus program: Japanese LSA+ in Tokyo, 08X

Internship Experience I will be working for Entropy Ventures, a Hong Kong based company on fund management focusing on Asia clean energy.

Grace Kang ’10
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies major/Psychology minor
F09-S10 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: I love how so many different departments offer classes that apply towards the AMES major. It makes for a varied and interesting course load each term. A downside of that is that you have to make sure that you develop a focus in one of the regional areas of the AMES major and are not just going around willy nilly!

Important info for potential majors: Take the AMES introductory classes to get a feel for the different areas of concentration if you're not sure. Also, try to take a language related to your area of concentration. It can only help you!

Talk to me if: You're interested in East Asia!

Most valuable academic information learned: Shop around for classes. If you don't like the class, don't stay in it! You'll end up regretting it at the end of the term...

Favorite class and professor: History 79 - Postwar Japan with Professor Huffman. It's a super interesting history class and because it's post World War II, it involves relatively modern issues.

Major classes taken: AMES 11; REL 49 (2 terms-different topics); ARTH 64, 67; HIST 79; JAPN 10, 61

Major journey: I never thought I would be an AMES major until sophomore fall when I realized I was already a third of the way there. Because the major is interdisciplinary, you have a ton of varied courses to choose from so I've never gotten bored..

Thesis status: I plan on a thesis, but I'm not sure what yet!

Other activities: The Dartmouth Independent – Director of Photography, Alpha Phi - Director of Alumni/Parent Relations, EDPA, Mirror staff writer

Off-campus program: Spanish LSA in Barcelona, 08F

Internship Experience Serious Eats – Intern, W09, New York, NY Tavalon Tea - Marketing/Operations Intern, S07, New York, NY

Matthew Mukerjee ’10
Computer Science and AMES double major
F09-S10 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing would have to be the flexibility of the AMES major. You can essentially get your distribs done as you finish the major. Pretty much any class related to your area of concentration will count in AMES, and often times courses that aren't listed will count if you ask. My least favorite thing about the major would be the lack of general awareness of students that it exists. Most students who go on an LSA to East Asia are most likely half way done with the AMES major, yet don't even know it's an option.

Important info for potential majors: If you see a class you like, that's even remotely related to your concentration, jump on it. Even if it's not cross-listed as an AMES course, it will almost definitely count towards the major, so take it and enjoy it.

Talk to me if: you're interested in Japanese studies, especially if you have just gotten back from the Japan LSA+.

Most valuable academic information learned: This may be a bit unsurprising, but the most valuable information I learned through taking on this major was Japanese language and culture.

Favorite class and professor: My favorite class and professor within the AMES major would be Japn 59 – Independent Study in Japanese, with Professor Dorsey. Due to scheduling conflicts, I took this in lieu of Japn 32. I read manga, and met with Dorsey-sensei two times a week to talk to him entirely in Japanese for 90 minutes. It was great to have a class 1-on-1 with a professor, and both my reading and speaking abilities greatly improved

Major classes taken: Japn 1, 2, 3 (all prereqs), 10, 11, 22, 23, 59 (w/Dorsey-sensei), 61 x2 (religion, then pop- culture), 81; AMES 11; FILM 42 (Asian Animation)

Major journey: I was originally planning on being a CS major with a Japanese minor. However, after finding out that I had about 60% of the major done whilst trying to complete the Japanese minor, I decided to take it on as a second major.

Major-specific activities: Drill instructed Japanese for 5 terms. Was the TA on the Japan LSA+ 08X. Frequent Japanese Lunch Table (Nihongo Table) visitor

Thesis status: Already finished my senior seminar for AMES, working towards a thesis in CS

Other activities: Occam's Razor (on-campus band)– bass player, music arrangement

Off-campus program: Japanese LSA+ in Chiba, 07X (as a student). Japanese LSA+ in Chiba, 08X (as a TA).