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Know Your History: Slavery, Capitalism, and Imperialism

December 23, 2011 by npadilla | 1 comment

Its winter break and with Christmas only but a few days away, this should be a time for everyone to curl up by the fire and take a moment to enjoy life with your loved ones.

 

Goodbye cold library—at least for now. I was one of the few students left on campus Monday, having my last final then, but at least the spaced out finals schedule allowed me ample time to prepare. And now I can relax (somewhat, there is still thesis writing to be done) for the next few weeks.

 

Speaking of classes, this is also my last blog post featuring my fall semester classes: the class this week is my “core” history course, “Slavery, Capitalism, and Imperialism” and actually was the last final I took.  “Core” is just the older version of Harvard’s now “General Education” system, where students have to opt to take a class from a certain number of general departmental requirements (history, physical science, literature, etc). The pictures inserted for this week are a sampling from all the documents we read through-out the semester.

For my History B Core I choose this class mostly because the material was very appealing to me as a Government concentrator, but also because the format of the class was quite unique. Don’t expect any white board outlines or fancy power-point presentations—Professor Walter Johnson has only himself and his voice as he lectures twice a week to his students on the imperial expansion of the U.S. against Native Americans, or the way slavery and anti-slavery movements were often more about class than sectionalism (Northern U.S. v. Southern U.S.).

 

You may be surprised for me to say, though, that there was never a dull moment in lectures. Never have I been so captivated before by a raw telling of history and unique appeal to historical documents—it really highlights the multitude of ways in which history can be understood and how we can even, hopefully, learn from it.

Like many Harvard classes though, it seems we were often assigned an untenable amount of reading each week.  However, one thing you learn is how to read “efficiently”, whether that be skimming or just knowing what to read for.

 

All that said, the joy of the class and format considered, I am more than happy for the semester to be over. I am very much looking forward to applications for summer and careering opportunities coming up, as well as spending quality time with family and friends.

 

I look forward to checking in with you as winter break continues, even if I’m at now is warm and sunny rather than snowy.

 

~Natalie

Cooking in Class: Course 1 of 4

November 18, 2011 by npadilla | Permalink

In Lab: Working with Temperature with Molten Chocolate Cake

The end semester is nearing: only two weeks until classes are done, and then finals period. I think there might be a school time warp, because the school year always flies by faster than seems physically possible—just another reason to cherish the moment!

 

With that in mind, as promised, each week I’ll be featuring one of my classes for the semester (four in total). Probably one the most popular class I’m taking is the general education course, Science & Cooking: From Soft Matter Science to Haute Cuisine.

 

This is Science & Cooking’s second year running; so many people were interested in it in its first year that there was a lottery admitting only 350 students of 670 that signed-up for it. The class has been featured in local and national news.

 

The reason for all the hype? The course is essentially taught by guest chef lectures ranging from Ferran Adrià (of El Bulli fame), Wylie Dufrense (who you may have seen on Top Chef) and, of course, the repeated visitor Harold McGee (writer of the book, On Food and Cooking). We get to hear from everyone including local restaurant entrepreneurs (such as Barbara Lynch and Ana Sortun) to high-tech chef Dave Arnold (who is actually both hilarious, and a genius, at once! See: Chocolate N’Lemon Cocktail).

 

Don’t let all the famous names and fancy restaurants fool you though, this course asks you to engage with real science on a molecular level. Learning about aioli? Prepare to know the way to determine optimal volume ratios for the bubbles in the emulsion. Interested in classical French sauces? Make sure you can name the function of and types of polymers.  We have lab every week where we put to practice what we learn, and my lab group is now working on our final project that will be presented in a December on-campus food-science fair.

Working on our Final Project with a Moka Coffee Maker

Our final project is testing different coffee brewing methods (Moka, Drip, Pour-Over, and French Press) for their acidity (pH) and oil-content using a centrifuge. Needless to say, I now have a well of energy after sampling our finished products in labs.

 

So even though the class is heavily science focused, it’s extremely interesting and applicable. Not to mention the delicious array of samples handed out in a class: a definite plus, but all for the purpose of science, of course.

Barbara Lynch: Coconut-Cream & Chocolate Ganache “Banana Split”

Hope everyone has a great weekend and, if you’re celebrating, a good Thanksgiving next Thursday!

 

~Natalie

Round Two… ding!

September 27, 2011 by Kate Meakem | 6 comments

So here begins my second year at Harvard, but the great thing is that I’m even more excited than I was to start my first year!  After much shopping around (shopping is the term we use to describe the process of choosing classes), I have found four classes that I am super psyched about.

The first one is History 1224: Britain Since 1760, a class taught by the very popular Harvard professor Maya Jasanoff.  Her teaching style is fantastic (she’s all about telling the story), and so far I feel like I’m learning a lot.  What I know about British history, I either know from the American perspective (think French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, etc.), or I know from AP Euro, which had a greater focus on Continental Europe.  So it has been really fascinating to learn specifically about a country whose legacy has extended into so much of our world today!  Plus, I’m a huge History geek (and potential History concentrator), so I’m all about this class.

My second class is Science of the Living Systems 20, which is an introductory Psychology course that also fulfills a Gen Ed.  [Just a quick blurb to catch you up to speed, “Gen Ed’s,” or General Education Requirements, are part of the liberal arts education at Harvard College.  There are eight categories of classes across a range of subjects that must be fulfilled in order to graduate.  The system is set up to give you a more broad education.  So far, I’ve really enjoyed it.]  This course is offered every semester, but the teacher changes depending on which semester you take the class.  This semester Professor Daniel Gilbert, who is an amazing lecturer, is teaching the class!  As if the inner workings of the mind weren’t already super interesting, Gilbert makes you really appreciate all of the complexities of the brain and how they are linked to our behavior.  Also, sections (which are small classes that are broken up from the larger lecturers to provide more individualized learning) are fun experiments like tasting different foods!  What more could you want?  The only thing is that I’ve heard the exams are hard… so I’ll have to keep you all posted.

My third class is Math 1a, which is the equivalent to AP Calculus AB.  While I took that class in high school, that was a whole two years ago, and my non-math oriented brain just has not retained the information.  To remedy this situation, I figured I would retake the class in hopes of expanding my knowledge of Calculus… whoooo (not).  Anyway, it hasn’t been too bad… I’m just really not a math person.  If anyone would like to help me (especially if you happen to be cute, smart, handsome, and funny), please let me know! 😉

Sanders Theater -- home of English 154 and many of the other large classes at Harvard. Just picture it minus the adults, plus a lot of college kids. (Picture courtesy of Google Images)

My final class is English 154: Literature and Sexuality, taught by Professor Matthew Kaiser, the most snarky and hilarious professor that I have had the privilege of taking a class under.  His lectures cannot be beat.  We meet in Sanders Theater (featured above), sort of the bastion Harvard intellectualism, and talk about the history of sexual thought and attitudes as it is portrayed through literature.  Interpret that how you will.  As you can imagine the literature ranges from Freud and Foucault to de Sade and everything in between.  To say the class is provocative would be an understatement, but it is certainly fun!

And that’s about all for me right now.  We’re moving into the first round of midterms here at Harvard, which means paper, paper, paper, exam.  Yay!  To add to my stress levels, Theta Fall Formal is coming up, and I need to find a date.  GAHHH! #ranting.  Hope everyone is doing well!

My Life

May 3, 2011 by Kate Meakem | 4 comments

Hey all!

So my life has been CRAZY lately!  It seems like ever since we got back from Spring Break, it was hit the ground and go.

First of all, I would just like to give a warm shout-out to my three BEAUTIFUL pre-frosh Taylor, Emery, and Alice!  My roommates and I had SO. MUCH. FUN hosting you guys, and we hope you’ve chosen to come to Harvard.  Obviously, we love it.

Second, I would like to apologize to those of you who have asked me questions in my comments that were so profound that I promised to devote blog articles to answering them.  I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN YOU!  Once my exams are over at the end of this week, I plan to sit outside in the gorgeous Cambridge weather and do nothing but write, write, write!

I have to get back to studying, but I thought I would reassure everyone that I am still alive and well!

A quick list of things that have happened:  Prefrosh weekend, Mather Lather, Eleganza, Yardfest, Harvard-Radcliffe Choral Concert, Easter in Memorial Church, Theta (my sorority) Crush Event, Celebrations of better weather in the yard… and finals.

I promise to elaborate more at a later date.  Until then, good luck to any high schoolers on AP’s!

 

Top 10 Things To Do When Visiting Harvard as a Prospective Student

April 3, 2011 by Kate Meakem | Permalink

Hello, again!  First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU WHO WERE ACCEPTED INTO THE HARVARD CLASS OF 2015!!!

I still remember all too clearly the moment I received “The Most Wonderful Email in the Entire World,” and it’s a moment that you should never take for granted, even if Harvard isn’t your #1 choice.  Take a moment, jump up and down, whoop and holler, and give yourself a giant pat on the back.

But now that you’re in, you might be thinking to yourself, “Golly, what do I do now?”  Well, I’ll tell you what you should do: COME VISIT HARVARD!!!!

With that in mind, I give you my promised post…

THE TOP 10 THINGS TO DO WHEN VISITING HARVARD AS A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT

1.)  Tour a dorm

If you can’t work it out that you can stay in a student dorm (you should always contact the Admissions Office before you visit so that they can make it possible), definitely ask to tour one.  If you have a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a parent’s friend who’s kid goes to Harvard, etc. DEFINTELY ask them if you can just take a peak into his/her room.  If you can stay in a student’s room, look at another room.  In total – check out as many rooms as possible, preferably freshman dorms.  How can you expect to imagine yourself going here, if you can’t even imagine where you might sleep?

2.)  Go to the Observatory

At the top of the Science Center there is a small observatory open to any Harvard student who has bothered to take a 45-minute instructional class.  Find one of these students and ask him/her to take you up.  It is honestly one of the coolest things on campus!  Even if it’s a cloudy night, there is a balcony with a BEAUTIFUL view of Harvard with the Boston skyline in the background.  As a freshman, this was definitely one of my biggest “Harvard moments” – where it finally sunk it that I attend this amazing school.

3.)  Widener Library Stacks

Ok, so when I suggest this, people often look at my funny.  Most students will tell you that the Widener Library stacks are creepy, only because they are SO VAST, and it’s easy to feel like you might venture forth, lose your way, and die without anyone ever finding you.  But as a pre-frosh, my friends and I had the BEST time running around, making the automatic lights switch on and off, and trying to find the oldest book.  It amazed all of us that Harvard would entrust its students with such valuable, old books and that it had so many of them!  Going into Widener opened my eyes to the incredible opportunities that Harvard offered, and made me realize that as a prospective student, I could take full advantage of them.

4.)  Annenberg Dining Hall

As the second-largest collection of secular stained glass in the world, Annenberg Dining Hall provides a very “Great Hall of Hogwarts” feel to freshman dining… not to mention that it is gorgeous.  The food might not be the best on campus (though I will admit that by and large I think it is delicious), but the experience cannot be matched.

5.)  Adams basement tunnels

Adams House is the closest upperclassman house to the Yard.  While the housing lottery is now completely random, it was not always that way, and as a result, Adams has a history of having once been the “artsy house.”  This means that the tunnels under the house (yes, there are tunnels under all of the houses), are decorated with really awesome artwork that students have painted over the years!  It is really cool and fun to check out!

6.)  Eleganza (if you’re here over Visitas Weekend)

I like to tell people that Eleganza convinced me to go to Harvard.  As a prefrosh, I was really worried that Harvard students would be ALL work, and no play.  I am a social person, and the idea of attending a school where everyone sat behind a textbook all the time repulsed me.  Eleganza turned all of my preconceptions upside-down.  It is an AWESOME fashion/dance show that will feature just how much fun Harvard students can have.  GO!

7.)  Go to a few classes

Drag yourself to a class or two on a topic that interests you.  Don’t just go off the list the Admissions Office gives you – ask current students what their favorite classes are.  Do it, and then don’t base your decision off of it.  I know that sounds like silly advice, because you are, after all, going to school to go to class.  In my experience, however, when you’re a second-semester senior, and you’ve just been accepted into one of the best colleges in the world, its hard to focus and not feel bored in a college class.  If you happen to find the class fascinating, that is awesome.  But if you don’t, don’t freak out.

8.)  If the weather is nice, sit under a tree in the Yard, pat yourself on the back for getting in, and picture yourself there.

Seriously, just take some time off from running around, being super excited, and meeting new people.  Sit down, and ABSORB.  Watch current students walking around (I know that sounds creepy), and watch for how people get along.  See a group of students laughing at some joke, or another group cramming for some midterm and try to picture yourself as one of them.

9.)  Eat a ve-ri-taffle

These are the waffles they serve on Sunday morning brunches at Harvard, and they have the VE- RI- TAS emblem on them.  How much more Harvard can you get?

10.)  Talk to a student about social life

If you know that there is a group of people that you generally hang out with, look up that group and spend time with them.  Whether you are really into religion or politics or science or cultural groups or Greek life or you want to check out what the big deal about Final Clubs is, find out what is going on on campus (there are ALWAYS things going on) and check it out.  Your social life at Harvard (even if you’re not the type of person who likes to “go out”) will be an important part of your time at Harvard.  You owe it to yourself to take a look.

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