Mack Case ’24

Other clubs/ sports: 
Cross Country, Track and Field, Sociology Liaison, WOZQ, SACSA 

Describe your concentration for someone who has never heard of your field before. 
Books! What are they? Why are they the way they are? What can they be? How are they made? What can you learn from a book without actually reading the content? Is anything not a book? 

If another student was considering a book studies concentration, what would you tell them?
Try and find a concentrator to talk to about what it's like. It's very different for each person because everyone embraces what parts of the concentration call to them. 

How does your concentration complement your major? 
My concentration is totally different from my major and my minor and I think that's really cool! It's a great way to do art, be creative, spend time looking at really old things, delve into my own history and culture, and explore Smith's resources in ways I wouldn't have before. 

If you could make sure future generations had access to one book what would it be? 
This is kind of a cop-out, but their favorite book! In the field of Book Studies, oftentimes the value of a book is based on whether it fills very specific kinds of criteria that favor Eurocentric work. The beauty of books is that there are so many different kinds in the world! The things that I think make a specific book really interesting might not do it for someone else and oftentimes that's tied to people's very diverse backgrounds. 

What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share about your time at Smith? 
Try something totally out of your comfort zone! Especially for students of color, just because you don't see someone like you doing the things you're curious about, that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't do them. 

What was your favorite class outside of your major? 
Definitely “The Book: Theory and Practice with Barry Moser.” Any Book Studies concentrator will also say this—so sue me for being unoriginal but it’s true—that class was so, so cool, very hands-on, and the closest I ever came to feeling like an art major with zero background in the arts all while hanging out with Barry Moser (perhaps the most intriguing man on campus). 

Where is your favorite spot on campus? What do you think is a "hidden gem"? 
There’s this tree in the botanic gardens that has a perfect person-sized hollow that’s perfect for some reflective sitting. Another honorable mention is behind Park House—there's a cat who naps in a window hammock all day who is the apple of my eye. 

What’s your all-time favorite Smith memory? 
It's hard to choose just one, but I have a particularly fond memory of watching a very bad Netflix romcom with my first year with some of my teammates. Any time I'm hanging out with them, I'm probably having a good time. 

What’s one thing you wish you could tell your first-year self about your Smith experience? 
Ask for help! Go to office hours! Professors, tutors, and study groups are here to help you at Smith! Whether it's fleshing out ideas for a paper or getting help on a problem set, you will usually feel better after talking to a professor. I'm in calculus I right now as a senior and even though it's been about six years since I did precalculus, I'm confident I'll survive because I now know how to ask for help.