What's up! My name is Brandon and I'm a '25 from a small town outside of Chicago. I am passionate about Middle Eastern culture, politics, history, and languages; I'm particularly interested in studying gender/sexuality, politics of exhibition, and counterculture in the Arab Gulf. My current hobbies are reading, playing the mandolin, audio design, eating spicy foods, and streetwear. Please enjoy these snapshots of my life in Hanover!
This was definitely my favorite class of fall term—the readings were heavy, but they all felt incredibly relevant to the coursework. For each class, we read both Jewish and Arab perspectives throughout history. Moreover, Professor Avishai has a vast network of connections with important members of Israeli government, and even figures who we read about in the history books (including former prime ministers!). Overall, that class was a lot of work but very effective in helping me understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Professor Smolin's lectures were always something for me to look forward to. In this intro class, a wide variety of subjects regarding the Arab world were covered. Topics such as culture, Islam, literature, poetry, politics, and history were covered from the pre-Islamic period to the more recent Arab Spring. The readings were fascinating, and the professor also incorporated a wide variety of video resources to accompany the readings. I loved this class!
I found myself regularly engrossed in Professor Fishere's lectures in Arab Political Thought. Tracking the development of political ideologies from the 1800s until today was fascinating, the discussion-based classes helped me get to know tons of my peers.
While in Morocco this summer, I had the chance to take intensive Arabic 21 and Arabic 22. Working with a local teacher, Ilham, I had the chance to study both standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic .My favorite part of the class was the opportunity to engage with the language in cafes and shops.
Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy was definitely a class that took me out of my comfort zone. Having never taken a class on philosophy, I had lots of fun studying readings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Furthermore, I liked that the class focused heavily on group-work, with weekly group meetings and write-ups being a critical component of the class.
This class made me think critically about how we use different media, and how different media use us. I always considered media and technology as tools we use to navigate life, but never thought about the ways that media influence us and perceptions of the self. Taking this course inspired me to be involved more with digital humanities in order to think critically about how different media can alter the meaning of a message.
I had a great spring term living in Kuwait while interning at the American University of Kuwait! Working as an intern with the Oral History Project and International Relations departments, I met many amazing friends and gained experience with oral history and digital humanities. As someone who wants to continue doing research on the Arab Gulf, this experience was incredibly valuable.
Filmmaking & Visual Culture was about the intersection of filmmaking and anthropology, and I really enjoyed the course. The course looked at film through a post-colonial lens, thinking about how it can be used as a tool to tell stories, empower communities, and challenge structural violence. As a final project, we were required to make our own films with the broad requirement that they had to tell some kind of story or narrative. Having this sort of creative freedom was lots of fun: I did a short film project about a farmer in the Upper Valley.
This was the first science course that I had ever taken at Dartmouth, and I actually really enjoyed it. The course was focused on being able to identity the names and functions of the bones and muscles in the human body: we covered a lot of ground in a short 10-week term. In addition to studying human anatomy, we also studied the anatomy of monkeys and chimps, comparing their evolutionary trends to those of humans. We also had the chance to visit the Geisel School of Medicine cadaver lab on multiple occasions to review for exams, which was definitely a unique experience. Overall, I'm glad I took the opportunity to go outside of my comfort zone a little bit with this class!
At many universities, teaching assistant positions are limited to graduate students. However, at Dartmouth, classroom TAs are usually undergraduates! Dartmouth's undergraduate focus doesn't only mean that students have one-on-one time with professors, but also gives undergraduates the opportunity to TA and get experience assisting in a classroom setting. In this post, I want to share my experience working as a TA for the class "Politics of Israel and Palestine" in the Department of Government surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
I decided to be a TA this term after the professor of the course reached out to me to let me know that he could use an assistant to help him manage the course. I hadn't had a course with this professor since my freshman spring—at Dartmouth, it is truly easy to form relationships with your professors due to small class sizes and the institution's emphasis on undergraduates. Since I was interested in the course content and was looking forward to the opportunity to make some money, I was happy to TA for the course. All undergraduate TAs at Dartmouth are financially compensated for all of their time towards the course, allowing students to simultaneously build professional skills while making money.
As a TA, most of my responsibilities are centered around the logistics of the course. Since it is a large course by Dartmouth standards (60 students), there is a lot to keep track of in terms of course questions, attendance, and logistical issues, so my presence helps to alleviate some of those responsibilities from the professor so that he can focus completely on teaching. Aside from being an additional resource for students, I also help the professor look through assignment submissions, helping to synthesize and evaluate students' writing. So far, I have found it really valuable to get more insight into how a professor assesses and interacts with student writing, and I definitely think my own writing skills will benefit by the end of this experience.
TA positions exist in virtually every department at Dartmouth, from computer science to history. Students can be TAs during both on terms and off terms, depending on their workload in the term. Moreover, being a TA is only one way to get paid while getting involved in academic work at Dartmouth. Research assistantships, drill instructing, and tutoring positions are all similar positions available to students to help develop their writing, teaching, and communication skills. The effort of Dartmouth faculty towards providing professional development opportunities for their undergraduates is definitely one of my favorite things about attending Dartmouth.
At Dartmouth, there is an undergraduate requirement for language; after all, it is the liberal arts! Fulfilling this requirement looks different for various people and I will focus on my experience.
Traditionally, Dartmouth students take three courses during a term, but I decided to take four courses this term! Learn about course load and the academic system at Dartmouth.
As I approach the halfway mark of my Dartmouth journey this spring, I find myself reflecting on the significance of distributive and world culture requirements in shaping my academic experience.
