Hi, my name is Brandon and I'm a '25 from just outside of Chicago. I study Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies, and am involved with multimedia journalism and videography on campus. I am passionate about documentary filmmaking and using film as a tool to present lived human experiences in subjective visual, aesthetic, and sonic terms. In my free time, I love to spend time with my cat, follow the Chicago Bulls, and study Arabic. 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!
I love to make and watch documentaries, so taking ethnographic film was a great way to look at filmmaking in academic, anthropological terms. We watched and analyzed many documentary films throughout the course, considering factors like documentary ethics, filmmaking style, and multi-media approaches. We also did a lot of critical media analysis, looking at how the medium of a piece of work impacts the message it is trying to convey. Additionally, we were able to work on and submit our own short documentary films as final projects for the course.
This last week, the Dartmouth Bound program ran for 3-days on campus! Dartmouth Bound is a program that serves high school juniors from underrepresented backgrounds by inviting them to Dartmouth's campus for 3 days to learn more about Dartmouth and college admissions in general. As a Dartmouth Bound leader, I had the opportunity to meet 11 high schoolers, answer their questions about Dartmouth, and learn more about their interests and aspirations for after they graduate high school. Moreover, as somebody who did Dartmouth Bound online during my junior year (because of COVID-19), seeing how it operated in person was a really fun experience.
Before the high schoolers came, other student leaders and I reached out to them beforehand to introduce myself over email! Each Dartmouth bound group of 10-15 students had two Dartmouth Bound Leaders (DBLs) guide them throughout the program, and my co-leader Pau also happens to work on the blogging team! We had a great time getting to know everybody. Most of our time with the students was spent getting breakfast, dinner, evening activities, and checking in with meetings at the dorm before curfew at 10:30 pm. During the day, students went through programming planned by the admissions office—some of the students' favorite activities were the campus tour, essay workshops, admissions case studies, and sitting in on a real class.
For me, it was really rewarding to be a resource for many of the students. Coming from a first-generation, low-income background, I understand how intimidating the college admissions process can be. Therefore, being able to answer lots of questions and talk about my Dartmouth experience candidly was lots of fun.
Me and my Dartmouth Bound group!
For prospective students, Dartmouth Bound can be a great program to apply for in order to learn more about Dartmouth first-hand. Since the application process is incredibly similar to the CommonApp college admissions process, the process itself is great practice for applying to colleges the following year.
By the end of the program, the high schoolers were really happy with their experience and felt that they learned a lot about Dartmouth and college in general. Seeing their positive reactions was rewarding and definitely validated all the hard work that went into the program. I hope that I can see them, and future Dartmouth Bound participants, on campus soon!
As a second-year at Dartmouth, I've embraced leadership roles that foster community, creativity, and support! Here's a look at how each role has shaped my journey.
