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.
After 3 years at Dartmouth, I've had plenty of time to explore the variety of dining options on campus. In this post, I want to share my experience at Dartmouth's various dining locations, and also some of my favorite restaurants that I've discovered in Hanover and nearby!
The largest dining hall on campus is the 1953 Commons dining hall, also known as FoCo. Once you swipe in as a student, the food is buffet style and you're able to stay for as long as you'd like. They have a wide variety of food that changes every day throughout breakfast, lunch, and dinner to maintain variety. There are also specific stations for people with dietary restrictions, including gluten-free, vegan, and kosher stations. Foco is almost always busy, since it is the primary dining hall on campus for undergraduates—the food quality is pretty good, but can get repetitive. After 3 years at Dartmouth, I don't go to FoCo as much because I eat more at other locations; it's definitely a great dining option on campus.
Another popular location on campus is the Courtyard Cafe, a grill attached to the Hopkins Center for the Arts. They serve burgers, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, and all sorts of different hot and grilled foods. This is personally one of my favorite spaces to eat on campus since it's very close to my dorm, making it a really convenient location. The food is also pretty good: my personal favorite is the buffalo chicken tender egg burrito with hash browns!
The Collis Cafe is also very popular on campus, and serves a couple staple foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During breakfast time they serve fresh eggs in any form, and at lunch they usually have a stir-fry option and a 'lunch special' that changes every day. For dinner, they always have a pasta station—throughout the day, they also have a smoothie station and sushi station available for students!
Hanover itself is also home to many great restaurants. Tuk Tuk Thai is my personal favorite, as they have delicious Thai food very close to campus. Another favorite is The Box, a food truck that serves San Francisco style Mexican food. However, being that they're a food truck, they unfortunately don't operate during the winter months!
Overall, Dartmouth has plenty of dining options for students, and students navigate dining at Dartmouth differently depending on their needs and preferences. I'm glad to have all these options surrounding food.
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
