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!
Two years ago, like many of you reading the blog, I'd just submitted my early decision application to Dartmouth. Although I'd never visited campus, the D-plan, study abroad, and undergraduate focus were the three main factors that inspired me to take the plunge and apply early. Furthermore, my participation in Dartmouth Bound (albeit online) solidified my decision. As I finish my 5th (!) on-term at Dartmouth, there are definitely things I would have told the 17-year old version of myself after submitting my ED application.
First: Dartmouth is not the end-all-be-all. The amount of stress I put on my shoulders thinking about my early application is mind-boggling to me now – while my Dartmouth experience has been fine, I'm 100% confident that my experience at any other university would also be fine. Each university has its pros and cons; if you go into Dartmouth thinking that it is your dream school and that your life will be perfect here, this is not the case. This logic extends to all universities – the idealization of the college experience is a crisis among high school seniors. While it's difficult to break away from the ED obsession, try and take time to enjoy your (last!) winter break as a highschooler.
Second: the school you go to is much less important than what you get out of that school. Put it like this - each school has X number of resources. These resources will vary by institution; it is important to analyze things like school-sponsored internships, academic programs, study abroad programs, and extracurricular activities with the mindset of "how can I cater this university's programs to my own needs?" While for most students Dartmouth will have resources fitting their interests and future goals, inevitably Dartmouth cannot cater to all students. Indeed, some students come to Dartmouth dissatisfied with resources available for their specific goals; in my view, this can be avoided by doing your research. Each university has something to offer in your discipline of study: use the internet to determine which resources you can best take advantage of.
While I am incredibly grateful for the resources that Dartmouth has given me to allow me to travel, research, and intern, I am confident that I could have done these things at any university. This is the bottom line of my argument: don't get stressed about early decision, because not even a great school like Dartmouth will do the work for you. You must use your own talents to take advantage of these resources at any university.
But, still; it would be pretty cool to see you all on campus :)
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.
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a phenomenal total solar eclipse occurred — and we happened to be within the path of totality. As a result, Dartmouth hosted a variety of eclipse-related events on- and off-campus. Find out how I spent the eclipse!
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.
