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!
'Winterim' is Dartmouth's designated break between Fall and Winter terms. While Thanksgiving seems far away, Dartmouth's short 10-week terms ensure that it will be here in no time. As a result, Dartmouth offers many programs, internships, and fellowships for students to pursue during this 6-week break, often months in advance! This winterim, I am going on a trip with a cohort from the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact. As a group, we're traveling across the U.S. border with Mexico from El Paso to Brownsville. In this post, I'd like to tell you prospective students a bit about social impact programs available on campus, and a glimpse into how a Dartmouth student might spend part of their winterim!
The Dartmouth Center for Social Impact's trip to the Texas-Mexico border will last about 10 days, and will consist of road tripping and working with refugee groups, legal non-profit organizations, and film/cultural societies in their respective communities. The trip provides a comprehensive perspective on a refugee crisis on our border that is underrepresented in the news and daily discourse.
In addition, the trip also includes opportunities to experience hiking trails and recreation in the area, where many students in the cohort haven't had the opportunity to visit. After my language study abroad in Morocco, I've learned that programs like these are valuable both for their content and the opportunity to form much closer bonds with other Dartmouth students as a product of traveling. Therefore, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to experience new things with new people!
The process of applying for Winterim trips is not intimidating - oftentimes, all it takes is a watchful eye on your Dartmouth email! The Dartmouth Outing Club, Center for Social Impact, and other organizations on campus are constantly communicating with students to get these programs out there. After all, because of all the funding Dartmouth has to go around, someone might as well use it!
In addition, if you'd like to spend your winterim doing an internship in your home city, you can get funding from campus via application! And even cooler, if you're able to find an internship abroad, you can get full funding from the Dickey Center to pursue it! A friend of mine who went to Morocco with me met a Moroccan director through Dartmouth. Since he studies Film, the Dartmouth connection was able to secure him an internship in Morocco this winter, and it will be fully funded by the Dickey Center! There are so many opportunities on campus; all you have to do is look and take advantage of the institution.
But, truthfully, most people just spend their winterim at home chilling with their families! That's what I did my first year, and I really enjoyed it - Dartmouth gives you the option to pursue (or not pursue) a multitude of activities during Winterim. Prospective students should keep that in mind!
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.
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
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!
