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.
As a senior at Dartmouth, I often get questions from prospective and new students about what types of classes I like to take here, and which classes have been my favorite. After answering many of these questions, I've come to realize that many of the classes I've enjoyed the most and found the most rewarding have been those that brought me out of my comfort zone. In this post, I want to write about a couple of classes that I unexpectedly came to really enjoy, even if they didn't align with my major and post-graduation plans.
During my junior year, I took the course ANTH 40: Human Functional Anatomy in order to fulfill the science Distributive Requirement. The class was focused on the anatomy of the human body, with specific attention to how our physiology compares with our biological cousins: apes and monkeys. We had to learn nearly all of the bones and muscles in the human body, describe their functions, and evolutionary histories. The course also had a lab component, in which we were able to see demonstrations at the cadaver lab at Geisel School of Medicine. Although I didn't have a background in science, medicine, or anatomy, getting a better understanding of how my body works was rewarding, interesting, and fun. Since I usually stick to humanities and artistic classes, getting the chance to get out of my comfort zone and experience a different sort of learning style was also very refreshing.
Another one of the most enjoyable classes I took at Dartmouth was Modern Media Theory. Although the class was in the German Studies department, which I had no background or previous interest in, I took the class to satisfy a different Distributive Requirement. The course investigated the ways in which media technologies, from the typewriter to the smartphone, impact human behavior and perception of life. Thinking about media from a theoretical perspective was really interesting for me – as a videographer and video producer, I'm used to interacting with camera and video in my day-to-day life, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to dive into philosophical topics on media production, consumption, and dissemination.
I've found these two classes to be really refreshing, and they demonstrate the value of a liberal arts education. As the world, technology, and job market continues to evolve, critical thinking in a wide range of disciplines will certainly be highly valued in the coming years. Many of the classes that I didn't expect to enjoy very much became some of my favorites during my time at Dartmouth!
This fall, Dartmouth provided me with incredible opportunities to get involved in politics. I registered as a New Hampshire voter, joined civic organizations, canvassed, and more! Read on to follow my journey leading up to Election Day!
Dartmouth changed my life. A large part of that change comes from the support I have received from professors. Learn more here about some mentor-mentee relationships I have made!
Exploring Chicago with my fellow women engineers from Dartmouth! We explored the city outside of the SWE conference and got to see how exciting Chicago can be.
