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.
In my last post, I wrote about the main reasons that I chose Dartmouth, and whether or not they held up to expectations (spoiler: they did!). As I was writing about the undergraduate focus at Dartmouth, I realized that there was so much to say about the professor-student relationships that this undergraduate focus cultivates. In this post, I want to share a bit about my experience with professors at Dartmouth!
When I first started taking classes at Dartmouth, I was nervous about talking and getting to know my professors. They seemed incredibly impressive (they are); however, I was surprised how easy it was to build relationships with them. Since the class sizes at Dartmouth are normally quite small (last term I had two classes with 5 and 7 people, respectively!), this means that professors often do the work of building a relationship with you before you have to approach them. Small class sizes give the opportunity to really get to know your professors.
Of course, there are many benefits to building relationships with professors. First, they are usually cool and interesting people due to their research; having the opportunity to talk with professionals about their life's work is lots of fun, and time usually flies when having these conversations! Moreover, these relationships can lead to research projects, internships, and other experiences to aid your personal development. I've taken classes with most of the professors I've done research with, which shows the value of being involved and getting to know your professor in class. I've had opportunities to travel and be a part of team research projects by being curious and inquiring about opportunities to work with professors: they are frequently looking for helpers! Thus, I would urge prospective students to consider the importance of professor relationships, and the opportunities that exist to cultivate these relationships as a small school like Dartmouth.
Dartmouth also offers a helpful 'take a professor to lunch' voucher program if students want the chance to break the ice with a professor about an assistantship, talk about post-college plans, or just talk about interesting things happening in the world! The voucher applies to Pine restaurant in Hanover, which is delicious! Therefore, it's a great opportunity to enjoy a good meal while getting to know your professor better in the process. I have started taking advantage of this program recently, and my experience has been great!
Professors are one of the best resources at college to help students figure out what they want to do after graduation. Since they've been through the college process and oftentimes have worked in a variety of careers, the voice of experience that my professors have provided me has certainly been a critical component of my Dartmouth experience.
SIP, or Social Impact Practicum, is a type of course that is offered at Dartmouth that centers around engaging with local community partners. I have taken two of these courses now and have found them to be enriching an interesting.
