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 four years at Dartmouth, I've had the chance to live in dormitories in every corner of campus. Due to Dartmouth's remoteness, a majority of students live on-campus throughout their Dartmouth experience; with this in mind, in this post I'll share some of my experiences with residential life at Dartmouth!
Like all first-years, I started in one of the designated freshman dorms, which are grouped by housing communities. I was placed in the South House community and lived in Fayerweather Hall (colloquially known as "The Fayes"), a large dorm cluster comprising of North Faye, Mid Faye, and South Faye, located just a 1-minute walk from the Green! I was in a two-room triple, which means that there were two large rooms for the three of us. First-year housing is all about immersion—since you typically only live with other first-years, it's a great way to meet new friends at the start of your college journey. I met many of my closest friends at Dartmouth through our shared first-year dorm! It's helpful to be surrounded by others also going through the college transition, which helps the introduction to Dartmouth feel less daunting.
After freshman year, the D-Plan means that housing can shuffle around depending on which terms you are 'on' and 'off' campus. In addition, the dorms are mixed between sophomores, juniors, and seniors, helping you to meet people from different class years. I lived in Topliff Hall and Fahey Hall throughout my sophomore and junior years, and now live in New Hampshire Hall for my senior year. After freshman year, you are able to choose your dorm; the priority is determined by your housing number, and the older you are the higher priority your housing number tends to be. This means that by the time you are a junior and senior, you have lots of flexibility in deciding where you live. However, even as a sophomore, I knew I wanted a single dorm and had no problem obtaining one.
My favorite thing about living on campus is the fact that everything is incredibly walkable. Since you can get from one end of campus to the other in roughly ten minutes, no dorm is too far from where you might have your classes, meetings, or work obligations. It definitely helps to be on time to things! In addition, I've never had an issue with maintenance in my room. If my heater or air conditioner is not working, college technicians are just a phone call away to provide assistance.
Overall, living on campus has definitely helped me feel a lot more connected to Dartmouth's campus and my peers. The convenience that residential life at Dartmouth provides is incredible, and I am glad I have had the opportunity to experience multiple different residential buildings at Dartmouth.
What is happening on campus over the winterim? In my last blog, I talked about myself participating in the TuckLAB energy program, and in this blog, I interviewed a friend who also spent some time on campus over the interim.
Don't know what to bring for a Dartmouth winter? Stressed about how to dress for the cold and snow? Look no further than this blog post, where I share my tips and tricks to dress for wintery Hanover.
