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.
This summer, I had the opportunity to take an on-term in Rabat, Morocco to study Arabic and Moroccan culture through a Dartmouth LSA (language study-abroad) program. Now back on campus for the fall term, I've had a chance to let my experience marinate a little bit.
First, the program does count as an on-term; therefore, I had three classes with the other students on the program. Two of them concentrated on Arabic language (Arabic 21 and 22) and the third was a Middle Eastern Studies seminar on Moroccan history and culture. For the Arabic courses, we were able to learn both inside and outside the classroom, often taking advantage of opportunities to speak Arabic in all sorts of places. As for the seminar, Professor al-Ariss invited a number of Moroccan authors, academics, artists, and activists (that's a lot of A's) to class to share their experiences and perspectives on Moroccan culture and politics. Thus, the academic experience went beyond the classroom or assigned readings; this is, perhaps, the biggest virtue of any of Dartmouth's study abroad programs.
Throughout the program, I lived with a Moroccan host family in the old city of Rabat - each student was assigned to a family. This provided a great opportunity to practice Arabic with more frequency and develop a more intimate relationship with Moroccan food, culture, and values. With three host brothers to live with, I had a great time exploring the city and youth cultural scenes with people who could show me around.
Furthermore, the program provided a great opportunity to get closer to my Dartmouth peers! While I didn't know many students on the LSA initially, by the end we formed into a tight-knit group. A large reason behind this is the abundance of traveling we did throughout Morocco - with Dartmouth's great financial support, we were able to visit over 10 major Moroccan cities, with the freedom to travel in groups as small as two! While this freedom got us into some questionable situations, we came out the other end with great memories - in this sense, we truly had the freedom to shape our own experiences in Morocco, as we were allotted two weeks (and multiple other weekends) to travel to cities like Marrakech, Casablanca, and Tangier.
Here's the group of us at Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca!
After writing about the Morocco LSA in my 'Why Dartmouth' essay, having the chance to go on the program was irreplaceable. As somebody who has not had many opportunities to travel abroad, spending ten weeks in a brand new country was truly a formative experience, and I can't wait to go back and see all the friends I made in Morocco. For any prospective '27s reading, I hope this encourages you to check out Dartmouth's wide range of study abroad programs!
When asked about my favorite term at Dartmouth, I'll enthusiastically answer, "Sophomore Summer!" Whether it's the enhanced beauty or community on campus, one aspect stands out as the highlight of my term: the start of summer dance ensembles!
