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 I look to wrap up my majors here at Dartmouth, it is becoming increasingly common to hear about 'culminating experiences'. At Dartmouth, a culminating experience is the last step you take in completing a major—sometimes these experiences consist of certain senior-level courses, but oftentimes students have the ability to define their own culminating experience.
For my anthropology major, the department has specific courses that are considered 'culminating experiences'. Since the department is split up between cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology, senior-level courses are available across all three disciplines. Due to my focus in cultural anthropology, the culminating experience course I will be taking in the spring is called 'Main Currents in Anthropology'. I am really excited about taking this class with other senior anthropology students! It should be a rewarding experience that ties together many of the things I have learned so far in anthropology.
For my Middle Eastern studies major, my 'culminating experience' is a little bit different and less structured. I'm able to decide for myself what I'd like my cumulative experience to be.or example, one of my options is taking a regular Middle Eastern Studies class, and writing a longer final paper at the end of the class relative to other students. Many majors at Dartmouth are less structured in this way, and give students the agency to have more control over their academic paths, schedules, and coursework.
Another common culminating experience for many majors is completion of a senior honors thesis. A senior honors thesis is often a student-led research project that senior students can choose to undertake in their respective majors;due to the high degree of time investment that an honors thesis takes, they typically count for both course credit and as a culminating experience.
Overall, there are many academic pathways at Dartmouth that allow students to feel a sense of completion and accomplishment over their majors, synthesizing their knowledge and studies in a variety of ways. As graduation approaches and I have to look at wrapping up my major requirements, these culminating experiences are frequently front-of-mind. I am excited to share more about my experience completing my majors at Dartmouth!
I can't wait to celebrate Winter, so I just had to write a blog post all about it. Read on to hear about all the fun (and affordable) Winter activities at Dartmouth!
After experiencing this Dartmouth winter term, I am ready to write an ode to this cold weather! Here is what a weekend in the Hanover winter feels like.
My first week back on campus– full of lots of hugs and an extensive amount of time spent making my Google calendar! Cold days and walking to classes after six weeks at home can be an adjustment, but my friends at Dartmouth make it all the more fun!
