What's up! My name is Brandon and I'm a '25 from a small town outside of Chicago. I am passionate about Middle Eastern culture, politics, history, and languages; I'm particularly interested in studying gender/sexuality, politics of exhibition, and counterculture in the Arab Gulf. My current hobbies are reading, playing the mandolin, audio design, eating spicy foods, and streetwear. 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!
It's hard to believe that I'm almost halfway through my junior winter, which is also the final term of my junior year. With senior year on the horizon, I have been reflecting on my Dartmouth experience and personal growth. I've been blogging since the very start of my freshman year, and the fact that this archive of my Dartmouth experience exists is incredible. In this post, I want to talk about what it's like blogging for admissions and how it's helped me navigate my Dartmouth experience!
As an admissions blogger, I'm responsible for writing one blog post each week of the academic term. As a freshman, I was required to do this for the fall, winter, and spring of my first year—however, after freshman year, you have the option to write one blog post every two weeks instead. Of course, this schedule is adjustable in case of personal circumstances. I've also had the opportunity to blog during off-terms and winter/spring breaks, which has been a great way to constantly reflect on my life and make some money while doing it.
The Admissions Office does a lot of work to cultivate a sense of community among bloggers. We typically all meet with each other at the start of the term to catch up with each other and prepare for a new term of blog writing. In addition, since blogs are due Sundays at midnight every week, Admissions reserves a room in the library on Sunday nights where bloggers can work on writing and finalizing their posts together, oftentimes with pizza provided! This emphasis on community has helped me meet people I wouldn't have otherwise met at Dartmouth, and since there's a new cohort of freshman bloggers every year, there are always new faces to meet.
One of my favorite things about blogging is when prospective students reach out to me to ask me a question about Dartmouth or something that I highlighted in a blog. It feels great to know that people are reading about my experiences, and that they want to know more: my email (brandon.mioduszewski.25@dartmouth.edu) is always open if you have a Dartmouth or blog-related question!
Looking at all that's happened to me during Dartmouth, I'm glad I have an archive of blog posts that illustrate the highs and lows of my experience. This is a benefit of blogging that I didn't really consider when first starting, but it's great to revisit some of the memories that I've made in the last two years by re-reading old blog posts. Furthermore, watching my academic and professional interests shift over time is also lots of fun, as it shows directly the impact that my Dartmouth experience has had on me. Overall, I've really enjoyed my experience as a blogger, and I hope to continue sharing details about my Dartmouth experience for these last few terms!
The "Why Dartmouth" supplement was the hardest for me to write. How would I explain all the reasons I loved Dartmouth in 100 words? I chose Dartmouth because of how the people and campus made me feel. Dartmouth radiates excitement.
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a phenomenal total solar eclipse occurred — and we happened to be within the path of totality. As a result, Dartmouth hosted a variety of eclipse-related events on- and off-campus. Find out how I spent the eclipse!
