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Brandon Mioduszewski

Class of 2025
brandon mioduszewski
Bio 

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!

Academic Program 

Anthropology & Middle Eastern Studies

Favorite Thing Right Now 

My cat

Hometown 

Franklin Park, Illinois

Pronouns 

he/him

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Brandon's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Politics of Israel and Palestine

      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.

    • WinterHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Intro to Middle Eastern Studies

      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!

    • SpringHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Arab Political Thought

      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.

    • SummerRabat, Morocco

      Favorite Class: Arabic 21

      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.

    • FallHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy

      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.

    • WinterHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Modern Media Theory

      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.

    • SpringKuwait City, Kuwait

      Favorite Class: Off-term Internship at the American University of Kuwait

      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.

    • SummerHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Filmmaking & Visual Culture

      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.

    • FallHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Human Functional Anatomy

      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!

    • WinterHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Ethnographic Film

      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.

    • SpringChicago, Illinois

      Favorite Class: Off-Term Internship

      In the spring, I worked as an intern at a documentary production company in Chicago. There, I gained experience in camera operation, managing audio levels, and editing in Premiere for clients like the Newberry Library, WBEZ Radio, the University of Chicago, and more. I traveled to many shoots across Chicago, including creative documentary projects such as PBS’s ‘From Rails to Trails’ series and runner profiles for the World Marathon Majors.

    • SummerNew York City, New York

      Favorite Class: Off-Term Internship

      In the summer, I interned at Bloomberg News in New York City. Working in journalism was a great way to sharpen my writing, interviewing, and storytelling skills – I primarily wrote about the entertainment industry from a financial perspective. Outside of work, I spent lots of time enjoying live music and film screenings in the city.

    • FallHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Cinematography I: Lighting and Composition

      Cinematography I: Lighting and Composition was a great way to tie my documentary filmmaking projects that I have been working on outside of class into a classroom setting. As students, we had the opportunity to work with and receive direct mentorship from accomplished filmmaker Professor Iyabo Kwayana. One of my favorite things about the class was the opportunity to screen our final film projects on a big theater screen in the Lowe Auditorium on campus!

    • WinterHanover, New Hampshire

      Favorite Class: Anthropology of Rural Places and People

      After working on many documentaries outside of class about people and experiences in rural Vermont, taking an anthropology class on Rural Places and People was incredibly rewarding. The course gave me a more critical perspective on rural places and identities, which will definitely be helpful as I continue making films. We had many guest speakers from rural New England come to class, and it was very rewarding to hear about a wide breadth of experiences.

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