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 taking back-to-back off-terms in the spring and summer, it's great to be back on campus for my senior year! In this post, I want to share some of the classes I'm taking in the fall and why I am excited about taking them from the perspective of an anthropology major.
One of the classes I'm taking this term is ANTH 6: Introduction to Biological Anthropology – it's a larger lecture class with about one hundred students, which is relatively new to me since most of my classes in the humanities have been smaller, discussion-based classes. Although I don't have a background in science and biology, I am taking the class to complete my anthropology major. I'm excited for the content of the class – I took ANTH 40: Human Functional Anatomy last year for my science Distributive Requirement credit, and it unexpectedly became one of the favorite classes I've taken at Dartmouth. Being able to get out of my comfort zone and learn things I'd never have thought to learn is one of my favorite parts about Dartmouth's liberal arts model, so I'm excited to have the chance to survey different topics in human biology this fall.
Another class I'm taking is FILM 44.09: Cinematography: Lighting and Composition. Although the course doesn't apply to my major credits, the prospect of improving my videography and filmmaking skills definitely excites me. As someone who is interested in pursuing a career in documentary filmmaking and non-fiction video, being able to think critically about cinematography will have a direct positive impact on the quality of my filmmaking. In addition, the class will provide me with a wide range of opportunities to engage in different filmmaking projects – for my first assignment, I'm working with a small team to make a short film that plays with lighting, silhouettes, and shadows. I'm eager to continue blogging about my experiences in the course throughout the term!
My last class is my culminating senior project in anthropology, which will be a documentary on herbalists in New Hampshire and Vermont. Since I am taking the class as a research course, it requires more reading and prep-work than a traditional documentary would – therefore, I'm spending lots of time this term reading about herbalists, religion, and spirituality, which has been very exciting. For the class, I meet once a week with my project advisor, allowing us to touch base, discuss the topic, and prepare for research and filming in the winter and spring. I'm excited to share the development of my senior project throughout the term! I am also concurrently working on a personal documentary project about beekeepers in New Hampshire, which I will share more details about in a future blog post.
I'm happy with all my classes this term, and I think they will provide me with a great opportunity to develop both academically and creatively. I will definitely share my experiences in these classes as the term progresses.
Walking through Dartmouth's vibrant fall foliage and reflecting on my Sophomore Fall experiences underscored the importance of community and embracing opportunities.
One of the staple characteristics of the D-Plan is the off-term, a term in which you are not taking classes! Most students at Dartmouth will take at least one off-term, and this winter happens to be my turn! What will I be doing?
