Brendan Van Gorder is graduating 2015 in political science as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and Civic Scholar. He is currently pursuing computer programming and network science in order to acquire the tools to develop online technology for social movements. Technologies in consideration include online networks of alternative economic trade, social media platforms built specifically for grass-roots organizing, and data-driven investigative reporting.
Brendan Van Gorder
Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Fellow in the Humanities
2014—2015 Forum on Color
Brendan Van Gorder
Political Science and Sociology
How Sight Creates Prejudice: The Marketing and Protesting of Brazil’s World Cup
How do images affect people? It turns out, much of our conscious thought is heavily shaped by the meanings our subconscious draws from images. Through simple exposure to images, we subconsciously form preferences and prejudices, which we then (often unknowingly) try to rationalize. Through the lenses of Psychology, Marketing, and Brendan’s camera, I explore why, “what you think about Brazil’s World Cup” is actually the images of partying you’ve seen (and the images of police brutality) that you haven’t. An awareness of how images affect your thoughts may help you better think through your emotions and thoughts towards Ferguson, the Middle East, and the people in your daily life.