Work in progress
Updates & reflections
Beloved readers,
Today marks nine years since I exited formal teaching within college classroom settings to stumble my way through a life of what I call academic exile.
If teaching and learning truths about imperialism or fascism resulted in our job losses then, they certainly do now.
*picture taken in Matelot with students in 2017
Would I go back and choose compliance to keep jobs and imagined safety of silence? I would not. Did I love teaching and miss the rituals and spaces of co-learning? I certainly do. It’s an ongoing soul ache. I dwell on this past life only to tend to residual grief to invite deeper healing that might open new possibilities of how to continue to make a living or life during these times of added suppressions. Speaking publicly against genocides and wars is resulting in more closed doors and ended connections.
The work of educating must go on despite numerous obstacles presented by generative AI, economic collapses, human anvpudsnces, and added censorship by schools and universities. These trying times and realities make teaching about anti-colonialism, particularly restrictive. Apparently, we are facing unprecedented literacy and critical thinking crises. Being writers, creatives, cultural workers, free agent educators has been beyond challenging for too many of us.
How do we resist and persist?
I am a work in progress still seeking answers. Currently, I’m struggling in more ways than I can fully articulate. Please reach out if you’re looking for a guest speaker, teaching consultation or guidance on how to navigate academia. I’ve recently revived academic advising/ coaching due to several folks requiring such support.
I recently spoke with Gail Nyoka about these themes and more. I invite you to tune in:
Border imperialism, concepts of citizenship - how do these get lived by people in the world? How to we overcome suppressions? I talk with author and educator Gayatri Sethi about these questions, and about her recently published book, Diaspora-ish: Notes on Identities, Unbelonging, & Solidarities.
I will be in Boston and coastal MA later this month, so if you’re nearby or inclined to travel, I would love reconnecting with you.
with care and solidarity,
desibookaunty