today we discussed ‘the old man in the cottage,’ a brilliant short story by feroz rather, situated in kashmir, in which the violence and tension between the colonizer and colonized become strikingly palpable. we also read ‘frantz fanon and the construction of the colonial subject’ and used it to analyze the story in greater depth. more here.
Author: mara.ahmed
talking about kashmir in class
in our continuing discussions about borders, colonialism and the meaning of home, we’ve been learning about kashmir by reading the poetry of agha shahid ali and watching a short documentary by al jazeera. i explained to my students how any serious engagement with a struggle for justice necessitates the presence/inclusion of activist voices immersed in and representative of that struggle. so today we had our first guest speaker, kashmiri american activist, lawyer and friend Sareer A. Fazili. it was powerful for students to meet him and i’m sure that it will leave a profound impression on them about the human rights crisis in kashmir. thx sareer!
Sinead O’Connor | Nothing Compares 2 U
Sinead performs her iconic song in tribute to Prince. Love.
chai and dinner with friends
lovely day with ammi abbu before they leave to visit my sister. had the pleasure of meeting a delightful friend for chai (forgot to take a picture Smriti, next time inshallah :)) and then had dinner with a wonderful rochester family (so good to catch up Fazeelah).
Art Exhibits in Downtown Rochester This Fall
CURRENT SEEN (the New Rochester Biennial) is coming soon to over 16 venues along East Ave and Main Street, October 4 – November 17, 2019 (opening reception is on Friday October 4, 6-9pm). My art series ‘This Heirloom’ is part of CURRENT SEEN and will be exhibited at the Douglass Auditorium at 36 King St. The image in this article is from that exhibition, which is co-curated by Amanda Chestnut. Pls join us!
More here.
first class at St john fisher college
first class at st john fisher college today – done
talked about being comfortable with words like whiteness, colonialism and imperialism. talked about intersectionality, dismantling racist structures, and questioning the myth of objectivity as it relates to knowledge that’s mostly eurocentric and steeped in colonialism.
students responded to my questions and didn’t seem resistant to thinking about new ideas – a great sign 🙂
evening walk by the canal with ammi abbu
The star of the annual Muslim convention was a Jewish man from Brooklyn
probably the first time that a presidential candidate spoke at ISNA (islamic society of north america). and he talked about kashmir. bernie is the real deal. more here.
more pictures from our chai
chai at our house
chai and gup shup with such lovely friends today – why we love our rochester fam [photo by Shazia Khan]
lunch with ammi abbu
ncbi training
another meeting at where else but @starrynitescafe @rochesterny to talk about ncbi training for young activists who spoke about ‘countering white supremacy: connecting the dots between antisemitism , anti-black racism, and islamophobia’ at the @islamiccenterroc back in june 2009.
coffee with dinshaw
coffee and cookies with dinshaw avari at culture expresso, to catch up on life since college.
the highline in ny
love the highline in #newyork – such a gorgeous day for a walk.
meeting dinshaw
so we are having breakfast at route 66 in manhattan, and guess who is sitting at a table close by? dinshaw avari! my classmate from college whom i haven’t seen forever. from karachi to new york – a straight line. what are the chances? met his lovely fam. his daughter just started school at columbia.
