A holiday message to my readers
And what to expect from this newsletter in 2024
Holiday greetings to everyone.
As the year winds down, I wanted to send a note of appreciation to everyone who is supporting me here. As I wrote in my first post, I started this substack newsletter as a sort of gift to myself after getting promoted with tenure at Northwestern. I’m humbled by the number of subscribers, and flattered/a bit shocked that I have several paid subscriptions! I wasn’t expecting that, and I plan to keep all my content here free and accessible to everyone. Having said that, if the holidays has you feeling generous and you’d like to upgrade your subscription to a paid subscription, I won’t discourage you! Your support means the world to me, and the best endorsement of all is to read, share, and comment as you feel inclined. Thanks yall…appreciate all of you.
What you can expect in 2024:
My intention remains to use this as a space to engage in more creative, vulnerable, and ultimately, honest writing. Where you get Sepehr’s take (and I promise I won’t talk to you in the third person ever again), my genuine in-process thinking on a range of topics, and hopefully you will learn something or at least be entertained. So what’s in store…
My co-authored book on the history and politics of Sharif University in Iran (with MIT Press) is slated to be out in the world by Spring 2025. This is a project that I’ve had the honor to work on with two extraordinary scholars, Drs. Mina Khanlarzadeh and Mahdi Gangavi. I plan to do some previewing of the book here, and I also plan to write something on the experience of writing my first academic book. Which for me also coincides with my first experience mentoring postdoctoral fellows, and conducting research outside the US. This project was also my first rodeo with archival research. Reflections on some of that stuff will make its way here. If I work up the courage, I’ll also share my next two book projects here as well (and hopefully get your suggestions and feedback for those..)
You can also expect some posts related to a new, Evanston-focused project I’m launching with my colleagues Drs. Nichole Pinkard and kihana miraya ross. There is a formal announcement forthcoming so I’ll be brief, but in short, we have received funding from the National Science Foundation to contribute to some really exciting and important work going on here in Evanston where the three of us live and work. In addition to all the national and even international press Evanston received for passing the first-ever reparations law in American history, there’s another really important story brewing here. In Fall 2026, Evanston will be opening a new K-5 public elementary school in a historically Black part of the city, after it was closed in the 1960s as many schools in Black neighborhoods were post the 1954 Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Our role as university partners will be to support the district and the community in their efforts to do right by Black families and kids, with a particular focus on how STEM learning opportunities will be designed and realized. Ultimately, we believe the fate of the 5th ward school will speak directly to the power and potential of public education as a key player in society’s broader efforts to remedy historical harms. So even though this is locally focused, there are huge implications of this work. That’s not very humble of me to say, but that’s exactly how I feel! I’m excited about this new project and I’ll start writing about our work here as it begins to unfold.
So what’s next?
Let’s see…probably the very next post will be a piece on AI and surveillance technologies in Chicago, with implications for schools, something I co-wrote with one of my PhD students, Alisa Reith. This piece shaped up to be a sort of retrospective on our work with Chicago youth and community organizations in the Young People’s Race Power and Tech project, interwoven with some commentary on Chicago’s recent decision to extend a controversial $10 million contract with Shotspotter (gun-detection technology), as well as some thoughts on how new concerns related to the advent of AI tech plays into all of this. This one is written specifically with educators in mind who may be taking up some of these questions in their classrooms, libraries, or other informal community settings.
Basically, in 2024, you can expect content covering a range of topics. Including some writing as I’ve promised in the past specific to being an academic and navigating academia. And it’s a helluva time to be in higher education. Rehashed debates on academic freedom, the official end of affirmative action. AI supposedly poised to turn this whole teaching and learning thing upside down (doubt it, but we’ll see..). And of course the ongoing shitstorm of Israel Palestine and how universities have been caught up with it all. My usually optimistic self is feeling a little concerned that what we are seeing now is a canary in the coal mine. That we have only just glimpsed the early stages of what will ultimately be a substantial and sustained conservative assault on diversity and equity initiatives writ large, disguised as moral concern about antisemitism. Yes, I know that deserves unpacking. Stay tuned. And all of this, by the way, has some pretty real implications for national politics and the 2024 presidential elections specifically.
Anyway, speaking of glimpses, there’s a glimpse into what I’m hoping to touch on in 2024. But don’t hold me to any of it! I have three young children at home, and a day job. But I do this for the love of the game! So I hope you stick around. Again, I deeply appreciate your support. Happy new year to all!
Sepehr