Category Archives: News

The introduction talks about how the author meets a Tamil woman from the Kirkwall tea estate in Sri Lanka’s Hill Country, who is leaving for Colombo to work as a domestic helper. She talks about how her mom is very … Continue reading →

Nearly a decade’s worth of ethnographic fieldwork led to production of Tea and Solidarity: Tamil Women and Work in Postwar Sri Lanka by Mythri Jegathesan (2019). Given that this week’s theme is on “Finding and Showing Patterns in your Research”, I find it inspiring how … Continue reading →

While reading the introduction and chapter two of this week’s assigned text, I found myself appreciating the balanced perspectives that Jegathesan presents. In chapter two, Jegathesan delves into the topic of language, drawing on historical narratives to reveal the viewpoint … Continue reading →

I remember really enjoying this reading last year and I think I’ve found an even greater appreciation for it this year since I’ve found myself drinking more teas. Also I found the writing to be much clearer. I found Jegathesan’s early … Continue reading →

Hi All! I wasn’t sure what chapters we were supposed to read, so I am writing this post about the introduction of Tea and Solidarity only. Hope that’s alright! On page 12, Jegathesan poses the idea that the defining element of coolie is movement: … Continue reading →

I really enjoyed reading these two chapters as they differ a lot from what we read so far. In this book, the author talks about how animals are rescued and cared for in sanctuaries. She describes what measures are being … Continue reading →

I really liked the first picture we see in the introduction of the chicken and pig hanging out. Was very heartwarming! I will confess I am not really an “animal person”—I didn’t grow up around a lot of them and … Continue reading →

“Under each of these contexts, sanctuary animals face costs in exchange for the benefits of care, simultaneously creating the conditions of possibility for sanctuaries to operate and limiting the realization of total liberation of animal subjects from their social status … Continue reading →

This reading made be think back to one of my favorite articles from last year, “Caring for an Unsettled Senior Rescue Dog in the Anthropocene.” In this article, Douglas writes about her senior dog’s fears and trust issues as rooted in humans … Continue reading →

In the spirit of addressing my own positionality I will admit that this sphere of exploration is something on the newer side for me. As I have gone through life I have not found myself particularly attuned with the hardships … Continue reading →

Admittedly, I’ve straddled the world of animal welfare/rescue in several different ways since high school. I’ve served as a volunteer for two separate dog and cat animal shelters in Miami, interacted with and cared for rats, fish, turtles, geckos, birds, and … Continue reading →

In her book Saving animals: multispecies ecologies of rescue and care, Elan draws a very empathetic and insightful picture of the conditions of life under which animals in the US live, their current status and the way they are represented. I appreciated the nuanced … Continue reading →

In Lara’s perspective, the pursuit of queer liberation and Black sovereignty entails a departure from direct engagement with the existing arrivant state. Instead, it involves a process of deconstruction and transcendence of the settler colonial futures that perpetuate it. This … Continue reading →

Having read this last year, I can (sadly) confidently say that a second year with this reading still continues to leave me confused, but I’ve definitely found I have a greater appreciation for Ana-Maurine Lara’s craft and style this time … Continue reading →

In the opening ceremony, the author introduces the idea of decolonization through ceremonies. It talks about veve which is a drawing that stands for offering. Lara emphasizes the importance of this offering as it has deeper meaning and stands for … Continue reading →

In her book Queer Freedom: Black Sovereignty, Lara articulates a number of meaningfully charged concepts like Blackness, queerness and Black sovereignty in the hope to see emerge the “wholeness” of which “arrivant” populations were deprived under the yoke of what she calls … Continue reading →