Zarena Aslami
@zda.bsky.social
scholar and teacher of 19th-century british lit and culture; writing about "victorian afghanistan" and thinking about empire, race, and disability. all views expressed are my own. please enjoy the photo of civic-minded geese using the crosswalk.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
This is in a neighborhood near me that I frequent for the restaurants and coffee shops and go running through in spring and summer. It's bustling with shops & history. F. Scott Fitzgerald once lived there. They're doing their best to destroy everything peaceful & community-filled in the Twin Cities.
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 6:46 PM
This is in a neighborhood near me that I frequent for the restaurants and coffee shops and go running through in spring and summer. It's bustling with shops & history. F. Scott Fitzgerald once lived there. They're doing their best to destroy everything peaceful & community-filled in the Twin Cities.
"“We worked with the U.S. for 20 years. We fought terrorism. We supported democracy. What was the benefit?”"
theconversation.com/afghan-migra...
theconversation.com/afghan-migra...
Afghan migrants stranded in Pakistan after the US suspends refugee resettlement
After a failed US intervention exposed Afghan civilians to Taliban threats, Washington is retreating from its humanitarian obligations.
theconversation.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:23 PM
"“We worked with the U.S. for 20 years. We fought terrorism. We supported democracy. What was the benefit?”"
theconversation.com/afghan-migra...
theconversation.com/afghan-migra...
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
The situation in MN remains horrific. In-depth reporting here reveals a pattern of ICE detaining people who are here legally, ignoring court orders, shipping them out of state, refusing them counsel, and even deporting them. Make sure your Senators know the horrors more ICE funding will perpetuate.
‘ICE conveyor belt’ illegally detaining, moving Minnesota children to Texas faster than courts can respond
ICE is pulling Minnesota immigrant families with legal status out of their driveways, homes and school commutes and sending them to Texas within hours — in at least two cases against a judge’s order. ...
www.mprnews.org
January 29, 2026 at 2:29 AM
The situation in MN remains horrific. In-depth reporting here reveals a pattern of ICE detaining people who are here legally, ignoring court orders, shipping them out of state, refusing them counsel, and even deporting them. Make sure your Senators know the horrors more ICE funding will perpetuate.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
There have been multiple sightings of ICE in the last couple of days in Washtenaw County, especially in Ypsi. Save these numbers.
WICIR Linktree: linktr.ee/wicir
WICIR Linktree: linktr.ee/wicir
January 29, 2026 at 12:21 AM
There have been multiple sightings of ICE in the last couple of days in Washtenaw County, especially in Ypsi. Save these numbers.
WICIR Linktree: linktr.ee/wicir
WICIR Linktree: linktr.ee/wicir
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
Edina is a suburb so wealthy that when its local paper publishes profiles of graduating high school seniors, photo captions tell you "who" they're wearing & how much the clothes cost. The video in the quoted post is worth watching in full. Imagine the whole fury of the PTA directed in righteousness.
They got Edina Moms excoriating the Administration and signing off with a a land acknowledgement. They are so fucked lol
January 25, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Edina is a suburb so wealthy that when its local paper publishes profiles of graduating high school seniors, photo captions tell you "who" they're wearing & how much the clothes cost. The video in the quoted post is worth watching in full. Imagine the whole fury of the PTA directed in righteousness.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
I have a friend on the scene, and their video (taken just moments ago) shows agents tear-gassing those who have shown up with nothing but phones and whistles. You can hear the popping noises of some kind of shots in the background and see the clouds of gas/smoke billowing.
January 24, 2026 at 5:13 PM
I have a friend on the scene, and their video (taken just moments ago) shows agents tear-gassing those who have shown up with nothing but phones and whistles. You can hear the popping noises of some kind of shots in the background and see the clouds of gas/smoke billowing.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
I should have been more clear: if you want updates (we do not know yet if this man survived), this page will give you them. It also includes the video, but you do NOT have to play it. It is traumatic.
You do not have to watch the video. This paywall-free link takes you to the ongoing coverage of a man in Minneapolis who was just shot several times in the chest & taken away by ambulance. I count seven agents beating him while he lies on the ground. Then one shoots him. It looks like an execution.
Live: Man shot by federal agent in south Minneapolis this morning, witnesses say
A video appears to shows federal agents wrestling a man to the ground then shooting him.
www.startribune.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:25 PM
I should have been more clear: if you want updates (we do not know yet if this man survived), this page will give you them. It also includes the video, but you do NOT have to play it. It is traumatic.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
St Paul, MN: Helicopters have been patrolling overhead on and off all day. They are back, and hovering. This does not make us feel good or safe, but terrorized.
January 21, 2026 at 12:45 AM
St Paul, MN: Helicopters have been patrolling overhead on and off all day. They are back, and hovering. This does not make us feel good or safe, but terrorized.
About to submit my revised ms, Marginal Sovereignty: The Literatures of Empire and the Making of Victorian Afghanistan, to @cornellupress.bsky.social. It's been an emotional, discordant journey, but I am supremely grateful for current colleagues and friends and the new ones I met along the way.
January 18, 2026 at 3:03 PM
About to submit my revised ms, Marginal Sovereignty: The Literatures of Empire and the Making of Victorian Afghanistan, to @cornellupress.bsky.social. It's been an emotional, discordant journey, but I am supremely grateful for current colleagues and friends and the new ones I met along the way.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
This is so sad; so many lives ruined. And for what?
An independent civil service is so important for so many reasons. One overlooked one is that it offers economic opportunities to people who would not otherwise get them from the private sector.
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/29/d...
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/29/d...
A Rockville woman with developmental disabilities was laid off from NIH after 30 years. What’s next for her is uncertain.
Andrea Geller loved her job in the mailroom at NIH. But after she was laid off, she's struggling to find a job accommodating her disabilites.
bethesdamagazine.com
July 30, 2025 at 1:08 PM
This is so sad; so many lives ruined. And for what?
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
Amy Sherald says the Smithsonian suggested removing a painting of a transgender woman as the Statue of Liberty from her upcoming show at the National Portrait Gallery “to avoid provoking President Trump.” Sherald: “I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship”
Amy Sherald Cancels Her Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship
www.nytimes.com
July 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Amy Sherald says the Smithsonian suggested removing a painting of a transgender woman as the Statue of Liberty from her upcoming show at the National Portrait Gallery “to avoid provoking President Trump.” Sherald: “I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship”
@aktange.bsky.social field trip!
‘Curtis’s Botanical Magazine’, the world's longest-running, continuously published botanical periodical, bringing gardening to the masses, on display at ‘Unearthed: The Power of Gardening’ events.bl.uk/exhibitions/... until 10 August @rs4vp.org
July 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
@aktange.bsky.social field trip!
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
Rümeysa Öztürk wrote about ICE detention and the women who helped her survive. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/r...
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women’s Prison
Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up about her 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility—and the generous and compassionate women she met.
www.vanityfair.com
July 17, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Rümeysa Öztürk wrote about ICE detention and the women who helped her survive. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/r...
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
A powerful piece by Patricia Okker, former President of the New College of Florida, on how reading American women writers can shape our current moment. This is what the humanities can do, and this is why they are so afraid of us. Free access from Legacy: muse.jhu.edu/article/959226
Project MUSE - Learning to Read American Women Writers
muse.jhu.edu
May 12, 2025 at 12:43 PM
A powerful piece by Patricia Okker, former President of the New College of Florida, on how reading American women writers can shape our current moment. This is what the humanities can do, and this is why they are so afraid of us. Free access from Legacy: muse.jhu.edu/article/959226
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
Pack the Court. If we are serious about the defense of these rights, we pack the Court. Simple as that. They pack it back, we pack it again. We do it until we reach consensus on long-term reforms to the judiciary. I don't know what it's going to take for people to get it.
June 27, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Pack the Court. If we are serious about the defense of these rights, we pack the Court. Simple as that. They pack it back, we pack it again. We do it until we reach consensus on long-term reforms to the judiciary. I don't know what it's going to take for people to get it.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
MIT just pubbed a study on ChatGPT users.
“Brain scans revealed neural connection collapse... a 47% reduction in brain connectivity. When researchers forced ChatGPT users to write w/o AI, they performed worse than people who never used AI at all. It's not just dependency. It's cognitive atrophy.”
“Brain scans revealed neural connection collapse... a 47% reduction in brain connectivity. When researchers forced ChatGPT users to write w/o AI, they performed worse than people who never used AI at all. It's not just dependency. It's cognitive atrophy.”
June 22, 2025 at 2:56 PM
MIT just pubbed a study on ChatGPT users.
“Brain scans revealed neural connection collapse... a 47% reduction in brain connectivity. When researchers forced ChatGPT users to write w/o AI, they performed worse than people who never used AI at all. It's not just dependency. It's cognitive atrophy.”
“Brain scans revealed neural connection collapse... a 47% reduction in brain connectivity. When researchers forced ChatGPT users to write w/o AI, they performed worse than people who never used AI at all. It's not just dependency. It's cognitive atrophy.”
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
Sounds awesome!
Wanna know the history of #gaslighting? My co-edited book of essays, *Victorian Gaslighting*, will make you an expert! This juicy guide, co-created with @noragilbert.bsky.social and @tara-macdonald.bsky.social, is officially in pre-production at @sunypress.bsky.social and slated for pub in 2026!
June 20, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Sounds awesome!
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
Hey all, if you don't want a massive data center in your backyard, the folks at Stop the Data are holding a rally at the June 17th Ypsilanti Town Board meeting at 5:30pm! The rally will be at the Tilden R. Stumbo Civic Center Board Room!
June 17, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Hey all, if you don't want a massive data center in your backyard, the folks at Stop the Data are holding a rally at the June 17th Ypsilanti Town Board meeting at 5:30pm! The rally will be at the Tilden R. Stumbo Civic Center Board Room!
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
The U.S. owes Afghans and Afghan Americans a huge debt. Instead of repaying this debt and undoing the harm it has caused over four decades, Muslim ban 2.0 has been yet another deep betrayal and abandonment.
Trump’s New “Muslim Ban” Wipes Out Hope for 250,000 Afghans Seeking Refuge in US
The US owes Afghans a huge debt, but instead of starting to repair decades of harm, Trump is banning them from the US.
buff.ly
June 9, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The U.S. owes Afghans and Afghan Americans a huge debt. Instead of repaying this debt and undoing the harm it has caused over four decades, Muslim ban 2.0 has been yet another deep betrayal and abandonment.
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
"A former Afghan National Army soldier in the process of applying for asylum in the U.S. was arrested last month by federal immigration agents at his Houston-area home, according to his attorney, who said the man and most of his family are being threatened with deportation."
Former Afghan soldier arrested at Houston-area home by ICE, stripped of asylum protections, attorney says | Houston Public Media
The soldier is one of at least 20,000 Afghans seeking asylum nationwide, having fled Afghanistan after aiding the U.S. military during the two-decades-long war there.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
June 7, 2025 at 11:01 PM
"A former Afghan National Army soldier in the process of applying for asylum in the U.S. was arrested last month by federal immigration agents at his Houston-area home, according to his attorney, who said the man and most of his family are being threatened with deportation."
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
🚨 Support Los Angeles immigrant communities 🚨
Please consider donating to one or all of the following orgs:
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: give.immdef.org/donate
LA Jail Support / Bail Fund:
account.venmo.com/u/jailsuppor...
Unión del Barrio:
uniondelbarrio.org/main/support...
Please consider donating to one or all of the following orgs:
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: give.immdef.org/donate
LA Jail Support / Bail Fund:
account.venmo.com/u/jailsuppor...
Unión del Barrio:
uniondelbarrio.org/main/support...
June 7, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🚨 Support Los Angeles immigrant communities 🚨
Please consider donating to one or all of the following orgs:
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: give.immdef.org/donate
LA Jail Support / Bail Fund:
account.venmo.com/u/jailsuppor...
Unión del Barrio:
uniondelbarrio.org/main/support...
Please consider donating to one or all of the following orgs:
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: give.immdef.org/donate
LA Jail Support / Bail Fund:
account.venmo.com/u/jailsuppor...
Unión del Barrio:
uniondelbarrio.org/main/support...
What was it again that John Locke said about putting labor into the land?
Hundreds of acres in Michigan are covered in parallel rows of earth that are the remains of an ancient Native American agricultural system. The surprise find has archaeologists amazed.
A surprise find in Michigan shows the extent of ancient Native American agriculture
Hundreds of acres in Michigan are covered in parallel rows of earth that are the remains of an ancient Native American agricultural system. The surprise find has archaeologists amazed.
n.pr
June 6, 2025 at 12:32 PM
What was it again that John Locke said about putting labor into the land?
Reposted by Zarena Aslami
If you're working in any Victorian Studies field & would like some group support/motivation to get summer writing done, consider applying to these (VIRTUAL) seminars. You need not live in the midwestern US to apply. Seminar groups are based on topic intersections & time zones for ease of meeting.
MVSA Summer Seminars are back! Set writing goals now, submit something (up to 30 pages) for collaborative feedback in August, meet with your workshop group in early September for discussion. Application deadline: May 25. Seminar logistics & (easy!) application process at link below. Pass it on!
Summer Seminars
Set writing goals & get feedback!Applications due: May 25, 2025 NEW DIRECTIONS IN VICTORIAN STUDIES Ah, May! When writing goals are full of promises to ourselves, and summer is full of timeR…
midwestvictorian.org
May 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM
If you're working in any Victorian Studies field & would like some group support/motivation to get summer writing done, consider applying to these (VIRTUAL) seminars. You need not live in the midwestern US to apply. Seminar groups are based on topic intersections & time zones for ease of meeting.