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[ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ]
The Entity in Question
[ IDENTITY & COORDINATES ]
Jannat Binte Aslam
Dhaka, Bangladesh // Socialist daydreamer currently drifting through the radical pages of Andrea Dworkin
jannatbinteaslamexistsprimarilyinthequietintervalsbetweendhaka'sterrestrialchaosandtheuppertroposphere.whenforcedtooccupyaphysicalform,shedissectseconomicsystems,staresatbones,andarrangescharactersintospecificgridstoseeiftheywillscreamback.
Wanderingthroughrooftops,economictheory,legaljurisprudence,silverjhumkas,andunlivedlifebranches.
[ NARRATIVE & PHILOSOPHY // HOVER TEXT TO DISTORT ]VOID TYPE ACTIVE
Myundergraduatestudiesbeganwithconstitutionallaw,contractlaw,andthepenalcode,carvedoutinthehauntedcorridorsoflegaljurisprudence,drivenbyaninsaneidealisturgetobecomeasocialistlawyer.Inmysecondyearoflawschool,Itooklegaljurisprudence,amixoflegaltheoryandphilosophy.IspenthoursimmersedinImmanuelKant’scategoricalimperativeinhisfamousbook,theCritiqueofPureReason.Then,IfoundKarlMarx’ssystemiccritiqueofKantianphilosophy.Hisideaofaclass-basedsocietyandhistheoryaboutworkundercapitalismstripawayfree,consciouscreativity,reducinghumanlifetoameretoolforphysicalsurvival.Then,IreadJohnRawls'1971landmark,ATheoryofJustice.RawlsenvisionedaworldbuiltbehindaVeilofIgnorance:supposealawmakerorpolicymakerweremakingalaw,butheorshedidn'tknow,ontheothersideoftheveil,whotheywouldbe;theycouldbehomeless,working-class,aproletarian,oroppressed.Wouldtheymakeanylawthatwouldviolatetheirownrights?Ontheothersideoftheveil,theycouldbethosepersons,sincetheydonotyetknow.ThatishowRawlsenvisionedthatwhenlawmakersmakelaws,theymustthinkaboutthoseoppressedpeople.
ButabstractjurisprudenceanditstheoriescollidedwithlivingrealityasIreadmoreaboutMarx.Inmylawclasses,Ireadcasesandmemorizedthosecolonial-eramen-madelullabies.Irealizedlawremainsapatriarchalmonolith,builtandmadebymenacrossgenerations,withlittletonostructuralroomforwomen’sinclusionorliberationorbodilyautonomy.Thatrealizationmadeitclearthatgenuinetransformationwouldneverbepossiblethroughthisoccupation,whichwasdesignedtoexcludemyverypresence.SoImadetheterrifyingchoicetoswitchtoeconomics,adecisionthatremainsdebatedandasecretinmyfamily.
Frommemorizinglaw,cases,andtheoriestosteppingintocold,almoststranger-lookingmath,calculus,matrixalgebra,andadvancedstatistics,itfeelslikelearningaforeignlanguagefromthebaseline.Iambackinmyfirstsemester,tryingtounderstandlawasafreshman,nowwithadvancedcalculus.Notpracticingmathforalongtimemakesunfamiliartextslooklikealienstryingtocommunicatewithme,likethemovieArrival(2016),wherewedidnotknowhowtocommunicatewiththealiens.Ididnotlikethemoviebackthen,butitisnowoneofmyfavorites,asItrulybelievemathisalsoalanguage,whichIhaveyettoadoptproperly.OneofmyclassmatespausedtoaskwhetherIwasafraidoffallingbehind,sincemybatchmateswillgraduatesoon.Ilookedatthemandasked,“WhoamIracingagainsttrulyinthislife?”Ithinkweareallinourownrace,facingsetbacksandfailures,andlearningresilience.Thereisnoactualfinishline,tobehonest,asIlearnedthisfrommysutokankaratepractice.WheneverIgointothatmat,Iquiteforgetaboutthosefeelings.
[ DIGITAL ARCHIVES & SELECTED DISPATCHES ]PUBLISHED WORKS // HOVER TO DISTORT
Shepossessesnoformalcorporatesummary,butshehasleftafewdeliberateinkstainsacrossthedigitalcrust:
- aledgerofrawtextandlocalfrequenciesat
- adissectionofsystemicarchitecture,whereinshedetailswhyclimateresilienceisapatriarchalmythfor
- distancedechoesandliterarydriftpreservedwithinthearchivesof
Aninquiryintomemory,thequietweightofinheritance,andthehauntedarchitectureoftheeldestdaughterexperience—exploringhowlineages,expectations,andunseenhistoriesshapetheself.
// INSTAGRAM FRAGMENTS:→ [on inheritance & emotional lineages] ↗→ [reflections on the eldest daughter experience] ↗
note: she is currently looking out the window. the clouds have no comment at this time.