which one?

Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley review – a delightfully grounded romance This irresistible love story braids the personal and the political – from Brexit to who gets to use the spare room as an office

Just finished another entry in the emerging chick lit genre of: a woman tries to be an engaged mom and do meaningful creative work while maintaining a loving partnership amidst political upheaval. then, surprise, surprise, she burns out!

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Printique!

BAD NEWS

Using the case of independent creative workers, I then describe what I call infrastructuring private: how remote workers are increasingly closed off into private spheres (the home) and are responsible for cultivating a workplace within their intimate lives.

Using the case of gig workers, I describe what I call infrastructuring public: how gig workers are pushed into the public realm (the street) and are responsible for making their work happen and their lives work - often at risk to their safety.

Using cases from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and New York City, I empirically describe the breakdown of spatial norms with the emergence of new forms of technologically-mediated work.

In this talk, I build on infrastructure studies, particularly the work of Susan Leigh Star, who describes how infrastructures are put into action through work, or infrastructuring.

Our spatial lives are in flux. Where we do paid and unpaid work are increasingly blurred; our social lives blend virtual and brick-and-mortar spaces in new ways.

This is open to the public, so please consider joining if you're in Boston/Cambridge! The conference details and registration link are here: asiacenter.harvard.edu/harvard-yale...

I'll be giving a keynote at Harvard on Saturday morning called "Infrastructuring Private/Infrastructuring Public: Technology-Mediated Work and the Crisis of Space" in the Harvard-Yale Southeast Asian Studies graduate conference. Registration details & abstract below.

interesting! i can see why you think it will likely go that way and i can see why that would certainly have negative impacts. it doesn't *have* to go that way though and i don't think we can continue on the track we have been on. Plus ruling for Meta would have felt unjust too.

would love to hear more...

yesterday I read (in one day) A Marriage at Sea. If you want to read about a woman trapped, this one delivers; Maralyn is trapped in a dingey and in a marriage...

I read the first one and got the second from the library. I'm not sure if I'm ready to commit. It is repetitive but there are some sprinklings of insights...

My 2 yo and I are optimistically reading about Pooh’s favorite things about spring

New research on road safety in the gig economy: Join the webinar A webinar linked to an upcoming report about road safety and the gig economy, a collaboration between the Workers' Observatory and ScORSA.

"Authored by Dr Karen Gregory and Boyan Karabaliev, the report shows that workplace safety regulations, considered standard in most industries, are inadequate or fully lacking when it comes to app-based ridehailing and delivery services."

workersobservatory.org/news/new-res...

lots of double standards in parenting!

What Makes a Good Mother? We keep revising the maternal ideal—and keep falling short of it.

*However, I picked it up and read it fast for a reason. Are we in an age of burnout feminism? Or is this just individualist bypassing of a more political anti-capitalist feminism? Enjoyed this piece by Rebecca Meade pulling some recent books together: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Sped-read "Life After Ambition" by Amil Niazi that just came out. It's sadly not the greatest book; the pieces of her story don't hang together into a coherent whole. Also it's hard to buy that she is "post-ambition" when she has a column in the Cut AND a book out with three really little kids.

Open Positions | Department of Asian & Asian American Studies Department of Asian & Asian American Studies

Academic job announcement! Stony Brook University is hiring a fellow in South Asian and South Asian American Studies.

Good gig in a good department, come be my colleague. Can convert to tenure-track after two years.

www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/asia...

Thank you for visiting and your talk!

A maroon flyer with a photograph of my hand holding a Library Field field guide, and text reading: X ONASSIS ONX PRESENTS: Shannon Mattern Thursday Feb 12 5:30pm 370 Jay Street Room 120 RSVP at idmnyu.github.io/ONX2026

I’ll be talking in the NYU Integrated Design + Media “ExtraOrdinary” series — about re-situating and adapting work from a 25-year academic career to a networked urban commons — next Thursday, Feb 12, at 5:30

www.eventbrite.com/e/idm-x-onas...

The Call for Artists for the 2026 exhibit is available online at the following link: bit.ly/submerseny2026

The application deadline is February 25, and the art must be installed no later than July 25 and remain in place until the end of November.

Submerse is a FEMA-funded initiative supporting public art about flood resilience led by the New York State Water Resources Institute. Submerse is a statewide project, and in NYC, WRI is partnering with Waterfront Alliance, NY Sea Grant and NY State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

"Submerse NY: Public Art to Promote Flood Resilience in Jamaica Bay" has up to $20,000 available to artists to transform a public path at Shirley Chisholm State Park into an immersive, narrative experience.

Alert: Art funding available for a public art installation in Jamaica Bay, NYC! The goal of the grant is to increase public awareness of flooding, sea-level rise, and climate resilience, while celebrating the ecological and cultural significance of Jamaica Bay. Applications due Feb 25.

please check out this handbook - it's a great resource for teaching! Ingrid Erickson, Melissa Mazmanian and I have a chapter, as do some big hitters in the field. Honored to be in their company! Thanks to the editors for putting it together over such a long process

MoMA R&D MoMA Research & Development provides information and critical tools to identify and explore new directions and opportunities for The Museum of Modern Art.

MoMA is seeking a Research and Development Fellow (a two-year position) to support its R&D Salons!

recruiting.ultipro.com/MUS1002MOMA/...

We are hiring an advisor position in the TCS department at NYU Tandon, particularly for Integrated Design and Media (IDM) students. Come work with a great group of faculty, staff and students : )

uscareers-nyu.icims.com/jobs/15156/a...