Fatima Mojaddedi

What made you choose Davis?

I decided to come to UC Davis for several reasons but especially for the anthropology department. It is a place of intellectual rigor, and also, as evidenced by the work of the faculty and students, encourages a sense of creative freedom and inventiveness. Feeling unrestrained, like I can ask any question I want, is very important to me. More generally, my interests overlap with work in other spaces like the Humanities Institute, Departments of Comparative Literature and Middle East/South Asia Studies, and I am very excited to teach in the UC system. I believe it is more important than ever to preserve and bolster the ethos of public education.

What inspires you? 

I am moved by the life-worlds of others, especially by languages and how people negotiate living in an increasingly uncertain world where very little can be taken for granted. For me, ethnography is like an excursion into these differences and teaches us how to reflect upon conditions and ways of being. These are also possible to discern in literature, cinema, poetry, art and even music if one listens carefully. I need a combination in order to have the courage to ask new questions, and I think that is crucial to any creative or scholarly endeavor.

What research are you currently working on? What makes it unique?

I am working on a book manuscript tentatively entitled: Destroy the House of Evil. In the broadest sense, it is about war and people, and how they learn to survive in a place (Afghanistan) where much of what we mean by collective life and social relations has come undone. It is also about the power of language and money, and the kinds of fantasies that emerge when people believe there is natural resource treasure underground, that things will be different in the future in a very particular way. For several years now, I have also been conducting archival research in the British Library in London. I explore files as diverse as those on imperial botanical missions, wartime propaganda (especially during World Wars I and II), railway networks and communication technologies like the telegraph and radio. I am also trying to re-learn German, which at one point I spoke fluently.

If you could impart one piece of advice to our undergraduates seeking a course of study/career path, what would it be?

I would generally encourage students to pursue a rigorously curious path that enables them to acquire a love of reading and writing, and to also learn that the concepts and paradigms we use are not the same everywhere. My father told me once that the novels we read are proof of a life well-lived, and I think that is also worth repeating here. Literature has the power to be a steadfast intellectual companion. It teaches us to pay attention to the world around us and expands our capacity to imagine and think.

When not in the classroom or conducting research, what do you like to do?

I like to travel as much as possible. I enjoy art museums, literature, theater, the symphony, opera, even historical archives are pleasurable for me to explore and get lost in. I love being around or in water as much as possible, preferably in foreign seas. I also love gardens (strolling in or growing them) and cooking. When time permits I’d like to take some culinary classes. But I imagine I would be an unruly student!

Have you found your favorite spot on campus yet?

This is still a tad premature, and at the risk of reproducing binaries: I think either the arboretum (nature) or the Mondavi Center (culture).

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

The capacity to instantly learn new languages in order to converse, read and dream in them. This would be the superpower that keeps on giving.