Fischerfest has ended, and I am proud to be part of this gathering.
Since the time Mike became my thesis committee member, we have been connected in one way or another. He visited İstanbul several times. Once my father helped us to drive around to visit the technoparks in Istanbul. I frequently assigned his review articles in Cultural Anthropology in my digital anthropology MA class. Some of his writings are not very accessible to me due to his intense transdisciplinary background. Still, even those are inspiring and motivating for me to do more (like his latest pieces on the Singaporean art scene).
Mike is a reader of this blog! He sometimes sends thoughtful comments. I appreciate this a lot.
Mike is always responsive and has always helped me with recommendation letters. I see him as one of the model professors I try to imitate.
What Mike did was to gather many colleagues and former students together. I have come to realize how substantial his community was. Thanks to this community, I had the best encounters with some of the scholars I had heard or read about before. Before going forward, I should also note the role of Chris Kelty. He was on top of logistics and did a great job.
Mehdi Abedi, co-author of
Mehdi Abedi, co-author of Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in Postmodernity and Tradition, is currently the owner of Pride of Persia Rug Co. in Houston, Texas. He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Rice University and now applies his anthropological expertise to the world of Persian rugs, helping homeowners and collectors find unique pieces for their homes3. There is no evidence in the recent search results that he holds a current academic position in anthropology; instead, his professional focus appears to be on his business in the rug trade, where he leverages his cultural and academic background.
It was great to talk to Sharon Traweek, to see Hannah Landecker again.
One great surprise was to see Mary-Jo DelVecchio Good and Byron Joseph Good in person. I have been attending their weekly Zoom meetings for two years and finally got to see them in “real life.”
Speaking of “real life,” it was an honor to meet Michael Nathan and Sadeq Rahimi again after years of Zoom meetings.
One of the most beautiful encounters was with Katrien Pype. We are two of the co-convenors of the Media Anthropology Network. It was fantastic to catch up with our intellectual agendas.
Anthropologists are not keen on taking photos at their events, but I did not want to miss this opportunity. So here are some more:
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