Greetings,

Asma (ahs-ma) N. is a Brooklyn native, Digital Humanist, Black feminist, and a graduate student at The Graduate Center, CUNY. She uses audio/technology to discourse her broader philosophical research interests in gender, social ontology, and digital humanities to develop original content in public scholarship. Asma cares about creatively transposing what’s meta about experience into accessible language and technology alike. Her other central topics include beauty politics, digital space and identity, and sound studies — all in relationship to Black women and individuals who are the priority in her work. 

Asma has a strong background in research and advocacy, having maintained a handful of fellowships across reproductive health, leadership, and diplomacy during and post undergrad at the University of Maryland, College Park. She’s also held appointments as a coordinator of education and training for diversity initiatives, and educational data management in the sites of D.C./Maryland and New York City.

Asma is 1/5th of the team, Mapping Cemeteries, which is a digital humanist timeline project that explores the relationship between identity and death across four distinct cemeteries in New York City. She contributes her research skills in language, methodology, and analysis, as well as project design, strategy, and audiovisual modulation.  

Most of the above says more about her professional abilities and less about who is Asma. Somewhere at the core are the matters of the head and the heart that speak to love, wellness, and Halloween (her favorite time of year).

a.

Greetings Classmates!

The blog ahead contains some details about my chat with Anuli Akanegbu, a NYC doctoral student and the creator of BLK IRL Podcast (Black In Real Life), which is a show and the basis for the ‘Podcasts 101’ workshop featured in the 2021 DH in NYC week.

But first, a bit about my bio and abilities –

I am a Brooklyn native, Digital Humanist, Black feminist, and a graduate student in the DH department at CUNY. I use audio/technology to discourse my broader philosophical research interests in gender and social ontology to develop original content in public scholarship. I care about creatively transposing what’s meta about experience into accessible language and technology alike.

My key skills appear in research (writing, design, analysis, theory, data management), educational curricula and training, racial and gender justice advocacy, and producing audiovisual content (storyboards, edits, project management, etc). My other central topics include beauty politics, digital space and identity, and sound studies, all in relationship to Black women-identified individuals who are the priority in my work.

DHNYC Week: A Call w/ Anuli Akanegbu of BLK IRL –

Like a handful of us, I was unable to register for most workshops during DH in NYC week, but I was fortunate enough to schedule a call with Anuli Akanegbu of the podcast BLK IRL. As mentioned, she facilitated the recent DH ‘Podcast 101’ workshop. 

Akanegbu and I met over Zoom last week where we talked about a range of podcast specifics such as editing and details about her actual workshop. But the spark to this delightful exchange was far more introspective. One of my pressing questions for Akanegbu was the source of her confidence or the mental and emotional resources she consults to sustain her show.

DHers do a great job of remaining informed about technology and designing humanist projects for its purpose, but what happens after you’ve accumulated the skills? How can we begin to think critically about the role of confidence in our work, especially in open-format and public spaces such as podcasts, and that operate (largely) independent of the Ivory Tower and the workplace traditions we know?

Her approach to confidence and the show is cultured by her expertise as a marketing professional, which also connects to the theme of BLK IRL. Akanegbu sets-up herself for success through solid branding and strategy – two traits that deserve more attention in D/Humanities and technology. In summary, it’s not enough to think about your audience. Considerations on your messages and the sound delivery of them are the gears in your Podcast (and for any DH project) that both require, and builds your confidence to offer your work to the public or an entity. In other words, what does your work mean to you and do you believe in it, and how can this be the tone which enables your confidence and tangentially, perseverance toward success, expertise, or the goal you have in mind? It’s one of the larger takeaways that I felt was necessary to share.

Akanegbu is also a renaissance woman and as the primary producer (editor, writer, marketer, showrunner) of BLK IRL, I asked her what tips from her experience and workshop would she recommend to my colleagues and I who deploy sound (or desire to) in our research/praxis.

• She recommends beginning with a proposal (no surprise to DHers!), and to use this plan as a litmus for whether or not your work best suits a podcast or a different medium;
• Make a work schedule. See your overlaps and make time for your development;
• Protect your work. This isn’t just a matter of plagiarism, the Institutional Board Review, or copyrights, but that of wellness. Does your pod need to be a part of your thesis or coursework? Or can it exist as something outside of your professional and academic settings? How could that re-shape your final product and your relationship to it?
• Last, brand early! Secure your handles, monikers, and any anticipated imagery for your exclusive work (with integrity, of course). Though names may naturally evolve with time and need, be proactive enough to recognize when this occurs so you may secure your product’s brand in tandem.

My special thanks to Akanegbu for being open and gracious with her time to chat. Please take a listen to her show and if you would like to learn more about Akanegbu, click here.