Faculty Shout-out by Zarean Aslami
Nathan has the rare gift of being both intellectually curious and creative, while also being precise and deliberate in his thinking. He always made critical essays his own with original insights that made them a pleasure to read. Additionally, I could always count on Nathan to contribute generously to class discussion. A real citizen of the department!
How would you describe your time as an English or Film Studies major at MSU?
Confusing at times, painful at others, but overall something constructive and clarifying and good. I would recommend trying it.
Which classes, instructors, or experiences particularly stand out for you and why? How did they prepare you for the next phase of your life?
Tim Conrad, Zarena Aslami, and Jessica Stokes have been the people who have taught me the most important things I’ve learned in college. These have been about writing and literature, but also life and the world and my role in them. They have been the people I have found support me and my work most, and, without them, I am sincerely unsure I would have found it in me to take the steps I have taken now.
What advice would you give future English or Film Studies majors, based on your experiences in the department?
Do what you want to do even if you hesitate on your way. Create, and speak truly in doing so.
What coursework-related projects were/are you working on this year, and what interests or excites you about them? (capstone courses, honors thesis, independent studies, etc.)
I’m working on a story called “Hellmouth” for my capstone. It’s the longest I’ve written, and I’ve been able to both examine and display the themes that are typically most important to me in my own reading of literature and watching of film. I’m interested in the central character, our narrator’s father, who believes himself to be his favorite goat and wears its skin, sleeps outside in a pen, eats grass, etc. What a terrible image!
What are your hopes and aspirations, post-graduation?
I hope to get into an MFA program so that I can have a period of time dedicated purely to writing. I hope to end up in a spot where I can just write without much inhibition, but, you know.