OUROBOROS
In addition to my own work, I am also frequently invited to consult on others’ projects. This year I was able to provide some CBR vibes for my colleague Professor Musbah Shaheen’s groundbreaking research project on Jewish and Muslim students in higher education. Professor Shaheen conducted interviews with the students as they reflected upon and navigated the HE climate in the wake of the October 7th attacks and the Israeli attacks on Gaza and subsequent humanitarian crisis in the region. These events and all that surrounds them constitute the proverbial third rail for many people, but Professor Shaheen found productive and critical ways to encourage frank discussion and dialogue with a diverse group of students. These are tough conversations, but necessary ones. As I conducted the CBR analyses and constructed the comics themselves, I admit I was wary of missteps– comic art is no silver bullet, folks. But the only thing worse than drawing it wrong is not drawing it at all– so I tried to take some inspiration from some of my heroes in comic art who have handled difficult and sensitive topics so well. I encourage you to look to their work here, here, here, here and here. It would certainly be easier to just draw bunny rabbits and moonbeams, but, as Joe Sacco said, “I’m doing the work I need to do to live with myself.” After all, we know what art is for. All else is folly.
Our collaboration, called Ouroboros, is inspired by the lived realities of many of the students in the project. Professor Shaheen, who is much more eloquent than I am, writes,
Ouroboros is a storytelling and research initiative that explores the lived realities of Jewish–Muslim friendships in a moment of profound strain. In the wake of October 7, 2023, relationships that once felt stable have been tested by grief, fear, political division, and the weight of global conflict felt at a deeply personal level. Through interviews, narratives, and reflective dialogue, Ouroboros creates space for individuals to speak honestly about connection, rupture, and the complicated work of staying in relationship. The project takes its name from the ancient symbol of the serpent consuming its own tail—representing cycles of destruction and renewal—and asks whether relationships can survive, transform, and reimagine themselves under pressure.
Ouroboros highlights the emotional and relational dimensions of conflict that are often overlooked in public discourse. It centers stories of friendship as sites where larger histories of violence, identity, and belonging are negotiated in intimate ways. The project draws attention to themes of precarity, mutual care, silence, misrecognition, and the moral dilemmas individuals face when their communities are in tension. Rather than offering simple resolutions, Ouroboros surfaces the ambiguity and complexity of maintaining connection across difference, illuminating both the fragility of these relationships and the possibilities that emerge when people choose to remain engaged despite fear and uncertainty.
We worked together to produce three zines and two posters reflecting the narratives of three focal students, all of whom were disguised for their confidentiality. Eventually the project will be made into an immersive exhibit so viewers can literally walk through and be immersed in the totality of these students’ experiences. It’s painful, it’s uncomfortable, it’s inspiring, and most of all, it’s an opening for deeper understanding. Stay tuned for more from Professor Shaheen and Ouroboros.
