Edna Bonhomme at Public Books:
The first time I read Professor Laleh Khalili’s work, I was awed by her political acuity and ingenuity in laying bare contemporary colonial hierarchies. As I digested her work, I absorbed the magnitude precisely because her research methods were fresh in laying out how the Global South has become a laboratory for trade. Not only was Khalili an academic interviewing the formerly incarcerated, but she was also a reflective emissary on cargo ships, dissecting the logistics of trade. Khalili is not just a scholar; she forges community by showing reverence for feminist scholars and writers at all stages of life.
Professor Laleh Khalili, an engineer turned social scientist, has long been engaged in research that explores trade, policing, and petrol. She is an Iranian American and Professor of International Politics at Queen Mary University of London. When I spoke with Khalili, she said she was drawn to engaging with ports and landscapes, not purely from an economic perspective, but from a human perspective. And we, in turn, are drawn to Khalili and her ability to convey in detail the social forces that facilitate internment.
More here.