iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

What do Sinners, Beyoncé, Kendrick, and revolution have in common? We talk about them in the 1st ep. of the podcast I’m cohosting. Real Hot Blerd Pod is by two hot Blerds on our PhD journeys. Join us wherever you get your podcasts as we connect religion, popular culture, and the academy!

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

So the states’ rights folks are the first since 1965 to deploy the national guard to a state that did not request it? Got it

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 25/04/2025

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Trump to Putin on a random day in April

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

So far this month I passed my qualifying exams for my PhD program, got my first conference proposal acceptance, and turned 30. Glory to the ancestors because I don't know how I'm still functioning given *waves generally at the fascist chaos*

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

"Until churches are able to hold people's anti-fascist and apocalyptic grief, they will continue to die" -Personal reflections from 4/21/24

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

My conference proposal was accepted for November: "Not Like Us Either: The Kendrick Lamar/Drake Rap Beef as a Case Study for Critical Mixed-Race Ethics"

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a man singing into a microphone wearing a blue jacket that says ria on it

ALT: a man singing into a microphone wearing a blue jacket that says ria on it

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

I gotta take my manifestation game more seriously #GoBirds

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

This is a really interesting way of saying “I didn’t even try to understand Kendrick’s performance”

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Clit Dempsey 🦅 @thotzekage.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Trying not to succumb to the fear of the world falling apart by finding pockets of sunshine where I can

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

I’ll say it: a concentration camp. Now will this post stay up? That’s a different question. But if it does, Hitler And The Nazis: Evil On Trial is a docuseries on Netflix that can help folks understand why we have to say the quiet part out loud.

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

When your comp exam reading list includes the Parable series by Octavia Butler >>>>>

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

When you’re Black and Jewish 😅 I’ve felt it in my bones for a while now. Once the ancestors start telling you that we’ve been here before, it’s time to start moving accordingly

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Okay y'all... a VERY quick introduction to Emergent Strategy, Mutual Aid, and Moral Agency Under Constraint

Emergent Strategy and Mutual Aid
Shared Definitions
Emergent Strategy: “Ways for humans to practice complexity and grow the future through relatively simple interactions”
(Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown)
Mutual Aid: “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (And the Next), defines mutual aid as ‘survival work,’ done by ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances where government policies inadequately address crisis situations and even exacerbate structural inequities.”
(“Mutual Aid 101: History, Politics, and Organizational Structures of Community Care” by CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, based on Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (And the Next))
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
My understanding of emergent strategy comes from adrienne maree brown’s (amb) Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. In it, amb writes

With our human gift of reasoning, we have tried to control or overcome the emergent processes that are our own nature, the processes of the planet we live on, and the universe we call home. The result is crisis at each scale we are aware of, from our deepest inner moral sensibilities to the collective scale of climate and planetary health and beyond, to our species in relation to space and time.
The crisis is everywhere, massive massive massive.
And we are small.
But emergence notices the way small actions and connections create complex systems, patterns that become ecosystems and societies. Emergence is our inheritance as a part of this universe; it is how we change. Emergent strategy is how we intentionally change in ways that grow our capacity to embody the just and liberated worlds we long for.

Emergent Strategy and Mutual Aid
Critical Connection over critical mass
According to amb, “Emergence emphasizes critical connections over critical mass, building authentic relationships, listening with all the senses of the body and the mind.” In the social media world, it is easy to assume that critical mass is what leads to change, but that mindset can leave us waiting around for a critical mass to show up-- if it ever does! We cannot assume that will happen, and so we must do what we can now in small ways to live into the liberated world of our dreams.

If mutual aid is understood as work done by ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, then it is part of emergent strategy! Situating it this way can help us realize that even when our mutual aid may seem relatively small, all of our small actions accumulate toward something bigger.

This is critical to remember during this time, especially in the United States, because the systems we have come to rely on (however tenuously) are seemingly collapsing around us. Not everyone can survive waiting for large-scale change while these systems continue to change, so it will take the work of ordinary people doing small things to help each other survive. If we want to live in a world where everyone is holistically well, we must do what we can, no matter how small, to make that world more possible.

Emergent Strategy, Mutual Aid, and Moral agency under constraint
LEt’s Talk Ethics
I study ethics, so I want to bring the conversation to the concept of moral agency under constraint (MAUC). MAUC is a useful term for understanding how people choose and act out their values within systems and structures of constraint. It comes from womanist ethicist Katie Cannon’s important contributions to ethical thought, in which she pointed out that ethics in the U.S/Western traditional context assume that the moral agent is a straight, white, (probably Christian) man. This means morals and values seen as normative have been based on an assumption of freedom of choice that no everyone is afforded within this society.

Since the United States was founded on supremacy and death, the constraints on us are many. These constraints mean that what we believe to be right or good action may not be accessible to us. That gap between what we believe/how we desire to be and the society we find ourselves in now can be very intimidating and even lead to inaction. Emergent strategy can help remind us that even within constrained choices, our small actions matter and can contribute toward larger change.

The walls feel like they are closing in, but we must continue to examine the ways we can act as moral agents. Mutual aid, through the lens of emergent strategy, can help make sure we continue to choose to act in the ways we are able, no matter how small.

And remember, who we are in relationship with impacts what we pay attention to and what we grow. Critical connection over critical mass means that even if it is one very trusted relationship, being in relationship with others is how we can practice our moral agency under constraint, especially in a society structured around division.

Emergent Strategy, Mutual Aid, and Moral Agency
Under Constraint
Practical Examples and how they can grow
Start growing your own food, even if it is a couple of herbs on your windowsill. Talk to friends/neighbors/family about growing their own and doing a harvest swap. This can continue to expand until communities are less reliant on the marketplace for essential food.
Attend free workshops online and in-person. Activists and scholars are constantly providing free workshops both online and in-person. These workshops help the scholar/activist further their understanding of a topic while making education accessible outside of exclusive institutions. This is also a great place to meet like-minded people and grow deep connections. You may not have all your questions answered in one workshop, but you may meet the people who can help you answer and live into them. You can also take what you learn and share it with people you are already in community with-- this is how movements grow!
Nurture and grow intergenerational relationships! If you don’t have kids, offer to watch your friends’/families’ kids. If you don’t have elders in your life, join a club (walking clubs are one example) or volunteer at an organization. Intergenerational relationships are ripe with opportunities for many different forms of mutual aid and can help pushback against generational differences that often keep us divided and isolated.

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

The extremely abbreviated version: I got a master of divinity degree. I already had one foot out the door but that did it for me. Now I’m the spiritual-but-not-religious cliche

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Amidst the *waves generally at the dumpster fire that is our reality* I’m also studying for comp exams for my PhD in ethics. I study how people negotiate their ethics in times that feel apocalyptic, and I’ll include the broad topics for my exams below in case people want to learn more

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Anyone want to talk about emergent strategy and historical examples of black mutual aid clubs/orgs? I gotchu if so

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Christians demonize ancestor worship as if Jesus isn’t the most overworked ancestor

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

16 Carriages healed my inner child

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

What was supposed to be on the menu this Christmas/Hanukkah: -fried chicken -mac and cheese -collard greens -yams -latkes I come from Black Baptists and Ashkenazi Jews, so the ancestors were ready to get cookin, but covid had other plans 😒

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

The Christmas/Hanukkah dinner I had planned was gonna be *chef’s kiss* but now I have covid… Chinese takeout it is

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Anyone want to take bets on the chance that I cite Beyonce or Kendrick in at least one of my comprehensive exams?

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Normalize guardian caps in games

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

As someone who grew up in mystical Central Jersey and was one of the few Eagles fans in a sea of Giants fans (specifically when the Giants were good with Eli Manning), watching Saquon Barkley thrive every week with the Eagles while the Giants cry is healing my inner child

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Things that give me the ick: those Jesus Gets Us commercials that roll out during football season every year.

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Kenny Pickett with the dart. I hate to see anyone get hurt, but I love when a backup comes in and shines. I think it’s probably because I was an alternate the first year I was on the varsity competition cheer team in high school. It’s not easy to stay ready and grow in that position

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Did y’all know that some of the front runners for best documentary feature at the Oscars are not widely accessible in the U.S? Two are about Israel and one is about Amazon union workers.

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Saw someone on Twitter say that they got laid off from their job and lost access to all their files on Google Drive. Friendly reminder that if you store docs on a work/school drive, make sure you’re backing it up on an external hard drive as well

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Nina Turner @ninaturner.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

There are people in prison right now on non-violent cannabis charges while others are getting wealthy selling cannabis legally. No one should be in jail for weed.

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Manifesting that this #Eagles #Ravens matchup is a Super Bowl preview. Those two in New Orleans with Kendrick at halftime would be the blackest Super Bowl of all time #addtoblacksky #blacksky

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Y’all hear Jalen Hurts has been donating money for each TD to get AC in more Philly schools? RACK EM UP JALEN #ForTheKids #FlyEaglesFly

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Daniella Hobbs @daniellahobbs.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

A lot of newness for me today. New to the app and new to an Eagles/Washington game mattering #FlyEaglesFly

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