In the midst of stressful final exams, papers, and projects, it’s easy for students to forget about the moments in class that opened their eyes, the moments that reminded them why they love what they are studying.

Associate Professor of Sociology Saher Selod says that these eye-opening moments make her sociology course, SOCI-249 Inequalities, one of her favorite courses to teach. “I feel like it’s, you know, opening students’ eyes to how things are structured into society,” she shared with The Voice in an interview.

Professor Selod took what she described as a “non-traditional route” before bringing her love for research to Simmons.  She began her undergraduate years at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), initially studying in a pre-med program. “I was doing fine in chemistry and bio and actually getting A’s in my classes, but I wasn’t interested in the topic,” said Selod.

She was drawn into UT Austin’s sociology courses that covered a wide range of topics, such as classes on race, gender, and immigration. After graduating from UT Austin with a B.A. in Sociology, she worked in a coffee shop before pursuing a master’s degree at DePaul University in Chicago. While she pursued this degree with the intentions of working in forensics and the criminal justice system, she discovered that she was passionate about issues around race and racism.

After completing her Master’s degree, she worked at The Chicago Reader, a newspaper, for a few years. While working at the newspaper, she decided to teach a few college classes. “I just really fell in love with teaching, so at that point I was like okay, I’m gonna apply for a Ph.D. program. So, I’ve done a couple of other things than just being in school this whole time, and I’m really glad I did.”

Outside of work, she enjoys watching her fifteen-year-old daughter’s tennis matches, cooking, and music. “I love to cook, I watch cooking shows, I love to go out to eat,” shared Professor Selod. She named New Order as one of her favorite bands, although she has seen Yo La Tengo play the most out of any band. She got two cats during the pandemic, and has “turned into a major cat person.”

One thing that students may be surprised to learn about Professor Selod is that she played drums for a year in Chicago. “I was terrible at it, but I had a lot of fun. I kind of want to go back to playing drums in a band. I would love to do that again.” 

She shared that what keeps sociology exciting to teach is how contemporary it is. Selod said about the course Inequalities, “over the course of five years, it’ll be a different class because different things come up as a social problem or an issue. It keeps it interesting as you’re constantly thinking about what’s going on in society, and what are these social problems and where do they rest.”

What also keeps sociology engaging after years of studying it is her research on surveillance and policing in the Muslim community.

“I just finished a book. I’m finishing the revisions, and it’s coming out in the fall,” she shared about her research. “I get really excited about keeping that really active because you’re constantly reading, you’re learning more.”

CORRECTION: April 27, 2023

A previous version of this article contained a spelling error in the headline. All contents of the article remain the same.