Sara Doan
sdoanut.bsky.social
Sara Doan
@sdoanut.bsky.social
SFF writer, editor, & chronic overachiever. Asst Prof of Experience Architecture @MSU. Long Covid & digital accessibility. Probably fatigued.
Reposted by Sara Doan
Racism.

The answer is racism.
December 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
Every month I pick a theme of something to try to make each day to learn. Two months ago it was data visualization, using examples I admire, in order to tell stories about numbers that matter.

This is my minimalist homage to Poppy Field, to which it owes everything, and I’ll link it below.
Forget Me Not - The Human Cost of War
Visualizing global conflict casualties (1900-2025). A homage to the poppy field.
Dr.eamer.dev
December 10, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
As a teacher of undergraduate writing--writing workshops also teach young people how to respectfully give and gracefully receive criticism on work that means something to them, an invaluable skill in any line of work.
This is actually a good example of why the customer model is wrong.

I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
If you are providing me with an education that is low utility in the world then it’s a disservice. My composition class spent four weeks on poetry. I’m sorry, but that only would’ve been useful if I wanted to be a poet. I don’t need to know iambic pentameter in order to be a victim advocate.
December 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM
MSU published this lovely article about my current book project and work as a Beinecke Library Fellow at Yale University this summer:

“My work promotes human flourishing. How can we make good decisions? How can we empower people to get the right information?”

cal.msu.edu/news/experie...
Experience Architecture Professor’s Research Supported by Yale University Fellowship
As a Beinecke Library Fellow, Sara Doan, Assistant Professor of Experience Architecture at Michigan State University, spent two weeks immersed in the archives of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book a...
cal.msu.edu
December 9, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
I wrote about how wealth isn’t just “more time to write,” but resource-having in a way most of us can’t even imagine

lillyluwrites.substack.com/p/wealth-acc...
Wealth, Access, and Writing
or, we need to talk about socioeconomic privilege
lillyluwrites.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Sara Doan
it is MIRACULOUS that we got rid of lead paint and asbestos when we did. if we had tried that today, there would be people whining about how we're restricting their rights.
Bring back residential-use lead paint, you cowards.
December 4, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
look disability accommodations at work or school include things like elevators, legible font choices, and screen-reader friendly design that makes applications easy to navigate quickly.

your life is a lot easier even if you don't need these accommodations, and they help everyone work better.
i don't know how to explain to you that working with a disabled person isn't the same as waiting six hours for splash mountain.
December 3, 2025 at 6:29 PM
This makes my blood boil. The government is abandoning people with AIDS YET AGAIN.
Would be a bit awkward given that the Trump administration has condemned millions of people with AIDS to death through their USAID cuts
The State Department has warned employees not to use government funds to mark Dec. 1 as World AIDS Day and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels.” nyti.ms/3KhPDrA
November 30, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Stock photos and decorations exist for a reason, people!
if a little piece of decoration you're putting on your slide isn't very specifically designed to support & extend whatever information you're trying to convey, slapping some weird little AI thing in there isn't going to add value. just get a swirly border or use a damn gradient, idk.
November 28, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
Behind the dutiful façade of every eldest daughter lies a quiet rebellion.
November 26, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
Back in undergrad I worked at a university press. Part of my job was tracking down which of our titles had been pirated and calculating how much money it had lost the press and our authors. When someone mentions pirating a book, I remember the amount of money a small press loses and I get very sad.
November 24, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
DONT FALL FOR MTG’S BULLSHIT SHE IS STILL A VIOLENT ANTISEMITE WHO BLAMES JEWS FOR EVERYTHING WRONG IN THE WORLD A FULLY ENDORSES GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY
Also, she fully believes a cabal of worldwide Jewish pedophiles control the government. She just thinks Trump has become compromised by them. Or possibly was secretly compromised the entire time.
November 22, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Called both my senators plus Schumer: told them not to yield to Republican bullying and to honor the sacrifices that the American people have made during this shutdown.
Find your senators at reps.fyi or call 202-224-3121
November 10, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Literally the story of my life
The real reason the right opposes higher education is that if kids leave home and are exposed to more varieties of music they’ll realize that country music sucks. (I am at Tractor Supply.)
November 9, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
Please, PLEASE, I am begging you as both a parent and someone who is sick of all this THIS, go vote for your school boards. Even if you don't have kids, that's how these reactionary dipshits got their feet in, that's where the book bans and library cuts start.
November 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
Looking for a writing class in January? It's the perfect time to set a resolution and follow it with a flash royale!

Detail and sign up here:
Flash Royale January Edition
If you’ve ever played video games, you may have heard the term Battle Royale. It refers to a type of game that features a large number of players who play with the goal of being the last player standi...
forms.gle
November 3, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
One of the major fruits of research is delight. Think of how often you’ve read about a discovery and really enjoyed it. Often the most pleasurable kind of news. Public delight isn’t discussed enough as one of the major outputs of funding research.
I strongly recommend everyone do research sometimes 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯.

Look something up on Wikipedia. Go to the little citation. Follow it. Read the article it's referencing. Follow links to the original interview. Read the paper written by the interviewee

It genuinely makes you appreciate journalism
November 2, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Just donated to the Food Bank Council of Michigan in honor of my House Rep, Tom Barrett--a man who doesn't care that Michiganders go hungry.
October 24, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
I think one of the big things I've learned in my writerly life (which always has to fight for space and time with the rest of my life) is to protect the hours when I do my best writing (right after breakfast) from all other demands.
October 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
thinking about how fucked up it is to give kids measles on purpose and then withhold tylenol from them
October 9, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
We’re not dealing with brilliant strategists cleverly laying traps, we’re dealing with impulsive whiners whose advantage is contempt for laws, norms, and morality.

They’re not pulling some elaborate trick, they’re just willing—even eager—to do things regular, principled people consider off limits.
October 8, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
But it's important to remember that Trump and his true believers do not operate based on observable reality and therefore think that incredibly stupid, self destructive moves are going to work perfectly
September 30, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I got vaccinated yesterday at my local Costco.

No matter which covid vaccine you choose, thank you for protecting yourself and your community!
September 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Sara Doan
HOW is EVERYONE not epically terrified of rabies? Do they just not know about it? Like if you know about it… it kinda sticks with you…
September 27, 2025 at 9:22 PM