Abstraction and Mass Communication
Featured essay · Part III · Can be read on its own
How fragments of information become a convincing picture of people, ideas, and possibilities.
A personal collection
I’m Kandan, a history student and teaching fellow in the Bay Area. Here are the ideas I’m working through, the things I’m building, and the work I do with others.
Explore my work ↓01 / Selected writing
Essays on communication,
perception, and social life.
These three essays grew out of HISC 23 at UC Santa Cruz, taught by Shaun Terry. I valued the class and continued corresponding with him afterward.
Start with Abstraction and Mass Communication for a standalone reading. For the full progression, read Abstraction and Concreteness, then Performance and The Spectacle, then Abstraction and Mass Communication.
Performance and The Spectacle
The shared social vocabulary that makes a performance legible—and the systems it can reproduce.
Abstraction and Concreteness in Relation to Communication
An examination of images, language, and the context that communication leaves behind.
02 / Experience
Teaching, technical work,
and learning with others.
2026–27
Teaching Fellow
Envisioneers
Developing legal-education lessons with input from legal professionals, helping students explore possible careers.
2023 & 2024
MEP Engineering Intern
Meyers+
Supported mechanical and electrical engineering projects through model review and site visits.
2022 & 2026
Tennis Coach
Harbor Bay Tennis Club
Designed and led lessons for students ages 5–16, working with fellow coaches and families.
03 / Projects
OngoingPAM
A place for the pieces
of everyday life.
My notes, money, plans, and places belong to the same life. I’m building a personal system that treats them that way.
I direct its design and development with AI coding assistance, and host it on a personal server I built.
View projects ↗