Introduction: Thinking SWANA in Asian American Studies

Abstract:This forum responds to the questions posed for the field of Asian American studies by the grassroots organizing around the category SWANA, or Southwest Asia and North Africa. The move to SWANA is significant for Asian American studies and presents questions for the field: What are the political contours of Asia and North Africa in SWANA? Is Asian American studies capacious enough to engage with SWANA diaspora studies? How has the field engaged with Southwest Asian/North African diasporas? Why are we seeing the (re) emergence of SWANA as a rubric in this particular historical moment in the academy and in social movements?