Harbors, Havens, & Hope: Charting Futures for Asian American Studies  

To harbor—to shelter from storms or darkness. To provide a safe place for respite, to cultivate a haven that affords hope. In perilous times, this 2027 conference invites us to strategize how Asian American Studies can fortify itself as an intellectual haven. How can we imagine our purpose from a place not of defensiveness, but enlivening possibility? How can we collectively bring into being the futures we desire? Conceiving of our field as a harbor means reevaluating and strengthening existing infrastructures while creating new ones that allow us to foster the transformative capacity of hope.

Hope entails a call to critical imagination and to collective action. If “to harbor” can also signify an internal act of furtively holding onto thoughts and feelings that might prompt disapprobation, this conference invites us to commit to the disruptive power of hope. Enacting hope as “a critical methodology,” José Esteban Muñoz reminds us, demands “a backward glance that enacts a future vision" (2009). Precisely because of this subversive potential, harboring hope demands not just individual commitment, but also communal effort. As we wait together for calmer waters, we imagine the “radical unfurling” of different horizons (Bahng 2018). Buoyed by the aspirational element of hope, this project envisions havens for those who are most vulnerable so that they, too, can dream of futures. 

By constellating the terms of harbor, haven, and hope, this conference theme aims to calibrate the association's compass as we chart riotous futures for Asian American Studies. We take these ideas from Baltimore itself, a city on the Eastern Seaboard whose history spans colonial trade to post-industrial neglect. Contra the logic of urban renewal that sanctions gentrification efforts decimating Black neighborhoods, we draw on activist legacies, exemplified by the Black Lives Matter protest after the murder of Freddie Gray in 2015, to envision “freedom dreams” (Kelley 2002) that reject the neoliberal imperative to “be more” and refuse to relegate communities to untimely death.

Taking inspiration from Baltimore's nickname “Charm City,” how can we recapture the magic of, and reinstill a sense of wonder and joy in, Asian Americanist work? What approaches—such as comparative, creative/critical, and/or interdisciplinary frameworks—can activate new intellectual currents, while also remaining responsible to the insights of Black, Indigenous, postcolonial, and diaspora studies, among others? How can we be pushed to engage rigorously with the escalating crises of immigration enforcement, the carceral state, and racial capitalism? These questions call for conversations across the humanities, social, and physical sciences, as well as professional fields such as education, law, public health, public policy, and psychology.

We welcome scholarship, cultural work, as well as political activist submissions for the 2027 AAAS conference. Proposals for mentorship or professionalization roundtables, panels, or workshops are also welcome. All submissions and proposals are due [Friday, October 16, 2026]. Please note: Participants may only appear in the program twice and only in different roles.

Program Questions? For specific questions regarding type of sessions, submission guidelines, or other programmatic issues, please contact the Program Committee Co-Chairs: Chris A. Eng (caeng@umd.edu) and Michelle N. Huang (michelle.n.huang@northwestern.edu).