2026 Texas Association for Asian American Diaspora Studies (TAAADS) Annual Symposium

TAAADS invites scholars, activists, writers, and artists from all disciplines and backgrounds to submit abstracts for our second annual symposium exploring the theme, Movement(s): Migrations, Resistance, and Currents of Asian Diasporas. In an era of increasing attacks on Asian American education, activism, and life, TAAADS finds it extremely important to protect Asian American and Diasporic communities and the institutions that support such lives and study. With this year’s theme, we aim to draw attention to three major meanings of Movement. First, national and transnational migrations intensified by conflict, anti-immigrant sentiments, climate change, and overpopulation. Second, historical and emergent forms of resistance to anti-Asian violence, colonial/settler-colonial violence, displacement across the world. And third, the movements and flows within the changing field of Asian American Diaspora Studies itself.

The symposium will take place at Rice University in Houston, Texas, on March 27-28, 2026. The event will be held entirely in person.

We seek proposals that engage with the diverse and evolving histories, experiences, and contributions of Asian/American and diasporic communities through the lenses of migration, mobility, and resistance. We welcome abstracts from a variety of disciplines, including (but not limited to) history, literature, philosophy, sociology, political science, education, arts, cultural studies, and interdisciplinary studies.

A list of possible topics includes:

● Historical and contemporary migration patterns within Asian American and Asian diasporic communities

● Transpacific, oceanic, archipelagic, and migratory epistemologies

● East-South transnational Asian movements, diasporic connections, and dialogues

● Colonial and modern histories of labor migration

● Counter-histories, oral histories, and narratives of migration within Asian American and Asian diasporic communities

● The rise of global fascism and the impact of anti-immigrant policies on Asian diasporic communities

● Movements for social justice, activism, workers rights, and political participation

● Coalition-building and solidarity movements between Asian diasporic and Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and queer communities

● Global border regimes and theories of the borderlands in Asian Diaspora Studies

● Critical refugee studies, refugee experiences, and refugee resettlement

● Asian American and Asian diasporic art, literature, and cultural production

● Formations of Asian American and Asian diasporic subjectivity and racial form

Abstracts should be anonymous and no more than 300 words. In addition, please include a brief, 100-word biography of the presenter(s). You may submit individual paper abstracts, organized panel proposals, or roundtable abstracts - please refer to the submission form for more details on each submission type. We encourage submissions from various backgrounds, including undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Submission Deadline: December 1, 2025.

Please submit abstracts at https://forms.gle/vQQKncC6iwgDCuSTA.

The TAAADS 2026 website is available at: tiny.cc/wrds001

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