Presidential Session: American Studies After Gaza

Session Submission Type: Non-Paper Session: Roundtable Format

Abstract

This roundtable is an opportunity to assess the possibilities and limits of American Studies in relation to the destruction and genocide in Gaza. While our questions and topics are likely to change depending on the situation in November 2025, we are likely to ask how American Studies scholars might reckon with U.S. State complicity in the genocide in Gaza and what Gaza reveals about the late stage of American empire. What have we learned through two-plus years of U.S. sponsored bombing and genocide? What does the war on Gaza reveal about American exceptionalism and empire? What do Palestinians teach us about survivance in the late stage of American empire? Each participant will address these questions from the vantage point of their expertise and experience researching and writing about U.S./Middle East/Palestine relationships. We also encourage audience engagement and dialogue.

Sub Unit

• Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association

Chair

• Alex Lubin, Pennsylvania State University

Panelists

• Nour Joudah, University of California-Los Angeles

• Melani McAlister, George Washington University

• Moustafa Bayoumi, CUNY Brooklyn College

• Jasbir Puar, University of British Columbia