É«½äÖ±²¥

What is "brown" in-and beyond-the context of American identity politics? How has the concept changed since 9/11? Kumarini Silva argues that "brown" is no longer conceived of solely as a cultural, ethnic, or political identity. Instead, after 9/11, the Patriot Act, and the wars in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, it has also become a concept and, indeed, a strategy of identification-one rooted in xenophobic, imperialistic, and racist ideologies to target those who do not neatly fit or subscribe to ideas of nationhood.

Interweaving personal narratives, ethnographic research, analyses of popular events like the Miss America pageant, and films and TV shows such as the Harold and Kumar franchise and Black-ish, Silva maps junctures where the ideological, political, and mediated terrain intersect, resulting in an appetite for all things "brown," especially South Asian brown, by U.S. consumers, while political and nationalist discourses and legal structures conspire to control brown bodies both within and outside the United States.

This event is sponsored by Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, India@É«½äÖ±²¥, The Global Histories Constellation, and Asian American & Diaspora Studies.