About Us
Learn more about the SWANA Population Working Group
About the working group
The Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) Population Research Working Group emerged organically from a network of graduate students and early-career scholars attending the Population Association of America (PAA) annual conferences. We formed this group in response to the need for a dedicated space for scholarly support, dialogue, and community among researchers whose work, interests, or lived experiences connect them to the SWANA region and its diaspora.
Our community
Since our first meeting in Spring 2024, we have held monthly working group meetings remotely. Each month, researchers across the world - from the American University of Beirut to the University of North Carolina and beyond- come together around a shared interest in population research related to the SWANA region.
Together, we support one another's projects, build research capacity for studies in the SWANA region and its diaspora, and work to develop a community rooted in solidarity, mentorship, and scholarly exchange.
Supporting junior scholars
Our working group is designed as a junior scholar works-in-progress seminar, where underrepresented scholars from the SWANA region, who often lack support or representation, use this space to discuss their work with guidance from more experienced community members and professors who serve as group mentors.
This format ensures that junior scholars from the SWANA region have ample opportunities to be in a space that centers them and their work and promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion. The SWANA Population Working Group is a space that fosters collaboration among both junior and senior scholars, creating an inviting platform for people to connect. We create space for sharing important news and celebrating achievements with one another, and for asking questions related to academia, the region, and research, among other topics.
What we do
The SWANA Population Working Group brings together scholars from diverse fields, including geography, sociology, public health, and related disciplines. Our members approach population research through a range of methods, questions, and regional perspectives including work on migration, climate change, conflict, health, fertility, human-environment interactions, and other social and demographic processes shaping communities across the SWANA region and its diaspora. While the working group centers population research connected to the SWANA region and its diaspora, many of our members also conduct research in other regions and comparative contexts.
We pride ourselves on fostering a space where people from or interested in the region can safely engage in meaningful conversations, build an enriching and supportive community, and explore solutions to pressing challenges. With many members focusing on urgent questions affecting the region, we are confident that the ideas and collaborations inspired within this working group will make meaningful contributions to addressing the region’s most pressing challenges.
SWANA Pop hosts monthly meetings for research presentations and feedback, shares member announcements and achievements, and facilitates conference meet-ups and in-person gatherings, particularly at the annual PAA meeting.
Get involved
We welcome scholars whose work engages population research related to the SWANA region and its diaspora, as well as scholars who are interested in developing work connected to the region. To learn more about the working group, ask a question, or get involved, please contact us.