Shaan N. Amin

Shaan N. Amin  ·  Essays & Journalism

Writing about power and identity throughout Asia and its diasporas, from the alt-right's fascination with manga to Indonesian LGBTQ politics.

Based in Washington, DC  ·  Available for assignments and commissions

His work appears in
He has experience teaching and mentoring
About

Shaan Amin is an Indian American essayist and history teacher from Syracuse and Elmira, New York. He serves as an editor at Inside Indonesia, and previously served as an Assistant Features Editor at The Rumpus (2021–2025).

He received his MA and PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for outstanding research and a Department Teaching Excellence Award for significant contributions in instruction. Before this, he received his BA in Mathematics from Williams College.

He is currently working on two book projects. The State of Prejudice, based on his dissertation of the same name, records and analyzes how local governments and local NGOs provide and fail to provide services to Indonesia's most at-risk populations. Homespun, an in-progress creative nonfiction essay collection, unpacks the lived, historical, and mythical experience of injuries and violence blending the tools of historical research, personal anecdote, and myth. His essay "Silicon Bali" was a finalist for the Iowa Review Nonfiction Award.

He currently lives in Washington, DC.

Selected Writing
Black Warrior Review Beauty is a Type of Work "The creams offer a promise like an overripe fig, skin bursting with juice that has turned." Creative Nonfiction  ·  Forthcoming September 2026
The Georgia Review Shaven "I resurrect old myths when drawing lines between stars, loose strands of coarse hair clinging to a damp sink." Creative Nonfiction  ·  Forthcoming September 2026
New Mandala LGBT Organisations Navigate Indonesia's Two Homophobias "Though a single political homophobia suggests that organisations have no choice but to hide or resist, a pair of homophobias presents them with different tradeoffs." Analysis  ·  January 2026
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The Rumpus Heat "I feared this ravening thing in myself, in men." Creative Nonfiction  ·  March 2021
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The Caravan Money Talks "His personal, political and business interests form a web stretching between the two countries." Investigation  ·  February 2021
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The New Republic Why Attack on Titan Is the Alt-Right's Favorite Manga "Isayama's silence just makes it easier for audiences to transpose their own ideologies onto the world he has created." Media Criticism  ·  November 2020
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The New Republic Can the Left Win YouTube? "Many LeftTubers do not consider themselves part of a united movement, but rather an ad hoc moment." Analysis  ·  July 2019
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The Caravan Race to the Top "As Republicans try to embrace minorities at arms' length, Haley is the ideal evangelist of conservative gospel." Cover Story  ·  July 2018
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The Atlantic The Sprawling, Empathetic Adventure of Saga "Saga stands out as a profane, glorious ode to compassion and equality." Media Criticism  ·  March 2018
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The Atlantic Making Fun of How South Asians Talk: A History "Despite South Asian America's budding pop-cultural renaissance, patanking's legacy lingers." Analysis  ·  February 2018
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The Atlantic The Dark Side of the Comics That Redefined Hinduism "I struggle to reconcile ACK's recurrent bigoted portrayals with my enduring affection for the characters whose selflessness and courage left me in awe as a child." Media Criticism  ·  December 2017
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Contact

Queries or correspondence

Email [email protected]