Former Editors' Reflections

Celebrating Thirty Years of JASTMeltem Kıran-Raw (for Laurence Raw, editor-in-chief, 2012-2016)3Dr. Laurence Raw, my late colleague and husband, became the editor of JAST in the summer of2012. Although I remained only an outside observer, I was aware that he started out by establishingcertain priorities. First, like his predecessors, he wanted JAST to maintain high academic standards.Second, again like his predecessors, he wanted the journal to fulfill the eligibility criteria for inclusionin prestigious databases. Third, he aimed to recruit as many scholars as possible—both in Turkeyand abroad—to reinforce the journal’s visibility in the transcultural and transnational dialoguein American Studies. And lastly, he wanted JAST to provide a welcoming publication venue forcolleagues at the beginning of their careers.