While the word “island” might conjure an image of isolation—the castaway on a pile of sand with a single palm tree—long, global histories of insularity and archipelagic thinking complicate such an image. Islands have been sites of dynamic cultural exchange for centuries. Today, islands carry an outsized burden in terms of environmental catastrophes, historical legacies of colonization, and the continued subjugation of marginalized people. De-centering continental landmasses, our theme surfaces these complex tensions and invites our communities to think through pressing contemporary issues. Island residents and their diasporas offer generative ideas for responding to the climate crisis through solidarities, rather than extractive technologies. Islands—as both place and theoretical framework—open myriad transdisciplinary possibilities. At its heart, archipelagic thinking enables endless fluid connections that illuminate relational power dynamics.