Department of English

Asian America emerged out of a cultural desire for racial unity, but is this formation sufficient for a growing body of literature that describes a vast array of subject positions?  This class will consider ways of understanding race and ethnicity in the context of Asian America, and our discussions will query both the possibility and price of creating and maintaining the category of Asian American literature. We will read critical accounts of racial unification and ethnic difference and apply these theories to a range of literary texts. Our readings will include novels by Frank Chin, Jessica Hagedorn, Bharati Mukherjee, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Chang-rae Lee, and Wendy Law-Yone, among others. Course requirements: in-class presentation and a substantial research paper.