Department of English

We will be reading a range of fictional accounts of wartime America, viewed through the experience of Asian Americans. The twentieth century was marked by periodic outbreaks of war between the United States and Asia, and we will read literary renderings of World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. In times of transpacific conflict, Asian Americans found themselves cast as enemy or ally, and in our readings we will consider the ways in which they depict their positions in these moments of national crisis. We will read novels by Monica Sone, Julie Otsuka, Chang-rae Lee, and Lan Cao, among others, and we will view popular representations of Asians in war films including Bad Day at Black Rock, The Manchurian Candidate, and Apocalypse Now. Course requirements include a presentation, short paper, and final research paper