Introduction to Asian American Literature
ENGL 230A
Fall 2021
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 264A |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: Asian American Studies |
This course surveys how Asia and Asian Americans have figured in the US cultural imaginary from the middle of the 19th century to the present, from Herman Melville's American epic "Moby-Dick" to Ruth Ozeki's comic novel about transnational television, trade, and activism "My Year of Meats." As the choice of these framing texts suggests, we will be exploring two kinds of representations. On the one hand, we will examine the narratives, tropes, and images through which dominant American culture has envisioned its incursions into Asia and the reciprocal movement of Asians into the United States; on the other, we will also explore the ways in which Asian Americans have sought to represent their own varied and uneven encounters with US culture. The course is organized chronologically in order to emphasize the ways in which these cultural artifacts reflect and influence their social and historical contexts. In the latter half of the course, as we enter the period beginning with the 1970s in which Asian American literature becomes an institutional category in its own right, we will add to this historical framework a number of other analytical frames that have emerged from within Asian American studies itself: cultural nationalism; gender and sexuality; postcoloniality; cultural assimilation; and globalization. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (AMST)(ENGL)(ENGL-Literature) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Carlos Bulosan, AMERICA IS IN THE HEART
Jessica Hagedorn, DOGEATERS
Maxine Hong Kingston, THE WOMAN WARRIOR
Myung Mi Kim, UNDER FLAG
Joy Kogawa, OBASAN
Jhumpa Lahiri, INTERPRETER OF MALADIES
Thi Diem Thuy Le, THE GANGSTER WE ARE ALL LOOKING FOR
Ruth Ozeki, MY YEAR OF MEATS
Additional short texts by Jack London, Sui Sin Far, Toshio Mori, Hisaye Yamamoto and others.
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Examinations and Assignments:
TBA |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the Literatures of Difference requirement and contributes to the American Lit and Race & Ethnicity concentrations of the English Major.
Class of 2023 and beyond: This course fulfills the American Lit and World Lit requirements of the English major. |
| Instructor(s): Tang,Amy Cynthia Times: ..T.R.. 08:50AM-10:10AM; Location: DWNY200; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 5 | JR non-major: 5 | SO: 5 | FR: 5 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 7 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 6 |
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