Studies in Asian American Literature (375-0-20)
Topic
Memory + Identity in Asian American Literature
Instructors
Michelle Nancy Huang
847/491-6837
University 226
Office Hours: T 2pm - 3pm; W 2pm - 3pm
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-343: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
How can writers represent inaccessible stories, ones lost to the passage of history? This class explores how literature functions as repositories of minority histories and memories, as meditations on the process of assembling and collecting stories, and as imaginings of alternative histories and futures. Given the difficulty of assembling a coherent Asian American identity, our examinations will be defined as much by the absences, gaps, and contradictions of Asian America's collective memory as by what is found within it.
Teaching Method
Seminar-based discussion.
Evaluation Method
Regular reading responses; two short essays; one long essay; active class participation.
Class Materials (Required)
Miné Okubo, Citizen 13660 (978-0295993546)
Monique Truong, Bitter in the Mouth (978-0812981322)
Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (978-0525562047)
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Dictee (978-0520390485)
Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost (978-0375724374)
Texts will be available at: Primary texts will be available at the Norris Bookstore and on reserve in the library. Other texts will be available in a reader at Quartet Copies.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity