Seminar in Reading and Interpretation (300-0-21)

Topic

'Crazy Rich Asians': From Type to Stereotype

Instructors

Lingyi Xu

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L05: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

It is difficult to imagine an Asian figure in American culture without first recalling a stereotype of it: the yellow peril, the model minority, the inscrutable Orient, and, more recently, the crazy rich. This course will think about how we read literature and film by focusing on these figures and how they're represented. How do we understand the historical transformation of the representation of Asians in American culture past and present? How can focusing on "types" and "stereotypes" assist us in thinking about how we read and interpret literature and film more generally? How do we explain and grapple with the seeming inevitability of types and stereotypes in cultural representations? The main literary texts we will be reading are Maxine Hong Kinston's classic novel Woman Warrior, Peter Hessler's nonfiction River Town, and Yiyun Li's short stories collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. We will also analyze the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Attendance at 1st class mandatory