Introduction to Asian American Literature (275-0-1)

Instructors

Michelle Nancy Huang
847/491-6837
University 226
Office Hours: T 2pm - 3pm; W 2pm - 3pm

Meeting Info

University Hall 122: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Asian American, Asian-American, Asian/American: from Chinese Americans to Hmong Americans to mixed race Asian Americans, from fourth-generation Californians to cosmopolitan college students, from desert internment camps to New York City office buildings, what do the many subjects and locations of Asian American literature tell us about the capaciousness of the category itself? This class has two goals—first, providing an overview of literature written by Asian Americans in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries and placing these texts in conversation with key concepts from Asian American culture and history. Second, interrogating the constructed, pan-ethnic nature of Asian American identity, a category that came into use only in the 1960s as a coalitional entity defined by shared histories of labor, discrimination, and national and cultural unbelonging.

Learning Objectives

Observe how features of literary texts connect to key concepts and themes

Familiarize themselves with key texts and debates in Asian American literature

Analyze literary texts, taking account the interplay between historical context and formal elements

Author argumentative analyses synthesizing primary and secondary texts.

Class Materials (Required)

Texts (subject to change; please confirm final text list on Canvas before purchasing):

Chang-rae Lee, Native Speaker (ISBN 978-157322531)

Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior (ISBN 978-0679721888)

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 on Canvas, and must be printed.

Class Notes

First two classes will be on Zoom.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved to all ASIAN_AM students until the end of preregistration, after which registration will be open to all who meet the prerequisites.

Associated Classes

DIS - Harris Hall L05: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Hall 118: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Hall 018 English: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Hall 118: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Library 4722: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM