English 181a. Introduction to Asian American Literature: What Is Asian American Literature?

Instructor: Ju Yon Kim
TBD | Location: TBD

Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers (1974) was one of the earliest attempts to collect writings that were, to quote the editors, “exclusively Asian-American.” Yet as their lengthy—and controversial—explanation of the selection process makes clear, Asian American literature defies neat categorization. This course is both a survey of Asian American literature and an introduction to ongoing debates about what constitutes Asian American literature. We will study a variety of literary genres and ask how formal and stylistic conventions, as well as shifting sociohistorical circumstances, have shaped conceptions of Asian American literature.

This course satisfies the “1900-Present Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.