In this course, we’ll explore the incredible diversity found at the intersection of two vast and complex topics--Asian American experiences and fictional forms in English. By reading in diverse forms—from young adult novel (Marie G. Lee’s Necessary Roughness) to graphic novel (Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish), spy novel (Chang-rae Lee’s Native Speaker) to historical novel (C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills Are Gold), coming-of-age novella (Milton Murayama’s All I Asking For Is My Body) to fictionalized memoir (Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart)—we will ask how Asian American writers take advantage of and reinvent various fictional forms so as to interrogate issues such as language, immigration, gender and sexuality, political resistance, and family relationships that lie at the heart of Asian American histories. We’ll ask, also, how centering Asian American literary traditions and experiments can provide a solid foundation with regards to fictional forms in English. Although the course is not intended to be a comprehensive history of Asian American literature, readings will include earlier canonical authors (Sui Sin Far, John Okada) as well as emerging writers (Elaine Castillo, Anthony Veasna So).

Intended Audience:

We will work primarily with literary methods, but students from all majors are more than welcome, and there will be opportunities to do interdisciplinary work within the frame of the course.