Course Description

Asian American and Transpacific Literature studies narratives from major authors of Asian and Asian American descent, such as Viet Thanh Nguyen, Thi Bui, Tommy Orange, Bharati Mukerjee, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jessica Hagedorn, Andrew X. Pham, Ocean Vuong, Tony Tulathimutte, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, and Celeste Ng. The course explores the influence of Asia on American literature and the transpacific imagination inherent to the Asian immigration experience. Significant themes include war, conflict between generations, family expectations, diaspora, and immigration/ acculturation within texts that describe Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Laotian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian/ Indian American experiences from the early mid-20th century onward. Reading content includes poetry, fiction, historical and contemporary narrative prose, and illustrated memoir that describe and/or critically examine the aesthetic, historical, cultural, sociological, environmental, and political forces at work in the texts.