The course is organized thematically rather than chronologically. Each week we will explore a broad topic, reading a range of literary and theoretical materials. We will read both combatant and civilian writers, and our readings will be drawn from a variety of genres, including fiction, poetry, memoir, film, cultural studies, and theory. Admission only by permission of instructor. Focus is on mythic and ceremonial discourse of representative Native American cultures.
Emphasis is on recovery of special qualities and functions of oral narrative.
Active class discussion. This class serves as a broad introduction to Asian American literature, literary criticism, and culture. In addition, we will read a selection of Asian American poetry, short stories, and essays, as well as screen several videos by established and emerging Asian American directors. In order to provide a more engaged political framework for discussion, we will analyze a number of theoretical essays from psychoanalytic, feminist, postcolonial, critical race, and queer studies. Beginning with the premise that U.S. culture is profoundly shaped by its encounters with the rest of the world, this course examines a range of approaches to the study of American literature in transnational context.