ENG 245 Introduction to Asian Pacific American Literature CRN 12757/Fall 2005 MWF 10-10:50pm; Villard 300 Professor Tolentino Office hours: MWF 3-4pm and by appointment, 444 PLC Phone: 346-0061 E-mail: [email protected]
Course Description This course focuses on intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality that have shaped the development of an Asian Pacific American literary tradition. We begin by studying how the regulation of Asian immigration has been central in defining United States citizenship and cultures. Using a selection of novels, short stories, critical essays, and poems, we will examine ideas of visibility, embodiment, and voice that writers have used to broaden and question A/P/A identities.
Books Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (1999) L Thi Diem Thœy, The Gangster We are All Looking For (2003) John Okada, No-No Boy (1957; 1976) Lois Ann Yamanaka, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre (1993)
Books can be purchased at the University of Oregon Bookstore or checked out from Knight Library Reserves. A course packet of articles (marked ÔRÕ on syllabus) is available at The Copy Shop, 539 E. 13th Ave. Articles are also on E-reserve: log in with fall05/password apple
Requirements This class emphasizes critical reading and writing skills. Please be prepared to discuss them in class. Since we will be doing close readings, you will need to bring the assigned book/articles to class. Punctual, regular attendance is required. After 2 unexcused absences (absences without a doctorÕs note or other documentation), your final grade will be reduced by 1/3 letter grade (B- will become a C+) for each unexcused absence. If you do not complete all of the assignments, you will not receive a passing grade for the course.
Grading Two papers, 3-4 pages. Due in class on Oct. 17 and Nov. 21 (50%) Topics will be provided at least one week before the due date. If you want to write on a different topic, please consult with me at least 3 days before the due date. Papers are due at the beginning of class - hard copy only, no e-mail attachments. Papers that have not been spellchecked/proofread or that are submitted late will be marked down one letter grade. No papers will be accepted more than one week after the due date. Midterm on Oct. 31 (30%) Take Home Final due Dec. 5 by 5pm (20%)
If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make an appointment to meet with me soon.
Week 1 Asian/American M 9/26 Introduction
W 9/28 Sucheng Chan, ÒChanging Fortunes, 1941-1965.Ó Asian Americans: An Interpretive History Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991. 121-142. R
Hisaye Yamamoto, ÒWilshire Bus.Ó Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2001. 34-38. R
F 9/30 Hisaye Yamamoto, ÒThe Legend of Miss Sasagawara.Ó Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2001. 20-33. R
Week 2 M 10/3 Citizen/US National Mae Ngai, ÒFrom Colonial Subject to Undesirable Alien: Filipino Migration in the Invisible Empire.Ó Re/collecting Early Asian American History. Ed. Josephine Lee. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2002. 111-126. R
W 10/5 Bienvenido Santos, ÒScent of ApplesÓ Scent of Apples: A Collection of Stories by Bienvenido N. Santos. Ed. Leonard Casper. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967. 21-29. R
F 10/7 Bienvenido Santos, ÒThe Day the Dancers Came.Ó Scent of Apples: A Collection of Stories by Bienvenido N. Santos. Ed. Leonard Casper. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967. 113- 128. R
Week 3 Japanese Internment/Racism and Resistance M 10/10 John Okada, No-No Boy, 1ntroduction-101
W 10/12 John Okada, No-No Boy, 103-171
F 10/14 John Okada, No-No Boy, 173-260
Week 4 Orientalism M 10/17 Vijay Prashad, ÒOf the Mysterious EastÓ and ÒOf the Origins of Desis and Some Principles of State Selection.Ó The Karma of Brown Folk. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. 11-20; 69-82. R
Paper 1 due
W 10/19 Jhumpa Lahiri, ÒWhen Mr. Pirzada Came to DineÓ; ÒInterpreter of Maladies.Ó Interpreter of Maladies: Stories. 23-69.
F 10/21 Jhumpa Lahiri, ÒA Temporary MatterÓ; ÒMrs. SenÕs.Ó 1-22; 111-135
Week 5 M 10/24 Jhumpa Lahiri, ÒSexyÓ; ÒThe Third and Final Continent.Ó 83-110; 173-198
W 10/26 Lavinia Dhingra Shankar and Rajini Srikanth, ÒSouth Asian American Literature: Off the Turnpike of Asian America.Ó Postcolonial Theory in the United States. Ed. Amritjit Singh et al. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2000. 370-387. R
F 10/28 Midterm Review
Week 6 M 10/31 Midterm
W 11/2 Language Politics Shani Mootoo, ÒOut on Main St.Ó Contours of the Heart: South Asians Map North America. Eds. Lavinia Shankar and Rajini Srikanth. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. 54-63. R
F 11/4 No Class – Prof. Tolentino at ASA conference - start reading Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre
Week 7 M 11/7 Lois Ann Yamanaka, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre, 15-76
W 11/9 Lois Ann Yamanaka, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre, 79-107
F 11/11 Lois Ann Yamanaka, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre, 111-140
Week 8 Refugee Citizenship
M 11/14 Sucheng Chan, ÒNew Immigrants and Refugees.Õ Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. 145-165. R
W 11/16 Monique T.D. Truong, ÒKelly.Ó Amerasia 17, 2 (1991): 40-48. R
F 11/18 Ka Vang, "Ms. Pac-Man Ruined My Gang Life.Ó Charlie Chan is Dead 2: At Home in the World. Ed. Jessica Hagedorn. 488-494. R
Linh Dinh, ÒLetter to My BedÓ and ÒThe Dead.Ó Watermark. Eds. Barbara Tran et al. New York: Asian American WritersÕ Workshop, 1998). 16; 122. R
Week 9 M 11/21 Film: Daughter From Danang (dir. Gail Dolgin, 2002) Paper 2 due
W 11/23 No Class – start reading The Gangster We Are All Looking For
F 11/25 No Class – Thanksgiving Break
Week 10 M 11/28 L Thi Diem Thœy, The Gangster We Are All Looking For. 3-77.
W 11/30 L Thi Diem Thœy, The Gangster We Are All Looking For. 78-124.
F 12/2 L Thi Diem Thœy, The Gangster We Are All Looking For. 125-158. Take-Home Final handed out – due Dec. 5 by 5pm