AAS 215
Introduction to Asian American Literature Spring 2025
Division II D Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed ENGL 215

Class Details

This course introduces students to some of the major works of Asian American literature, spanning from the mid-20th century to the present. Throughout, we’ll attend to the intersection of aesthetics and politics, exploring the creative ways Asian American literary texts both reflect and respond to the historical forces that have shaped Asian American experiences and identities, including exclusion, internment, and U.S. wars and imperialism in Asia. Works we’ll read include John Okada’s No-No Boy, Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee, Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, and Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 20
Expected: 20
Class#: 3617
Grading: yes pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: class participation, occasional informal discussion posts, a 5-page midterm paper, and an 8-10 page final paper.
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: If over-enrolled, enrollment preference will be given to Asian American Studies concentrators and prospective concentrators.
Distributions: Divison II Difference, Power, and Equity
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
AAS 215 Division II ENGL 215 Division I
DPE Notes: This course offers students the opportunity to learn and think critically about Asian American community struggles throughout U.S. history while examining the forms of literary expressions that arise out of and in relation to those struggles. It also delves into the intersectional nature of Asian American community struggles as they emerge along the fault lines of race, class, and gender/sexuality.
Attributes: AAS Core Electives
AAS Gateway Courses

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