Instructor: Jennifer Ho
Seminar: Tuesdays 1-3:50pm, Clapp 203
Office: Skinner 307
Phone: 358-2630
E-mail: jho@mtholyoke.edu (this is my preferred method of communication)
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11-1pm—meet in Skinner 307, Wednesdays 4-5pm—meet in the Stimson Room, 6th floor of the library, and by appointment
This seminar focuses on Asian American coming-of-age novels by addressing questions of identity formation. Themes pertinent to our discussion include the influences of family, class, sexuality, violence, and history in the maturation process of Asian American protagonists. We will also question definitions of Asian American ethnic identity, the phrase “coming-of-age,” and the concept of “Asian America.”
Contours of the Heart—Eds. Sunaina Maira and Rajini Srikanth
Mona in the Promised Land—Gish Jen
Comfort Woman—Nora Okja Keller
All I Asking for Is My Body—Milton Murayama
Eating Chinese Food Naked—Mei Ng
Monkey Bridge—Lan Cao
The English Patient—Michael Ondaatje
All texts are available for purchase through Odyssey Books.
Final grades will be determined as follows:
| Attendance and Participation | 10% |
|
Response Papers (8), quizzes, and other assignments |
10% |
| Oral Presentation w/handout | 15% |
| Midterm Paper | 25% |
| Final Research Paper | 40% |
January 30 Introduction
February 6 Theory
Introduction from The Voyage In: Fictions of Female Development,Introduction from Reflection and Action: Essays on the Bildungsroman, and theIntroduction from Words Matter: Conversations with Asian American Writers.(all essays can be found on electronic reserve)
Due: Letter of Introduction
February 13 Short Stories
“I Want to Give you Devotion”— Ameena Meer (92-106)“Jumbee Curse”— Marina Budhos (140-157)“Divided Consciousness Amidst a New Orientalism: South Asian American IdentityFormation on Campus”— Sucheta J. Doshi (201-213) [essay]“Lahore in the Sky”— Sunaina Maira (253-261)“More Precious Than These Hands”— Shivani Manghnani (446-460)from Contours of the Heart, Eds. Sunaina Maira and Rajini Srikanth
February 20 Mona in the Promised Land—Gish Jen
February 27 *FILM—AKA Don Bonus
“August 1968”— Peter Bacho (electronic reserve)
“Pat and Pan”— Sui Sin Far (electronic reserve)
March 3 Comfort Woman—Nora Okja Keller
March 10 All I Asking for Is My Body—Milton Murayama
March 20 SPRING BREAK
March 27 Eating Chinese Food Naked--Mei Ng
Due: Midterm Paper
April 3 FILM--The Wedding Banquet
“Seventeen Syllables”— Hisaye Yamamoto (electronic reserve)
“Maiden Voyage: Excursion into Sexuality and Identity Politics in Asian
America” — Dana Y. Takagi (electronic reserve)
Due: APA Quiz
April 10 Monkey Bridge--Lan Cao
April 17 FILM—Mississippi Masala
“Visualizing Three Continents: An Interview with Filmmaker Mira Nair” — Sunaina Maira and Rajini Srikanth (125-139)
“Moments of Identity in Film” — Vakirathi Mani (174-187) from Contours of the Heart
April 24 FILM--Old Man River (continue discussion)
“In Search of Hiroshi” — Gene Oishi (electronic reserve)
“Fictive Fragments of a Father and Son” —David Mura (electronic reserve)
Due: Research paper abstracts
May 1 The English Patient—Michael Ondaatje
May 8 End of Semester Wrap Up—Exchange abstracts and share final projects
*Unless otherwise noted, all film screenings will take place in-class.
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