ENG 325-01 - Studies in Ethnic American Literatures (Spring)

4 credits (Spring)

In this seminar we will explore the multicultural and multilingual heritage of ethnic American literature. Particular attention will be paid to how linguistically diverse texts connect to various formulations of ethnic identity. We will investigate literary works that use linguistic practices such as code-switching, bilingualism, pidgin, and translation. How might these and other formal strategies help us complicate and challenge binary conceptions of the relationship between “the Ethnic” and “the American” as categories? We will attempt to put critical race theory into conversation with translation theory, as both offer a rich critical vocabulary for thinking about questions of difference, origins, authenticity, betrayal, and subversion. Writers will likely include: James Baldwin, Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, Gloria Anzuldua, Aleksandr Hemon, Leslie Marmon Silko, Eva Hoffman, Linh Dinh, Cathy Park Hong, Eduardo C. Corral, amongst others. For the final project, students will have the option of writing a longer research paper related to the course theme or producing their own translation of a literary work, accompanied by a critical introduction.

Prerequisite: ENG 227, ENG 228, ENG 229, ENG 231, ENG 232, or ENG 273.
Instructor: Phan