1st Edition

Politicizing Asian American Literature Towards a Critical Multiculturalism

By Youngsuk Chae Copyright 2008
    182 Pages
    by Routledge

    182 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book examines U.S. multiculturalism from the perspective of Asian American writings, drawing contrasts between politically acquiescent multiculturalism and politically conscious multiculturalism. Chae discusses the works of writers who have highlighted a critical awareness of Asian Americans’ social and economic status and their position as 'unassimilable aliens', 'yellow perils', 'coolies', 'modern-day high tech coolies', or as a 'model minority', which were ideologically woven through the complex interactions of capital and labor in the U.S. cultural and labor history. Chae suggests that more productive means of analysis must be brought to the understanding of Asian American writings, many of which have been attempting to raise awareness of the politicizing effects of U.S. multiculturalism.

    Preface

    Introduction – "Who Consumes Multiculturalism?"

    Part I – Politically Acquiescent Asian American Multiculturalism

    Chapter 1 – Cultural Economies of Model Minority Creation

    Chapter 2 – Measuring Silences in Popular Asian American Literature:

    Jade Snow Wong’s Fifth Chinese Daughter, Amy Tan’s The Joy

    Luck Club, and Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior

    Part II – Politically Conscious Asian American Multiculturalism

    Chapter 3 – Beyond Ethnicity: The Critical Movement in Asian American

    Literature – Carlos Bulosan’s America Is In the Heart and Fae

    Myenne Ng’ Bone.

    Chapter 4 – Remapping Asian American Multiculturalism: Karen Tei

    Yamashita’s Critical Vision of Exploitative U.S. Culture and Economy

    Chapter 5 –Counteracting the Dominant Encoding of "America": Ruth

    Ozeki’s My Year of Meats

    Chapter 6 (Possible addition) – Challenging the Straddling Position of

    Middlemen Minority: Younghill Kang’s East Goes West and Changrae Lee’s Native Speaker

    Conclusion –Multiculturalism, or an Ideology of U.S. Capitalism

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Youngsuk Chae is assistant Professor of English at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke. Her research interests include critical race studies, theorizing globalization, Asian Diaspora, and critique of hegemonic discourse.