1st Edition
Politicizing Asian American Literature Towards a Critical Multiculturalism
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 CreationChapter 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.