Module objectives / Learning outcomes
To introduce students to an important and expanding body of American ethnic writing
To explore developing theories of Asian American cultural production, and to encourage students to relate these to their reading of Asian American literature
To study the development of Asian American literature in its historical and cultural contexts
To expand the student's knowledge of ethnic American literatures

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of a range of Asian American writing in its historical and cultural contexts
demonstrate a knowledge and understanding o f theories of Asian American cultural production
demonstrate an ability to express themselves clearly in writing and in speech

Brief description
This module is a study of the ways in which Asian American literary traditions have developed and how they are related to other traditions of American literature within historical, social, political and cultural contexts. It includes fictional and autobiographical texts from the mid-1940s to publications of the 1990s. The term 'Asian American' gathers together a variety of different ethnic groups, including Chinese-, Japanese-, Filipino-, South Asian-, and Korean American, and this module attempts to display the range of writing which has been produced in these areas. The module also examines some of the themes and experiences that have preoccupied these authors. The themes include: the mother/daughter relationship, identity and the process of (Anglo-) Americanisation, and the search for 'home'. The experiences of immigration, Japanese American experiences during the second world war, and Asian diaspora responses to political upheaval in the ancestral country, will provide an additional focus for discussion.