Course Description

Honors Asian American Literature uses the pedagogical methods common to all Honors courses: writing-intensive, collaborative, and experiential instruction. As an honors course, there will be focus on analytical writing and an emphasis on a higher degree of student participation and leadership in class discussions and other interactive teaching/learning techniques that are generally unsuitable for larger undergraduate classes. This course provides a cross-cultural comparative study of the literary fiction and non-fiction works of Asian American authors. Students in the course have the opportunity to examine how literature reflects the experiences of Asian Americans adapting to life in America, their struggles with assimilation, their efforts to create racial and social justice while carving out a new identity and literary style. Through discussion and analysis of the course texts, the course examines the history, culture, customs, and traditions of at least four of the following Asian American communities: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, and other southeast Asian and Pacific Island nations.