Multi-Ethnic American Literature

This course introduces multi-ethnic literature by studying the relationship between racial formation and literary representation. What role does literature play in the process of racialization? How are cultural representations of racialized difference formed in relation to its historical, material, and social conditions? We will critically analyze the nested issues of labour, law, and migration that have shaped Black, Indigenous, and Asian presence within North America. From there, we will explore the themes of assimilation, multiculturalism, diaspora, and empire in order to track the trajectory of minoritarian literature throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Authors may include: Maxine Hong Kingston, Tomson Highway, and Toni Morrison. (REC)