ENG 393 - Asian Diasporic Speculative Narratives

How do Asian American writers and poets imagine the future? In this course, students will be introduced to key narratives, aesthetics, themes, and social concerns of Asian American and diasporic speculative fiction and poetry through reading and analyzing primary texts. We will begin the course by interrogating how the figure of the Asian/Asian American emerged in the science fiction imaginary at the turn of the twentieth century, as nativist anxieties in the US and colonial narratives abroad contributed to narratives of Asian workers as “machinelike,” animalistic, and alien. Then, we will explore how Asian diasporic writers envision different versions of the future to reflect on historical and social dynamics of racism, labor exploitation, war and forced migration, queerness, natural resource extraction, and environmental contamination. Finally, we will engage with Asian diasporic writers and poets who imagine alternative worlds that contain possibilities for social justice. Authors include: Chang-rae Lee, Larissa Lai, Franny Choi, Cynthia Kadohata, Charles Yu, and Akwaeke Emezi.

Satisfies English Department major and minor requirement.
Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Rhetoric requirement.
Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.