This course will explore the way several different British and American writers have imagined Asia in their literary texts. We will examine both the similarities and the differences in the way Asia and Asians are represented in texts that span the late 19th century to the present, span the continent, and challenge one another in their various perspectives. In addition, we will read several post-colonial theorists as a tool for understanding with more nuance and depth the contested notions of what constitutes the East and the West and the dynamic relationships between them that are presented in these texts.
- Different forms of Orientalism(s), its application, appropriation, variation (“Irish Orientalism”; “Techno-Orientalism”), and limitation
- Empire, decolonization, and socio-political history of countries constituting “Asia”
- Migration, Asian diasporas, and diasporic writing
- Pan-Asianism in literature and cultural production
- Intersections, interactions and interconnections between East and West
- Concept of “Eurasia,” hybridity, and liminality
- Gender, sexuality, class, and subaltern studies pertaining to Asia
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- have a nuanced understanding of and multiple perspectives on “Asia” and Asian identity
- critically analyze representations of Asia and Asians using various postcolonial theories
- identify different forms of Orientalism and Orientalist discourse
- have sufficient critical and historical knowledge pertaining to Asian countries
- apply and compare other discourse on race, gender, sexuality and class pertaining to Asian studies
- discuss the significance of “imagining Asia” in the age of migration, transnationalism and globalization
- interpret ways past imaginings of Asia have shaped the literary landscape
- discuss how contemporary imaginings are reengaging, challenging, and subverting tropes
2 hours a week (1 hour lecture followed by 1 hour tutorial). The session will be a combination of lectures, student-led presentations, group discussions and pair work. During the tutorials, students will have the opportunity to discuss the set texts in more depth and practice their skills in close reading and literary analysis. More information on the make-up of these sessions will be available on Moodle before the course begins.
Assessment for the course is 100% coursework.
- Class participation (includes attendance, group and class discussion, student-led presentations): 30%
- Mid-term paper: 30%
- Final essay (2,000 words): 40%
Primary texts:
-Rudyard Kipling, selected poems (“Mandalay,” “Gunga Din” and “The White Man’s Burden”)*
-George William (A. E.) Russell, “Krishna” (1912)*
-George Orwell “Shooting an Elephant” (1936)*
-E. M. Forster, A Passage to India (1924)
-Han Suyin, A Many Splendoured-Thing (1952)
-David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly (1988)
-David Mitchell, selected stories from Ghostwritten (1999)
-Min Jin Lee, Pachinko (2017)
-Thi Bui, The Best We Could Do (2017)
-Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times (2020)
Secondary:
-Laura Chrisman and Patrick Williams (eds.), Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader (New York: Columbia UP, 1994; updated 2013)
-Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin, The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures (London/New York: Routledge, 2002)
-Excerpts from Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Pantheon, 1978)*
-Mimi Chan and Roy Harris, Asian Voices in English (Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 1991)*
*Text marked in asterisk will be provided on Moodle