Asian American Writers

(Cross-listed with ENG 36) Introduction to twentieth-century Asian American literature and culture. Major themes and topics include immigration, diversity, the relation between ethnicity and literature, minority experience, alienation from the English language, intergenerational conflict. Examples are drawn from representative prose narratives, poetry, and plays. WGSS 0040 Gender and Society (Cross-listed with SOC 30 and CVS 30) Examination of gender and its prevalence in social life. Topics include the relationships between gender, sex and power relations; and how perceptions of gender change over time and help shape life opportunities and outcomes, and gender functions as a social construction. Consideration of gender expression through configurations of femininity and masculinity, and co-construction with race, sexuality, social class, ability, nation, and other lines of difference. Case studies may include the nature vs. nurture debate; gender and institutions, including families, schools, and religion; how gender shapes the nation state; masculinity; and feminist politics. WGSS 0042 Women And Gender In Modern Chinese Culture. (Cross-listed with CHNS 79) Discussion from a gendered perspective of cultural texts—film, TV, fiction, non-fiction—produced since the early 20th century. Questions to explore include: What major women’s and gender issues have confronted modern China? Why have women and gender issues constituted an intrinsic part of modern Chinese history? How do they change and evolve over time and why? How to understand modern Chinese responses to the changes?