Twentieth-Century Immigrant Autobiography

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Whether in the form of encomiums to the Statue of Liberty to the East, scrawls on the walls of Angel Island to the West, or testimonies of border crossings from the North and South, immigrants have long told stories of their immigration to the United States. In this course, we will study a set of immigrant autobiographies that range from the twentieth century onwards: Mary Antins The Promised Land, Dhan Gopal Mukerjis Caste and Outcast, Ramn Prezs Diary of an Undocumented Immigrant; and Edwidge Danticats Brother, Im Dying. We will familiarize ourselves with the genre of autobiography and explore how these works transform this genre by incorporating historical, anthropological, lyric, or fictive elements.