• Zurbruegg Aurélie

• Zurbruegg Aurélie

“My story is about the human race in conflict with itself and nature”

– Mei-mei Berssenbrugge

This class is dedicated to the study of contemporary Asian American literature. We will explore how Asian American authors engage with the sometimes-conflicting duality of being an American of Asian ancestry. We will see how literature can reconcile Asian heritage with American culture. This proseminar takes us on a journey across time, genres, and continents. Together, we will attempt to determine what makes Asian American literature so “Splendid!” (Jhumpa Lahiri). Looking at poetry, novels, short stories, and a graphic novel, we will examine how each literary genre allows authors to write about their respective experiences.

At the end of the semester, you will:

• Have learned about key historical events that influenced the life of Asian people who emigrated to America.
• Be able to appreciate the respective qualities of various literary genres in light of your newly-acquired historical knowledge.
• Have been exposed to the adequate vocabulary and attitude to talk about sensitive matters in a kind, coherent manner. 
• Be prepared to keep developing the arguments that have emerged from your group presentation.
• (If you are a BALET student and your program requires 6 ECTS), you will be ready to write a Proseminar paper on one of the questions raised during the semester.

The final list of works that we will study will be announced in the first session of the semester, and all the works will be available either at Librophoros or on Moodle. In the meantime, here is a tentative list: Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, and Kiki Hughes' Displacement.