English R1B

Other Readings and Media

"Assayas, Olivier: Irma Vep

Greene, Graham: The Quiet American

Herr, Michael: Dispatches

Le Minh Khue: selected stories

Liu Yi-chang: ?Intersection?

Maugham, W. Somerset: The Painted Veil

Toklas, Alice B.: The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook

Truong, Monique: The Book of Salt

Yu, Ronny: Fearless"

Description

"This class will examine how the figure of the Asian horde functions in cultural texts about modernity and postmodernity. What historical contexts have given rise to particular ways of representing Asians as hordes? How have cultural exchanges across the Pacific impacted narrative visions of modernity and postmodernity? What social and political purchase have these representations had, both within and outside of the Asian context? From Hong Kong martial arts films to documentaries about post-war Vietnam, we will look at a range of genres produced in a variety of locations in our attempt to perform a comparative study of the selected works.



Our critical approach to the texts will interlace with our own critical approaches to writing. We will compose essays gradually, beginning with questions that emerge from our initial responses to the texts and working our way toward effective writing and argumentation. Students will extend their English 1A skills by focusing on how more complex ideas and research results can be refined and integrated into progressively longer essays. A series of in-class workshops will be held to assist students with discussing, drafting, and revising critical essays. (Please note: book list is subject to change.) "