English R1B

Other Readings and Media

"Blake, W. William Blake: Selected Poetry.

Chekhov, A. The Portable Chekhov.

Dickens, C. The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Frost, R. The Poetry of Robert Frost.

Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare?s Sonnets.

Williams, J. Style: Towards Clarity and Grace.

A course reader of primary and secondary sources will also be provided.



Required Books:

Carlos Bulos: America is in the Heart

Barbara J. Pulmano Reyes: Gravities of Center

Brian Ascalon Roley: American Son

Nick Carbo, ed.: Pinoy Poetics



Films (in-class):



Penee Bender, Joshua Brown, and Andrea Ades Vasquez, Savage Acts, Wars, Fairs & Empire

Curtis Choi, Fall of the I-Hotel

Gene Cajayon and John Manal Castro, The Debut



Course Reader "

Description

"This course examines selected texts in Filipino literature in English, with emphasis on how writing communities and reading constituencies are developed through media (newspapers, magazines, film) for a minority literature. We focus on how Filipinos in the United States have utilized newspapers and magazines for publication during the early 20th century, when it was difficult or almost impossible to publish in the mainstream press. Many of the texts that we will read during the first half of the class will be from periodicals. We will begin by looking at the historical (colonial) contexts of Filipino writing in the Philippines, at the cultural transitions of Filipino writers who migrated to the United States in the early 20th century, and how they created writing communities and reading constituencies. We will read documents -- essays, speeches, letters -- of the Philippine Independence movement published in the United States, in relation to texts written by American authors � for example, Mark Twain -- involved in the Anti-Imperialist movement. These early documents form the framework for a literature that expresses a strong transnational awareness, and a concern for advocacy and local community action. Close reading and discussion of stories, essays, speeches and reportage will allow us to discuss and write about what makes an essay or speech convincing, and a short story or novel meaningful within various personal and social contexts. There will be equal emphasis in this class on both critical reading and essay writing.



The World Wide Web is providing new venues and reading constituencies for minority writers that is unprecedented. We will become part of this online community in our class ""weblog,"" (online journal), where we can ask questions and discuss the assigned texts. You are encouraged to browse authors' websites and blogs, and Filipino American writers will also be invited to ""visit"" online and participate in our discussions. . "