Southeast Asian Island Literature
The seas and islands of Insular Southeast Asia is marked by a complex network of relations among its inhabitants—both human and non-human—and its literature reflects the long histories of interisland and transoceanic crossings and exchange. In this course, we will thus consider how such waves of historically contingent encounters have animated the literary production in the region as it is underscored by colonial and imperial activity, globalization and modernization, national and regional conflicts, and indigenous and diasporic tensions. We also ask how the English poetry and narratives of those who dwell in and hail from these islands and seas reimagine and co-constitute the currents of their relationship within and beyond these archipelagos.
As a writing intensive course, students will be expected to write their own explications and analyses grounded in their understanding of the geopoetics, literary history, and post-/neo-colonial and transnational constructions depicted in the assigned texts. This course is designed to facilitate the compositional requirement through Zoom lectures, drafting, workshops, and individual conferences.
Tentative Texts (may be changed in the final syllabus):
- Hsiao, Li-Hung. A Thousand Moons on a Thousand Rivers, trans. Michell Wu. Columbia University Press.
- Tan, Twan Eng. The Garden of Evening Mists: a Novel. First edition., Hatchette Books, 2012.
- Ho Tzu Nyen. Fragments From A Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia. 3-ply and Kadist Art Foundation, 2016.
- Toer, Pramoedya Ananta. This Earth of Mankind. Penguin, 1996.
- Dung, Kai-cheung. Atlas: The Archaeology of an Imaginary City. Columbia University Press, 2012.
- Xi Xi. “The Floating City,” translated by Linda Javin with Geremie Barmé. In New Ghosts, Old Dreams: Chinese Rebel Voices. Random House, 1992.
- Bobis, Merlinda C. White Turtle: a Collection of Short Stories. De La Salle University Press, 1999.
- Moreno, Virginia. Batik Maker and Other Poems. Quezon City: University of the
- Philippines Science Education Center, 1972.
- Patterson, Christopher B. Transitive Cultures: Anglophone Literature of the Transpacific. Rutgers University Press, 2018.
- Roberts, Brian Russell, and Michelle Ann Stephens. “Introduction: Archipelagic American Studies: Decontinentalizing the Study of American Culture.” Archipelagic American Studies. Duke University Press, 2017.
Tentative Course Requirements (may be changed in the final syllabus):
- In-class Writing, Group Work, Class Discussion and Participation (15%)
- Journaling and Annotation (10%)
- Class Reports (20%)
- Close Readings (15%)
- Literary Analysis Paper (20%)
- Individual Conference (Mandatory) (5%)