LARTS 446 Reading, Writing & Race in Contemporary U.S. Literature
This course explores the cultural and literary politics of reading, writing, and race, with a focus on recent Native American, Mexican American, Asian American, and African American literature. We will examine what readers (including ourselves) expect of "ethnic" writers, what writers expect of their readers, and what writers expect of other authors. We will also ask how race impacts reading, how authors address cultural "insiders" and "outsiders," and why "ethnic literature" is given a distinct category in American literature.