English 277-001
Short Stories in Asian American Literature
Instr: Professor Mary Louise Buley-Meissner
Office: Curtin 492, 229-4511 (messages)
e-mail: meissner@uwm.edu
Office hours: M-F after class
Course Information: M-F 1:00-4:15 p.m.
Course Description
Course Description: If you are looking for an enjoyable course to satisfy the "cultural diversity" requirement, if you would like to broaden your cross-cultural understanding, or if you simply like to read and discuss stories by talented writers, 277 could be the right course for you. This course provides an introduction to short stories by American authors from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other Asian backgrounds. To enhance our understanding of their achievements, we will consider historical, cultural, and social contexts in which Asian American literature has developed. We also will look carefully at fundamental elements of fiction -- such as point of view, characterization, and conflict -- which combine to convey writers' world views. Overall, our goals will be exploration of cross-cultural themes related to identity, family, and community; appreciation of individual authors' voices, artistic styles, and narrative skills; and awareness of the contributions made by Asian American writers to our country's rich literary heritage. If you have any questions about 277, you are welcome to contact me at ( meissner@uwm.edu ).
Prerequisites: Completion of English 102 with grade of C or better -- or EPT score at level 4.
Textbooks: The four required course books are available at the UWM Bookstore: Yokohama, California by Toshio Mori; Growing Up Asian American, edited by Stephen Sumida; The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan; and Charlie Chan Is Dead, edited by Jessica Hagedorn.
Course Requirements and Grading: The basic requirements and grading structure are:
- class participation -- 20%;
- class notebook -- 65%; and
- final in-class exam -- 15%.
Your attendance also will affect your grade. The class notebook will be based on daily reading and writing assignments. It will be due twice during the course (for the instructor's comments) and again on the last day. The final exam will be based partly on questions suggested by students. During the UWinterim, it is especially important that all work be completed on time.
