A study of literature written by Americans of Asian descent. This literature offers a record of immigration through the West Coast’s Angel Island, “bachelor villages” and labor on the transcontinental railroads, internment and war heroism during World War II, and constructions of academic, professional, and personal dreams informed by gendered representations of the “oriental.” It also registers the experiences of young people reinventing family stories, forging new identities, and contributing to the descriptions of what it means to be American that are differentiated along the lines of immigration status, race, class, gender, and sexuality. This course explores novels, memoir, short stories, and poetry, as well as historical documents and selections from radio plays, drama, musical theater, documentary, and narrative film.