Beginning Ethnic American Literatures

Since the late 1960s, American literature has been revitalized by the work of writers such as Toni Morrison, Sherman Alexie, Sandra Cisneros and Maxine Hong Kingston. Acclaimed by critics and a popular readership alike, these writers are increasingly being taught in schools and universities on English and American literature courses. This text is designed to introduce students not only to these and other ethnic writers, but also to the cultural contexts and literary traditions in which their work is situated. To that end, it is organised in four sections, each written by a specialist in the fields of African American, Asian American, Chicano/a and native American literature. Each section offers an overview of the tradition, a discussion of the critical and theoretical issues it has raised, essays on individual novels, and extensive bibliographies and suggestions for further reading to assist students and teachers in the study of ethnic American fiction. Table of Contents: Introduction; Native American Fiction; 1. Overview and antecedents; 2. Native American fiction and recent theory; 3. Three case studies; 4. Investigating further; 5. Short annotated bibliography; African American Fiction; 6. Overview and antecedents; 7. African American fiction and recent theory; 8. Three case studies; 9. Investigating further; 10. Short annotated bibliography; Asian American fiction; 11. Overview and antecedents; 12. Asian American fiction and recent theory; 13. Three case studies; 14. Investigating furthur; 15. Short annotated bibliography Chicano/a fiction 16. Overview and antecedents; 17. Chicano/a fiction and recent theory; 18. Three case studies; 19. Investigating further; 20. Short annotated bibliography Author Biography: Maria Lauret is Senior Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Sussex Martin Padget is Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Helena is Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Candida Hepworth was Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Wales, Swansea