Esther Mikyung Ghymn Libri

The essays in Asian American Studies address some of the concerns that have affected Asian Americans and their American-born children. More specifically, scholars from disciplines such as literature, cultural studies, anthropology, and sociology discuss works by some Asian American authors, the often stereotypical representation of Asian Americans in the media and in everyday life, the intergenerational conflicts that may arise within families as a result of the Americanization process, but also how Asian Americans have been able to combine aspects of American culture and the culture of their countries of origin. Engagingly written, the essays in this book offer students and the general public perspectives and information about a variety of issues concerning Asian Americans.

This is the first study which examines the images of Asian American women as presented by prominent Asian American women writers such as Maxine Hong Kingston, Amy Tan, Monica Sone, Mary Paik Lee, Wakao Yamauchi, Hisaye Yamamoto, Yoshiko Uchida, Jade Snow Wong, Kim Ronyoung, Ruthanne Lum McCunn, and Kathy Wong. By creating new images of mothers, daughters, children, wives, madwomen, prostitutes and pariahs, these writers have written their stories as a way of self-confirmation and a way to correct their stereotypical images. From these images we discover new meaning and assign new significance to Asian American women.

This is the first formal literary criticism on Asian American literature. The existing studies emphasize sociological and historical backgrounds of the writers with only general summaries of individual works. The shapes and individual styles of prominent Asian American writers are analyzed in detail to see if they fit standards given to us by established critics like Aristotle, Henry James, Percy Lubbock, and Wayne Booth.Comparisons to European and American writers are included to illuminate and provide insight into these representative writers. Their works are considered as literary achievements first and cultural artifacts second.