Citation
Kim, Joseph Hakkyu (2024) Limning Asian American Literature with Social Generationality: Violence and Subversion. Senior thesis (Major), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/4b17-ek62. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:03202024-022831525
Abstract
The existence and identity of the Asian American literary canon have been contentious, and thus so have the methods to study it. Operating with a capacious definition of the Asian American literary canon, I argue the canon exists as a vast heterogeneous one encapsulating the diverse experiences of Asian Americans over generations. I apply a longitudinal study of selected works of the Asian American literary canon and adapt a queer reading hermeneutic to identify forms of literary dissent. Applying social generationality (generational identity) and the hermeneutic in reading the canon illuminates a pattern of socially imposed violences and quasi-queer acts of literary subversion. Ultimately, reading the canon vis-à-vis social generationality illustrates the evolution of Asian American experiences via the evolution of their perceived violences and modes of persistence.
Item Type: | Thesis (Senior thesis (Major)) | ||||
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Subject Keywords: | Asian American Literature ; Social Generationality ; Violence and Subversion ; Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature; Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature - Prose Fiction; Hixon Writing Center | ||||
Degree Grantor: | California Institute of Technology | ||||
Division: | Humanities and Social Sciences | ||||
Major Option: | English | ||||
Awards: | George W. Housner Prize for Academic Excellence and Original Research, 2024. Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature - Prose Fiction, 2024. | ||||
Thesis Availability: | Public (worldwide access) | ||||
Research Advisor(s): |
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Group: | Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature, Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature - Prose, Hixon Writing Center | ||||
Thesis Committee: |
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Defense Date: | 19 March 2024 | ||||
Record Number: | CaltechTHESIS:03202024-022831525 | ||||
Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:03202024-022831525 | ||||
DOI: | 10.7907/4b17-ek62 | ||||
ORCID: |
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Default Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | ||||
ID Code: | 16336 | ||||
Collection: | CaltechTHESIS | ||||
Deposited By: | Joseph Kim | ||||
Deposited On: | 20 Mar 2024 17:28 | ||||
Last Modified: | 17 Jun 2024 19:50 |
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