Limning Asian American Literature with Social Generationality: Violence and Subversion

Author: Kim, Joseph Hakkyu

Year: 2024

Degree: Senior thesis (Major)

Advisor: Murphy, Dana

Committee Member: None, None

Option: English

DOI: 10.7907/4b17-ek62

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.

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