In Asian American literature, or in any genre of literature, silence has often been associated with repression, submission, and an absence of voice. It is often misunderstood as being imposed on a certain group of people. (For the purpose of this class, we will only be focusing on Asians and Asian Americans in the United States.) Many female Asian American writers, however, demonstrate in their work that there can be multiple usage and interpretation of silence. This class hopes to show that silence is not necessarily imposed; it can be voluntary. Silence is not simply a sympathetic characteristic of the victims; it can also be a sign of resistance and, possibly, a threatening force to the inflictor.
In the exploration of silence in writings by female Asian American authors, students will consequently consider the relationship between gender, race, and national identity. Silence is more common caused by an intersection of politics, culture, and gender, but the resulting silence can also be a defense or weapon Asian Americans use to protect themselves. They will discuss how silence is an essential part of the process where these authors regain their voice in mainstream politics and enunciate the part of their history or culture that has been overlooked or distorted.
The first book students will be reading is We, the Dangerous by …show more content…
I am assigning this after We, the Dangerous because Camp Notes will supplement how the general policies toward Japanese Americans at the time affected personal and familial ties. We, the Dangerous focused more on the overarching racial discrimination theme, while Camp Notes focuses more on the silence between interpersonal relationships. In Camp Notes, Yamada narrated poems about the experiences of her grandmother, parents, her own internment experience, and even her conversation with her