This ground-breaking edited volume includes chapters which explore the past, present and future position of Chinese American authors within the framework of what Bloom identifies as the “Western literary canon.” These selections, which simultaneously represent the exciting “transnational turn” in American literary studies, not only examine whether or not Chinese American literature is inside or outside the canon, but also ... Read more

The chapter discusses how Arab American stand up comedians approach their hyphenated identity Read more

Who Defines Me: Negotiating Identity in Language and Literature is a collection of insightful articles that represent an interdisciplinary study of identity. The articles start from the premise that identity is, and always has been, unstable and mutable; which is to say that identity is constructed and deconstructed and reconstructed–only to be deconstructed and reconstructed again, in turn to be ... Read more

This article gives an analysis of Betty Shamieh’s _Roar_ and _The Black Eyed_. In these plays, Shamieh presents Arab Americans as victims of Orientalism. She puts Arab Americans within the context of immigrants’ sagas in the United States in an attempt to give their experience validity and identification within larger ethnic experiences. Conversely, Arabs in the two plays are presented ... Read more

. In _Homebody/Kabul_, Kushner looks with critical eyes on the current world changes, the disorder in Afghanistan, its impact on people’s lives and its relationship to the West. The catastrophes of most of his play’s characters due to the corrupting touches of politics and the way western politicians touch the East and eastern politicians touch the West. The play uncovers ... Read more