Description
Book SynopsisFrom the Eaton sisters'' literary works at the previous turn of the century to Gish Jen''s 2004 novel The Love Wife, Recontextualizing Asian American Domesticity explores the ways in which the trope of American domesticity is experimented, resisted, and reinvented in Asian American women''s literature. In order to contextualize Asian American women''s writing within the terrain of American cultural and literary history, this book considers how the trope of domesticity is deployed in constructing Asian American women''s subjectivity, especially through the tension and dynamic between Asian and white American womanhood. Seung Ah Oh''s focus is specifically placed on the female homosocial bond and conflict around the notion of Asian American domesticity, both as a gendered and a national site with the conflicting desires within and behind Asian American women''s voices, endlessly shifting the notion of Asian American home and domesticity. Recontextualizing Asian American Domesticity is appropriate for all students and scholars.
Trade ReviewOh's work is, of course, a wonderful addition to the continually growing terrain of gender critiques in Asian American literary studies....Oh is a gifted critical writer, with a clear and succint prose, making Recontextualizing Asian American Domesticity the perfect companion text to any course on Asian American Literature and the politics of gender. One could easily see that her primary texts could all appear as those assigned for a course. -- Stephen Sohn, Asian American Literature Fans
The strength of Recontextualizing Asian American Domesticity is its refreshing selection of primary texts, many of which are still emerging as important representational sites for deploying Asian American critique. The readings are useful and instructive in situating the continually shifting terrain of Asian American women's writings. Oh's work is a wonderful addition to the continually growing terrain of gender critiques in Asian American literary study. Oh is a gifted critical writer, with clear and succint prose, making Recontextualizing Asian American Domesticity the perfect companion to any course on Asian American literature and the politics of gender. * Asian American Literature Fans *
A solid addition to scholarship on Asian American literature, Recontextualizing Asian American Domesticity asks us to consider domesticity in both its literal and symbolic manifestations. Accessible for undergraduates, the book productively situates the importance of white womanhood to Asian American gender formation. -- Leslie Bow, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 1. Beyond the Trope of Madame Butterfly: John Luther Long and the Eaton Sisters Chapter 3 2. Brought to You by War: Tea, Comfort Woman, and Monkey Bridge Chapter 4 3. Domestic/Immigrant Family Romance: Fifth Chinese Daughter, Jasmine, and The Love Wife Chapter 5 4. Homequest: My Year of Meats and Blu's Hanging Chapter 6 Coda
