Marketing Asian American Literature (roundtable)
 American Literature Association Conference, San Francisco, May 22-25, 2008
Standing panel organized by the Circle for Asian American Literary Studies
Proposals due: January 14, 2008 (Monday)

The Circle for Asian American Literary Studies invites papers for a roundtable on “Marketing Asian American Literature.” We hope to engage with a variety of people on this topic–and from all angles (creating, publishing, teaching, studying, selling, publicizing, promoting). Since the popular reception of Maxine Hong Kingston’s WOMAN WARRIOR in 1976 and the even more widely received printing of Amy Tan’s THE JOY LUCK CLUB, Asian American literature has seen phenomenal success in the world of publishing as well as the academy. This roundtable wishes to examine, further, the “marketing” of Asian American literature–to consider the relationship of the consumer and issues of consumption in tandem with issues of epistemology and pedagogy.

Points of discussion for this roundtable can include (but should not be limited) to the following:
â–ª Who is consuming Asian American literature?
â–ª Where is the market for Asian American literature?
â–ª How do our classrooms operate as a potential marketplace for Asian American literature and is this in tension or complimentary to our goals of educating students about Asian American issues?
â–ª How is our role as literary critics and scholars of Asian American literature commensurate or in tension with the marketing of Asian American literature and writers?
▪ Is promoting Asian American literature the same as marketing Asian American literature–where do the commercial lines get drawn and who plays a role in these decisions of who creates, distributes, sells, and buys Asian American literature?

Please send one-page proposals and an abbreviated CV (2-pages) in the body of the e-mail message to both Jennifer Ho (jho (at) unc (dot) edu) and Michelle Rhee (myrhee (at) stanford (dot) edu) by 5 pm CDT on Monday, January 14, 2007. Address any queries to Jennifer & Michelle at the same e-mail addresses. Comments for each roundtable participant will be limited to 8 minutes to ensure a rich discussion with the conference attendees. Also, ALA rules allow for participants to serve on both a panel and a roundtable.