“Adopting” Asian America

This panel will investigate the variety of ways in which Asian America has been “adopted,” especially vis a vis Asian American texts (literature, film, journalism, criticism, commercial imagery, and so on), together with attendant consequences of such “adoptive” relationships.

Proposed papers may address such questions as the following: In what sense and to what ends have academic departments or the more broadly defined American Academy “adopted” Asian America? What are the implicit and explicit costs of this “adoption”? Are there any benefits — and, if so, are such benefits mutual or one-sided? To what extent is such “adoption” reflected in (or to what degree is it a reflection of) larger American/Asian American relationships, tensions, or conflicts? How has Asian America deliberately or inadvertently invited or acquiesced to its own “adoption”? How are “adoptive” relationships or issues compounded in the Asian American classroom? How are these relationships/issues further compounded when the instructor in the classroom is not Asian American? or is Asian American? Has Asian America (or Asian American art or criticism) in any sense created itself as “adopted”? What are the ramifications of academic departments’ embracing Asian American literature, film, journalism, commercial imagery, and so on as “adopted” rather than “naturally born”? Are the relationships between academia and Asian America different from those between academia and other “ethnic Americas”? What will be the conclusion of Asian America’s existing “adoptive” relationships? Will “adopted” Asian America grow up and away from current “guardians” — or is “adoption” perpetual?

Please email paper proposals (in MSWord or WordPerfect format) to Keith Lawrence at keith.lawrence@byu.edu — or send a hard copy of your proposal to: Prof. Keith Lawrence, English Department, 4175 JFSB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602. All proposals must be received by 15 January 2008.