Transpacific American Literature: Curriculum, Cartography, Crossover

Abstract

This essay considers the complications involved in constructing and delivering a university course on Transpacific American Literature. It analyses these complexities in terms of the intertextual relationship between transpacific and transatlantic literature. It also examines ways in which various forms of cartography have shaped ways in which the subject has been formulated. By focusing on the specific exampleofMaxine Hong Kingston’s narratives, this essay suggests ways in which Southeast Asia operates as a fulcrum in her work for a reverse mapping of the subject, in relation to both space and time. In this sense, it argues that transpacific American literature sheds light on the constitution of the history and geography of American literature more broadly.