Overview

A variety of immigrant narratives probe the dynamic process of South Asian Americanization

Full Product Details

9781439903032

Table of Contents

Reviews

A sprawling study that combines ethnography, literary theory, and film criticism, jain's book looks closely at narratives of South Asian American identity that circulate through the media, fiction, and film...jain [provides] a series of skillful readings of diasporic fiction and films... [her] reading of Bharati Mukherjee's work, in particular, is compelling... jain's book doesn't offer any easy answers, but instead gives us more questions: What exactly are the stories of national, racial, and ethnic identity that we have been telling ourselves? Who is allowed into America's national narratives? And on whose terms? Hyphen magazine

How to Be South Asian in America analyzes narratives of nation to demonstrate their influence on contemporary possibilities for assimilation in the United States. What gives jain's book a fresh profile is its structure: she has chosen to analyze film, novels, and social history-in particular, the migration of Guyanese to Schenectady. This tripartite organization offers a more complete account than most other books on this topic, and the examples are all strong and well-argued. -John Hawley, Santa Clara University, and author of Amitav Ghosh: An Introduction

Author Information

anupama jain has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Union College, and Colby College. Her main academic interests are Anglophone and American narrative, postcolonial theory, utopianism, and social justice.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available