ENGL 077. South Asians in America

Cross-listed as ASAM 066
This class surveys a century of migration from the Indian subcontinent to the United States. Two questions will guide our readings and discussion: First, what does it mean to identify as South Asian? Second, how do new ethnic identities expand our understanding of what it means to be American? In this interdisciplinary class, we’ll read Pulitzer Prize winning authors Jhumpa Lahiri and Ayad Akhtar; discuss what it means to identify as “brown” or “Muslim” after 9/11; and explore the lives of South Asian teenagers in Silicon Valley; political activists in New York City; and workers and artists nationwide. Throughout our readings, we will explore how ethnicity is shaped by differences of gender, religion, sexuality and class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature

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