This course introduces students to the diverse traditions and key debates in Asian American writing, paying special attention to historical, social, and political contexts that shape our understanding of literature. Beginning with scholarship that characterize Asian American culture as inherently heterogeneous and capacious, we will explore the coalitional possibilities and incommensurabilities within and beyond Asian American narratives. We will examine key themes pertinent to Asian American literature such as immigration and exclusion, militarism and refugee displacement, colonization, gender, and sexuality.