CFP: Journal of American Studies of Turkey, Special Issue on Asian American Studies

Tanfer Emin Tunc Announcement
Location
Turkey
Subject Fields
American History / Studies, Asian American History / Studies, Race / Ethnic Studies, Literature, Immigration & Migration History / Studies

 

Journal of American Studies of Turkey (JAST): Special Issue on Asian American Studies

Guest edited by Nina Ha, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia

In Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, Cathy Park Hong writes: “In the popular imagination, Asian Americans inhabit a vague purgatorial status: not white enough nor black enough; distrusted by African Americans, ignored by whites, unless we’re being used by whites to keep the black man down. … We have a content problem. They think we have no inner resources.” Such texts seek to intervene in the struggle of Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans (APIDA) to be seen and heard while challenging the “model minority” stereotype that persists, decades after the term was coined in the 1980s. With narratives from Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen’s work The Sympathizer to Sejal Shah’s critically acclaimed memoir This is One Way To Dance, not to mention Jenny Han’s highly successful teenage romantic literary and Netflix series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, Asian American literature has made an impact beyond Asian and Asian American Studies.

Perhaps the reason why these works resonate with readers and audiences is because, as Cathy Park Hong conveys, “Minor feelings are not often featured in contemporary American literature because these emotions do not conform to the archetypal narrative that highlights survival and self-determination. Unlike the organizing principles of a bildungsroman, minor feelings are not generated from major change but from lack of change, in particular, structural racial and economic change.” Many of these stories address “minor feelings” that may not always shift or create structural or social movements. Rather, the shift comes from exploring new perspectives that only declare these emotions as “minor,” but nonetheless have a major effect. An examination of these stories and the APIDA communities that share and demonstrate these “minor feelings” is quite necessary and relevant.

The guest editor of this issue of JAST seeks original, previously unpublished manuscripts that examine these issues within the context of Asian American Studies. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Asian American narratives, literature and theory

  • Asian American theater, drama, film and performance studies

  • Asian Americans and intersectionality

  • Asian American women, feminism, and solidarity

  • Masculinity studies, critical race theory, and Asian American Studies

  • APIDA cultural studies; food studies

  • Is there an Asian American “canon”?

  • The politics of Asian American Studies in American academia

  • Teaching Asian American Studies within, and/or outside of, the US

  • How do US-centric viewpoints exclude other types/definitions of Asian America?

  • Globalization, citizenship, (im)migration, and mobility

  • Hybridity, diaspora, and (forced) displacement

  • The global pandemic and Asian American communities

  • Collaboration/community among Asian Americans and with other racialized/minoritized groups

  • Asian Americans, the internet and social media outlets (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tik Tok)

  • APIDA organizing techniques (consciousness raising, collectives, manifestos, grassroots activism)

  • Asian American activism and global issues such as AIDS, sexual slavery, sex work/tourism, war/peace, violence, domestic abuse, natural disasters, sweatshop labor, economic exploitation, food production/distribution, consumerism, disability, art and popular culture, the beauty industry, the media, sports, critiques of capitalism, political oppression, human rights, BLM, LGBTQ+ rights, NGOs, reproductive rights, healthcare provision, education/literacy, and the environment

 

Full-text manuscripts of between 6,000 and 8,000 words in MLA style (with parenthetical internal citations, a Works Cited page, minimal footnotes, and in Times New Roman 12-point font), should be emailed as Microsoft Word attachments to Nina Ha (nina.ha2005@gmail.com) by March 31, 2021. Please include an abstract (150 words), keywords, and a one-paragraph bio (150 words, written in the third-person) with all manuscripts. Topic inquiries are welcome prior to full-text submission.

Contact Information

Dr. Nina Ha, Guest Editor

Contact Email
nina.ha2005@gmail.com