Reference no: EM133472980
Case Study: Read four stories from Souvankham Thammavongsa's, How to Pronounce Knife
"How to Pronounce Knife"
"Mani Pedi"
"Randi Travis"
Read Vincent J. Cheng's "Living Culture
Read selected poems from Monica Sok's, A Nail the Evening Hangs On, Sections I & II
Watch the film, The Missing Picture (https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/251277?vp=american)
Read selected readings from How Do I Begin? A Hmong American Literary Anthology
Read Ma Vang's "Introduction" in History on the Run: Secrecy, Fugitivity, and Hmong Refugee Epistemologies
ASSIGNMENT 1
Reflection
Your critical reaction should include two parts. You should start by summarizing then analyzing the assigned reading. When analyzing, keep the following questions in mind: how did the writer construct their argument/narrative? Why did the writer make these choices? The second half of your critical reaction is focused on your specific reaction to the piece. As you discuss your reaction, imagine your conversation with the writer. What concepts/ideas/choices that the writer made could you relate to in some way? And why? Or do your experiences conflict with this piece? Do you disagree? How does this piece speak to your own experiences and knowledge?
ASSIGNMENT 2
Please thoughtfully answer the following questions in complete sentences and include relevant textual evidence to support your answers. Aim for quality over quantity in your responses.
1. In what sense has the father in "How to Pronounce Knife" also won his child's prize in the end of the story? How does Vincent Chen's concept of "inauthenticity" inform your understanding of the struggles that Joy's family experiences as Laotian immigrants in their new homeland?
2. In her story, "Paris," Souvankham Thammavongsa portrays Red who desires to undergo a "nose job" as part of her dream of upward mobility in her predominant white society. How does Thammavongsa depict this futile assimilation, and what are the reasons behind it?
3. In "Mani Pedi," why does Raymond keep dreaming despite his sister telling him to keep his hopes low, and what obstacles stand in the way of him winning Emily over? Additionally, how does Raymond challenge the stereotypes about gender roles?
4. According to "Randy Travis," how does the father's demonstration of love for his wife differ from western displays of affection? How does the father "voluntarily and consciously perform inauthenticity"?
5. How does Monica Sok's writing reflect her identity as a daughter of Cambodian refugees, and how does she reconcile her family's history through poetry? How can art and writing act as a political intervention against the Khmer Rouge's hegemony?
6.Explain "heritage industry" in your own words based on Cheng's "Living Culture." Why do individuals feel the need to maintain their cultural "authenticity"?
7.Burlee Vang's How Do I Begin? introduces a variety of Hmong voices in a collection of poems and biographies of Hmong Americans. How do the poets address the theme of identity as they ponder what it means to be Hmong, American, and writers? In what ways are their experiences different and/or similar?
8.What is Ma Vang's argument in her book chapter, "History on the Run?"
9.How does Ma Vang reconfigure "secrecy" as refugee epistemology?
10.How does "soldiering" play out in the US hegemonic narrative of "rescue and liberation"? According to Yen Le Espiritu, how is "soldiering" intended to bolster the United States' reputation as a "benevolent liberal empire"?