Synopses & Reviews
What will the future look like? To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, from Blade Runner to Cloud Atlas, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising.and#160;and#160;The collectionandrsquo;s fourteen original essays trace the discourse of techno-orientalism across a wide array of media, from radio serials to cyberpunk novels, from Sax Rohmerandrsquo;s Dr. Fu Manchu to Firefly. and#160;Applying a variety of theoretical, historical, and interpretive approaches, the contributors consider techno-orientalism a truly global phenomenon. In part, they tackle the key question of how these stereotypes serve to both express and assuage Western anxieties about Asiaandrsquo;s growing cultural influence and economic dominance. Yet the book also examines artists who have appropriated techno-orientalist tropes in order to critique racist and imperialist attitudes.and#160;and#160;Techno-Orientalism is the first collection to define and critically analyze a phenomenon that pervades both science fiction and real-world news coverage of Asia. With essays on subjects ranging from wartime rhetoric of race and technology to science fiction by contemporary Asian American writers to the cultural implications of Korean gamers, this volume offers innovative perspectives and broadens conventional discussions in Asian American Cultural studies.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Review
"The brilliance of Huangs work is that she makes readers rethink and reconsider genres that are often interfaced with and considered in reductive ways."--Asian American Literature Fans
“Huang does a masterful job of interrogating genres relationship to knowledge production. In her efforts to develop a ‘transformative Asian American politics of form, Huang treats both established and emergent Asian American writers and through her focus on three highly structured types of genre fiction--immigrant fiction, crime fiction, and science fiction--she encourages critics to not just read familiar texts differently, but to read a variety of texts that dont currently rest easily within the rubric of ‘Asian American literature. This project should cement Huangs position as a leading scholar in the field of Asian American genre criticism.”--Tina Chen, The Pennsylvania State University and author of Double Agency: Acts of Impersonation in Asian American Literature and Culture
“Contesting Genres in Contemporary Asian American Fiction broadens and invigorates critical studies of genres in Asian American literature, offering nuanced, theoretically informed analyses of generic characteristics, including those of crime fiction and science fiction. It makes a compelling argument for the necessity to understand genres as social constructs, as modes of knowledge production, and as disciplinary techniques of subject constitution.”--Zhou Xiaojing, Professor of English, University of the Pacific
Review
andquot;Situating itself at the nexus of Asian and Asian American Studies, Techno-Orientalism covers an exciting range of topics and draws productive connections between literature, popular culture, technology, and the emergent geopolitics of what has been called the Pacific Century. This collection is a vital contribution to global media and cultural studies.andquot;
Review
andquot;and#39;Techno-orientalismand#39; is everywhere. This volume demonstrates for the first time that it is an indispensable critical category for contemporary thought. Any attempt to think globalization, neo-liberalism, and the human is incomplete without it.andquot;
Synopsis
This book answers recent calls in criticism and theory to examine the influence of genre on contemporary Asian American literary production. Drawing on cultural theories of representation, social theories of identity, and poststructuralist genre theory, this study shows how popular prose fictions have severely constrained the development of Asian American literary aesthetics.
Synopsis
The twelve essays in Women and Wealth in Late Medieval Europe re-examine the vexing issue of women, money, wealth, and power from distinctive perspectives-literature, history, architectural history-using new archival sources. The contributors examine how money and changing attitudes toward wealth affected power relations between women and men of all ranks, especially the patriarchal social forces that constrained the range of women's economic choices. Employing theories on gender, culture, and power, this volume reveals wealth as both the motive force in gender relations and a precise indicator of other, more subtle, forms of power and influence mediated by gender.
Synopsis
This book examines the influence of genre on contemporary Asian American literary production. Drawing on cultural theories of representation, social theories of identity, and poststructuralist genre theory, this study shows how popular prose fictions have severely constrained the development of Asian American literary aesthetics.
Synopsis
To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising.and#160;and#160;
About the Author
DAVID S. ROH is an assistant professor of American literature and digital humanities at Old Dominion University. He is the author ofand#160;Illegal Literature: Toward a Disruptive Creativity.and#160;BETSY HUANG is an associate professor of English and chief officer of Diversity and Inclusion at Clark University. She is the author of Contesting Genres in Contemporary Asian American Fiction.and#160;and#160;GRETA A. NIU earned her Ph.D. in English from Duke University and has taught at SUNY Brockport, University of Rochester, and St. John Fisher College.and#160;and#160;
Table of Contents
Introduction: “Generic” Asian Americans? * Troubling the Generic Waters * “Regenreing” Fictions of Asian America * Chapter One: Generic Sui Generis: On Asian American Immigrant Fiction * Genres of Assimilationism * le thi diem thuy and The “I” We Are All Looking For * Chang-rae Lee and the Counter-Gestures of Life Writing * Chapter Two: Recriminations: On Asian American Crime Fiction * Criminalizing Asian America * The Offenses of Charlie Chan and Chinatown * The Difficult Case of Asian American Crime Fiction * Dashiell Hammetts Chinatown: “Dead Yellow Women” * Wayne Wangs Chinatown: Chan Is Missing * Ed Lins Chinatown: This Is a Bust * Susan Chois Radical Recriminations: American Woman * Chapter Three: Reorientations: On Asian American Science Fiction * Alienating Asian America * Retooling Asian American Fiction, Regenreing Science Fiction * Exemplary Estrangement: Ted Chiangs Story of Your Life * Mechanical Aspirations: Greg Paks Robot Stories * Future Imperfect: Cynthia Kadohatas In the Heart of the Valley of Love * Conclusion: The Genre is the Message