Transitive Cultures

Christopher B. Patterson

Published by Rutgers University Press 2018

Transitive Cultures

Anglophone Literature of the Transpacific

Christopher B. Patterson

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813591896

Overview
Contents

About this book

Texts written by Southeast Asian migrants have often been read, taught, and studied under the label of multicultural literature. But what if the ideology of multiculturalism—with its emphasis on authenticity and identifiable cultural difference—is precisely what this literature resists?

Transitive Cultures offers a new perspective on transpacific Anglophone literature, revealing how these chameleonic writers enact a variety of hybrid, transnational identities and intimacies. Examining literature from Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, as well as from Southeast Asian migrants in Canada, Hawaii, and the U.S. mainland, this book considers how these authors use English strategically, as a means for building interethnic alliances and critiquing ruling power structures in both Southeast Asia and North America. Uncovering a wealth of texts from queer migrants, those who resist ethnic stereotypes, and those who feel few ties to their ostensible homelands, Transitive Cultures challenges conventional expectations regarding diaspora and minority writers.

Author information

CHRISTOPHER B. PATTERSON is an assistant professor of humanities and creative writing at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Reviews

"Transitive Culturesis well-researched, eloquently written, and admirably ambitious in geographic and literary scope. Christopher B. Patterson's reframing of Anglophone literature stands to substantially enrich existing conversations among scholars in English studies, comparative literature, and Asian studies."

— Belinda Kong, author of Tiananmen Fictions Outside the Square

“An original introduction to twenty-first century literary criticism, Transitive Cultures illuminates for the first time the diachronic nodes of globalization, re-orienting its history in Southeast Asia, to link Asian decolonizing discourses with American disaporic, queer, and critical cultural studies.”

— Shirley Geok-lin Lim, author of Among the White Moon Faces, recipient of the American Book Award

"Transitive Culturesdeals with Anglophone Southeast Asian literature as complex cultural practices critical of multicultural governance handed down by Western colonialism. A deftly drawn map for approaching the most trenchant literary works of the region, Patterson's book is a much-needed guide for navigating the endless crisis of our ever-globalizing world."

— Vicente L. Rafael, author of Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language Amid Wars of Translation

New Books in Asian American Studies podcast interview with Christopher Patterson

— New Books in Asian American Studies podcast

"Transitive Culturesis especially and unreservedly recommended for college and academic library Contemporary Sociology collections, as well as the supplemental studies reading lists in Asian American Studies, Literary Studies, Cultural Studies, Race and Ethnic Studies."

— Midwest Book Review

"New Scholarly Books:Weekly Book List, May 25, 2018" by Nina C. Ayoub

— Chronicle of Higher Education

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction: Pluralism, Transition, and the Anglophone Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I: Histories
1. Multiracial Clans in Colorful Malaya Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
2. So That the Sparks That Fly Will Fly in All Directions: Pluralism and Revolution in the Philippines Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	59
Part II: Mobilities
3. Liberal Tolerance and Asian Migrancy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
4. Just an American Darker Than the Rest: On Queer Brown Exile Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
Part III: Genres
5. Mutant Hybrids Seek the Global Unconscious: Cynicism, Chick-Lit, Ecstasy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
6. Speculative Fiction and Authorial Transition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Conclusion: Identity, Authenticity, Collectivity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Works Cited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233

Language: English
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 256
Illustrations
- Other: 1 figure
Keywords: culture; race; colonial; pluralism; global; Asian; migrant; immigrant; Southeast Asia; Hawaii; North America; Asian American; diaspora; homeland; host; transpacific; literature; ethnic

eBook

Published: April 2, 2018
ISBN: 9780813591896