Our ethnicity is defined both by how we are seen and how we see ourselves. We'll look at how Asian American writers construct themselves and the body of Asian American literature in their writing. We'll read work by longtime masters like Frank Chin and John Akada as well as the distinctly contemporary voices of Lois Ann Yamanaka, Susan Choi, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Chang Rae Lee, to name a few. We'll examine historical, political, and social contexts as well as issues of writerly craft like voice and point of view. In turn, we'll explore how ethnic identity is constructed in our own lives. While previous creative writing courses are not a prerequisite, the approach to this course will be a creative one: participants will invent oral and written narratives that reflect the reader's understanding, and engage the writer's imagination.