Beyond the Borders: American Literature and Post-Colonial Theory

This book challenges the boundaries of postcolonial theory. Focusing on American literature, it examines how America's own imperial history has shaped the literature that has emerged from America, from Native American, Latino, Black and Asian-American writers. They contrast this with postcolonial literature from countries whose history has been shaped by American colonialism, from Canada, Central America and the Caribbean to Hawaii, Indonesia and Vietnam. It explores questions about national identity and multiculturalism: why, for instance, is a Native writer categorised within 'American literature' if writing on one side of the border, but as 'Canadian' and 'postcolonial' if writing on the other? This is a challenging collection that raises questions not only about the boundaries of postcolonial theory, but also about ethnicity and multiculturalism, and the impact of immigration and assimilation.

Table of Contents:
Introduction ETHNIC LITERATURE AND POST-COLONIALISM 1. Indigenous Literatures and Postcolonial Theories: Reading from Comparative Frames Chadwick Allen, Ohio State University POST-COLONIALISM AT HOME 2. ‘Going Into a Whole Different Country’: Postcolonial ‘Nation’-hood in Native American Literature Lee Schweninger and Cara Cilano, University of North Carolina, Wilmington 3. Origin Story: On Being a White Native American(ist) John Peacock, Maryland Institute College of Art 4. Counter-Discursive Strategies in Contemporary Chicana Writing Deborah L. Madsen, University of Geneva 5. ‘At Least One Negro Everywhere’: African American Travel Writing Alasdair Pettinger 6. Unsettling Asian-American Literature: When More than America is in the Heart Rajini Srikanth, University of Massachusetts, Boston 7. Forging a Postcolonial Identity: Women of Chinese Ancestry Writing in English Mary Condé, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London 8. Border Crossings: Filipino American Literature in the United States Angela Noelle Williams, San Jose State University 9. Reading the Literatures of Hawai’i under an Americanist Rubric Paul Lyons, University of Hawai’i—Manoa POST-COLONIALISM IN THE BORDER REGIONS 10. Writing Migrations: The Place(s) of U.S. Puerto Rican Literature Frances R. Aparicio, University of Illinois 11. Diasporic Disconnections: Insurrection and Forgetfulness in Contemporary Haitian and Latin-Caribbean Women’s Literature Myriam J. A. Chancy, Arizona State University 12. Reclaiming Maps and Metaphors: Canadian First Nations and Narratives of Place Richard J. Lane, University of Debrecen 13. Thomas King and Contemporary Indigenous Identities Laura Peters, University of Surrey, Roehampton AMERICAN POST-COLONIALISM AT HOME AND ABROAD 14. Vietnamese and Vietnamese American Literature in a Postcolonial Context Renny Christopher, California State University, Channel Islands 15. Politics, Pleasure and Intertextuality in Contemporary Southeast Asian Women’s Writing Julie Shackford-Bradley, California State University, Monterey Bay 16. U.S. and US: American Literatures of Immigration and Assimilation Geraldine Stoneham, London South Bank University Notes on Contributors Index

About the Author :
Deborah Madsen is Professor American Literature at the University of Geneva. Her previous books are Post-Colo Literatures (Pluto Press, 1999) Feminist Theory and Literary Practice (Pluto Press, 2000).

Review :
"a mass of interesting stuff here that scholars in the field will want to read" Dr Maria Lauret, School of English and American Studies, Sussex. 'This collection of essays on the field of post-colonial studies, offers perspectives on texts from both sides of the Atlantic, challenging the emerging consensus on post-colonial literatures in the process. The contributors dicuss a diversity of related topics, from case studies of specific authors to theoretical investigations of such fundamental questions as the role of literary study within multicultural societies.' Review of Post-Colonial Literatures