Rutgers University Press Writing the Ghetto: Class, Authorship, and the Asian American Ethnic Enclave (The American Literatures Initiative)

Review "Chang's argument is nuanced, provocatively counterintuitive, and occasionally dizzying. Writing the Ghetto is an important text not only for Asian American scholars, but for American and ethnic studies scholars interested in interrogating the politics, economics, and ethics of belonging."-- "Modern Fiction Studies""Chang's excellent book makes a compelling case for why Asian American critics need to use the 'ghetto' as a paradigm and marshals ample evidence to show the ways Asian American literature supports such a provocative claim."--Viet Thanh Nguyen "author of Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America""Yoonmee Chang's elegantly written, deftly argued, and meticulously developed Writing the Ghetto makes a valuable contribution to our understanding and appreciation of Asian American social history and literature. This is an important book."--Elaine H. Kim "University of California, Berkeley" Product Description In the US, perhaps no minority group is considered as “model” or successful as the Asian American community. Rather than living in ominous ghettoes, Asian Americans are described as residing in positive-sounding ethnic enclaves. This helps clarify the hidden or unspoken class inequalities faced by Asian Americans, while insightfully analyzing the effect such notions have had on their literary voices. About the Author Yoonmee Chang is an associate professor of English and an affiliate of cultural studies at George Mason University.