Profile of <span>Jennifer Wang</span>
Office
Axinn Center at Starr Library 312
Tel
(802) 443-2130
Email
jfwang@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Spring 2024: 3:45-5:00pm

Courses Taught

Course Description

Senior Thesis
A senior thesis is normally completed over two semesters. During Fall and Winter terms, or Winter and Spring terms, students will write a 35-page (article length) comparative essay, firmly situated in literary analysis. Students are responsible for identifying and arranging to work with their primary language and secondary language readers, and consulting with the program director before completing the CMLT Thesis Declaration form. (Approval required.)

Terms Taught

Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Reading Literature
Please refer to each section for specific course descriptions.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

Requirements

CW, LIT

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Course Description

Asian American Pop!
From boba to K-pop, Asian diasporic culture is undeniably the shared lexicon of a global mainstream. In this course, we will engage with recent literary, televisual, and cinematic works to discern what they express about Asian American history, identity, and cultural politics. What is the difference between appropriation and authenticity? What can “popular” representations tell us about “serious” topics such as capitalism, citizenship, and empire? How does Asian American popular culture enact collective desires for belonging and memory? In particular, we will attend to the gendered and sexual circuits of cultural formation, with units on Asian American girlhood and queer diasporas. Texts include: Flower Drum Song, Crazy Rich Asians, and Master of None. Authors may include: Ocean Vuong and Lysley Tenorio. (not open to students who have taken FYSE 1562) 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Spring 2022

Requirements

AMR, LIT

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Course Description

Multi-Ethnic American Literature
This course introduces multi-ethnic literature by studying the relationship between racial formation and literary representation. How is race constituted and what role does literature play in the process? How are cultural representations of racialized difference formed in relation to its historical, material, and social conditions? We will critically analyze the nested issues of labour, law, and migration that have shaped Black, Indigenous, and Asian presence within North America. From there, we explore the themes of assimilation, multiculturalism, diaspora, and American empire in order to track the trajectory of minoritarian literature throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Authors may include: Maxine Hong Kingston, Tomson Highway, Toni Morrison, and Viet Nguyen. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (REC)

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, NOR

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Course Description

Race, Dystopia, and Contemporary Fiction
What happens to race after the world ends? From environmental disasters to zombie invasions, the radical breakdown of human life haunts the cultural imaginary. A specific development within this cultural trend is the emergence of writers of colour who have turned to the dystopian and speculative genre. We will read such literary texts to consider representations of racial subjectivities, such as the lived experiences and perceptions of race, outside the conventions of realism. Themes that we will cover include: Afrofuturism, techno-Orientalism, zombies, cyborgs, and climate change. Authors include: Junot Diaz, Colson Whitehead, Chang-rae Lee, Octavia Butler, and Louise Erdrich. 3 hrs. lect/disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT

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Course Description

Reading Race in the 21st Century
This course surveys multi-ethnic American literature by exploring processes of racial formation through literature and literary representations produced in the 21st century. We will study both the continuities and divergences in contemporary Black, Indigenous, and Asian American literary productions from their historical iterations. What shifts have taken place in the multi-ethnic literary canon and tradition between the past to current centuries? We will engage with themes such as the rise of genre fiction, changes to the literary marketplace, and the status of “national literature” in the global age. Authors include: Colson Whitehead, Chang-rae Lee, Louise Erdrich, and Jhumpa Lahiri. (While ENAM0115 Introduction to Multi-Ethnic American Literature is not a prerequisite, it is encouraged.) 3hrs. sem. (REC)

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, NOR

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Course Description

Radical Fictions: Protests, Refuge, Revolution
The key premise of this course is to ask: Why are successful revolutions so difficult to imagine in contemporary literature? Minority authors often depict social movements, which strive to install those who were previously oppressed into positions of power and self-determination, to varying degrees of fulfillment. From historical precedents (the Black Power movement) to speculative societies that exclude men (feminist utopias), we will examine literary representations of political movements, refuges, and revolutions defined by power reversals. What can we learn from their shortcomings as much as their successes? Theoretical works include: Hegel, Marx, Fanon, Hannah Arendt, Valerie Solanas, and the Combahee River Collective. Authors include: Ralph Ellison, Danzy Senna, Paul Beatty, Susan Choi, Don Lee, R. O. Kwon, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

Requirements

LIT

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Reading Race in the 21st Century
This course surveys multi-ethnic American literature by investigating processes of racial formation through literary representations produced in the 21st-century. We will study the continuities and divergences in contemporary Black, Indigenous, and Asian American literary productions from their historical iterations. What shifts have taken place in the multi-ethnic literary canon and tradition between the past to current centuries? How has the 21st century yielded new or alternate ways of telling familiar stories? What are the different forms and genres that BIPOC authors turn to in order to articulate social concerns? We will engage with themes such as the rise of genre fiction, changes to the literary marketplace, and the status of “national literature” in the global age. Authors may include: Colson Whitehead, Chang-rae Lee, Louise Erdrich, or Jhumpa Lahiri. (While ENAM0115 Introduction to Multi-Ethnic American Literature is not a prerequisite, it is encouraged.) 3hrs. sem. (REC)

Terms Taught

Spring 2022

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, NOR

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Course Description

Special Project: Literature
Approval Required.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022

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Course Description

Senior Thesis: Critical Writing
Individual guidance and seminar (discussions, workshops, tutorials) for those undertaking one-term projects in literary criticism or analysis. All critical thesis writers also take the Senior Thesis Workshop (ENAM 700Z) in either Fall or Spring Term.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022

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Course Description

Asian American Indie Cinema
From The Joy Luck Club (1993) to Crazy Rich Asians (2018), we have seen Asian American films sporadically achieve mainstream and commercial success in the last few decades. In these discussions, however, less attention is often paid to the rich and storied tradition of Asian American independent cinema. From its inception, Asian American cinema has necessarily had to be “independently” produced and distributed due to the historical, political, and material circumstances of Asian American racial formation. In this course we will survey, view, and analyze selections from the canon of Asian American indie cinema. What social themes do Asian American filmmakers engage with in their works? Which cinematic traditions do they borrow from or re-envision? Films studied may include: Chan Is Missing (1982), Double Happiness (1994), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Saving Face (2004), and Minari (2020).

Terms Taught

Winter 2022

Requirements

AMR, ART, NOR, WTR

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Course Description

Reading Literature
Please refer to each section for specific course descriptions.(Formerly ENAM 0103)

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

CW, LIT

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Asian American Pop!
From boba to K-pop, Asian diasporic culture is undeniably the shared lexicon of a global mainstream. In this course, we will engage with recent literary, televisual, and cinematic works to discern what they express about Asian American history, identity, and cultural politics. What is the difference between appropriation and authenticity? What can “popular” representations tell us about “serious” topics such as capitalism, citizenship, and empire? How does Asian American popular culture enact collective desires for belonging and memory? In particular, we will attend to the gendered and sexual circuits of cultural formation, with units on Asian American girlhood and queer diasporas. Texts include: Flower Drum Song, Crazy Rich Asians, and Master of None. Authors may include: Ocean Vuong and Lysley Tenorio. (not open to students who have taken FYSE 1562) 3 hrs. sem. (Formerly ENAM 0112)

Terms Taught

Fall 2022, Spring 2024

Requirements

AMR, LIT

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Multi-Ethnic American Literature
This course introduces multi-ethnic literature by studying the relationship between racial formation and literary representation. How is race constituted and what role does literature play in the process? How are cultural representations of racialized difference formed in relation to its historical, material, and social conditions? We will critically analyze the nested issues of labour, law, and migration that have shaped Black, Indigenous, and Asian presence within North America. From there, we explore the themes of assimilation, multiculturalism, diaspora, and American empire in order to track the trajectory of minoritarian literature throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Authors may include: Maxine Hong Kingston, Tomson Highway, Toni Morrison, and Viet Nguyen. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (REC). (Formerly ENAM 0115)

Terms Taught

Fall 2022

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Multi-Ethnic American Literature
This course introduces multi-ethnic literature by studying the relationship between racial formation and literary representation. What role does literature play in the process of racialization? How are cultural representations of racialized difference formed in relation to its historical, material, and social conditions? We will critically analyze the nested issues of labour, law, and migration that have shaped Black, Indigenous, and Asian presence within North America. From there, we will explore the themes of assimilation, multiculturalism, diaspora, and empire in order to track the trajectory of minoritarian literature throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Authors may include: Maxine Hong Kingston, Tomson Highway, and Toni Morrison. (REC)

Terms Taught

Fall 2023

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, SOC

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Reading Race in the 21st Century
This course surveys multi-ethnic American literature by exploring processes of racial formation through literature and literary representations produced in the 21st century. We will study both the continuities and divergences in contemporary Black, Indigenous, and Asian American literary productions from their historical iterations. What shifts have taken place in the multi-ethnic literary canon and tradition between the past to current centuries? We will engage with themes such as the rise of genre fiction, changes to the literary marketplace, and the status of “national literature” in the global age. Authors include: Colson Whitehead, Chang-rae Lee, Louise Erdrich, and Jhumpa Lahiri. (While ENGL 0115 Introduction to Multi-Ethnic American Literature is not a prerequisite, it is encouraged.) 3hrs. sem. (Students must have previously taken either ENGL 0103 or one course with a REC tag in order to register. ) (Formerly ENAM 0306)

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, NOR

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Course Description

The Millennial Novel
In describing the essential features of the “millennial novel,” author Brandon Taylor insists, “What matters are the vibes.” Historically, the millennial novel is produced by authors born between 1981 and 1996. Thematically, it is distinguished by how “more female, queer, and BIPOC characters get to confront the impending collapse of society.” In this course, we will study the new genre of the millennial novel by reading its exemplary texts such as Private Citizens, Luster, Such a Fun Age, and Severance. Along the way, we will supplement the novel form with other millennial aesthetics, such as the music of Taylor Swift, the cinema of Emerald Fennell, and television shows by Issa Rae and Michaela Coel. This is an advanced course, so it is strongly recommended that you have completed previous ENGL coursework. Sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2023

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, SOC

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Reading Race in the 21st Century
This course studies multi-ethnic literature by exploring how racial formation is represented through literature produced in the 21st century. We will study both the continuities and divergences in contemporary Black, Indigenous, and Asian American literary productions from their historical iterations. What shifts have taken place in the multi-ethnic literary canon and tradition between the past to current centuries? We will engage with themes such as the rise of genre fiction, changes to the literary marketplace, and the status of “national literature” in the global age. Authors may include: Colson Whitehead, Chang-rae Lee, Louise Erdrich, and Jhumpa Lahiri. (While ENGL 0224 Multi-Ethnic American Literature is not a prerequisite, it is encouraged.) 3hrs. sem. (This is an advanced course, so it is strongly recommended that you have completed previous ENGL coursework.) (Formerly ENGL 0306) 3hrs. sem. (REC)

Terms Taught

Spring 2024

Requirements

AMR, CMP, LIT, NOR

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Special Project: Literature
Approval Required. (Formerly ENAM 0500)

Terms Taught

Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Senior Thesis: Critical Writing
Individual guidance and seminar (discussions, workshops, tutorials) for those undertaking one-term projects in literary criticism or analysis. All critical thesis writers also take the Senior Thesis Workshop (ENAM 700Z) in either Fall or Spring Term. (Formerly ENAM 0700)

Terms Taught

Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Race and Representation
In this seminar we explore cultural representations of race in popular and mass media. How are racial identity and racial difference represented in the media around us? What political, historical, and social contexts shape racial representations? Conversely, how might cultural representations of race shed light on its politics and histories? The foundational premise of this course is that popular culture has much to tell us about “serious” topics, such as capitalism, state violence, and structural inequities. We will commit to the idea that the pieces of culture we consume for fun or entertainment are worthy of critical study and rigorous critique. In this vein, we will critically analyze popular cultural texts that span a wide range of media, such as literature, television, film, and music. 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2021

Requirements

CW, SOC

View in Course Catalog