American Literature: Stories of Immigration

Explore this Unique Take on Immigration Stories

Immigration has once again taken center stage in the national spotlight, giving artists, writers and thinkers another opportunity to consider and help reimagine the complex possibilities and outcomes of intermingling human perspectives from a creative standpoint. It is often said that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, whose various cultural backgrounds have helped shape what America is.

This course centers thematically around the immigration stations of Ellis Island on the East Coast and Angel Island on the West Coast. We will explore the ways that acclaimed authors, including Maxine Hong Kingston and Piri Thomas, have used literature to express what it means to be an immigrant, or a child of immigrants, in America. We will read narratives now considered classics in the literature of immigration, as well as contemporary pieces, portraying immigrant experiences from China, Japan, Russian Poland, Africa and Latin America. Through these texts we will investigate the ways that immigrant identity influences both the lives of those who made the journey and the lives of their descendants.

Topics Covered:

• Diaspora
• The "Other"
• Assimilation
• Compliance and resistance to institutions
• Love
• Family
• The American Dream

Course Number: LIT-40022
Credit: 2.00 unit(s)
Related Certificate Programs: Creative Writing

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9/28/2023 - 11/2/2023

$305

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• SECTION ID:

  175768

• CLASS TYPE:

  Synchronous web-based class meetings that are scheduled to meet online at published times (time/date).

• INSTRUCTOR:
  

  Burress, Christina, A poet and teacher whose work has appeared in publications such as San Diego Poetry Annual, Bombay Gin, Not Enough Night, The Alembic and Admit Two.

  Christina Burress is a poet and teacher. She teaches Forms of Poetry for UC San Diego Extension's Creative Writing Certificate Program . Her work has appeared in publications such as San Diego Poetry Annual, Bombay Gin, Not Enough Night, The Alembic, Admit Two and the Coe Review. She has taught a variety of poetry classes at UC San Diego Extension since 2010. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Naropa university and a bachelor's degree in rhetoric from UC Berkeley.

• TEXTBOOKS:

  No textbook required.

• POLICIES:

  No refunds after: 10/4/2023.
  Early Enrollment Discount: $280 ($305 if enrolled after 9/4/2023).
  

• NOTE:

  This class will be delivered live online via Zoom. The instructor will email the Zoom link to all students the week before class. If you do not receive this email, reach out to ahl@ucsd.edu

DATE	DAY	START	END	LOCATION
9/28/2023	Thu	6:00 p.m.	9:00 p.m.
10/5/2023	Thu	6:00 p.m.	9:00 p.m.
10/12/2023	Thu	6:00 p.m.	9:00 p.m.
10/19/2023	Thu	6:00 p.m.	9:00 p.m.
10/26/2023	Thu	6:00 p.m.	9:00 p.m.
11/2/2023	Thu	6:00 p.m.	9:00 p.m.