ENG 660/CRN 32591
Spring 2011
Fictions of U.S. Empire
Professor Tolentino
W 9:00 – 11:50 in PLC 253
Office hours: W 12-1; R 3:30-5:30, 444 PLC
E-mail: ctol@uoregon.edu
Content
This course focuses on the U.S. island territories that resulted from the SpanishAmerican War of 1898, particularly Hawai`i, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Some of
the questions that we will ask include: Where and when do Hawai`i, the Philippines, and
Puerto Rico enter into the U.S. cultural and political imagination? How have writers and
critics portrayed the U.S. colonies? In what ways have U.S. colonial subjects explored the
social, political, and cultural meanings of their relationship with the U.S. nation?
To investigate issues of historical memory, unclear sovereignty, and questions of
agency, we will discuss such twentieth century novels as Noel Alumit’s Letters to
Montgomery Clift, René Marqués’s La Carreta/The Oxcart, and Lois Ann Yamanaka’s
Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre, critical essays in American Studies and
postcolonial studies by scholars that include Homi Bhabha, Frantz Fanon, Vicente Rafael,
and William Appleman Williams; the Hollywood musical film Blue Hawaii as well as the
documentaries Act of War and Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire, 1898-1904. In the
concluding weeks, we will consider narratives that examine U.S. cultural and political
influence in sites that are not formal U.S. colonies.
Books
Noel Alumit, Letters to Montgomery Clift (2002)
Lawrence Chua, Gold by the Inch (1999)
Mona Simpson, My Hollywood (2010)
Lois Ann Yamanaka, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre (1993)
Books are available for purchase at the University of Oregon Bookstore or on 2-hour loan
from Knight Library Course Reserves. Articles and three novellas (marked ‘B’ on
Schedule) are in the Course Documents folder on the Blackboard course page.
Assignments and Evaluation
• 1 page typed, single spaced, response for each class, due April 20 and June 1 (30%)
• 500 word abstract due May 11 and 8-10 page comparative essay due May 23 (40%)
• Group Presentation and 1 page handout (10%)
• Participation (20%)
• Attendance Policy: After 2 unexcused absences (absences without a doctor’s note or
acceptable documentation), you will no longer eligible for a grade in the course.
• Assignment deadlines are firm. No late assignments will be accepted without prior
permission. All assignments must be completed by June 1.
If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this
course, please make an appointment to meet with me soon.
SCHEDULE
I. AT HOME AND ABROAD
Week 1
Perspectives on 1898
W 3/30
Introduction
Film: Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire: 1898-1904 (1995, dir. Pennee Bender, 30
min.)
Week 2
The Invisibility of U.S. Empire
W 4/6
David Kazanjian, “Colonial.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce
Burgett and Glen Hendler. New York: New York University Press, 2008. 52-56. B
Shelley Streeby, “Empire.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce Burgett
and Glen Hendler. New York: New York University Press, 2008. 95-100. B
William Appleman Williams, “The Frontier Thesis and American Foreign Policy,”
Pacific Historical Review 24 (November 1955): 379-395. B
Film: Act of War: Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation (1993; dir. Joan Lander, 58 min.)
Week 3
Colonial Domesticity
W 4/13
Roderick Ferguson, “Race.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce
Burgett and Glen Hendler. New York: New York University Press, 2008. 191-196. B
John Dominis Holt, Waimea Summer. Honolulu, HI: Topgallant Publishing Co., Ltd.,
1976. B
Lois Ann Yamanaka, Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre
II.
IMPERIAL ROMANCE
Week 4
Romancing the Empire
W 4/20
Allan Punzalan Isaac, “Imperial Romance: Framing Manifest Destiny in the Pacific.”
American Tropics: Articulating Filipino America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 2006. 79-120. B
Film: Blue Hawaii (dir. Norman Taurog, 1961; 101 min.)
Tolentino - Fictions of U.S. Empire
2 of 3
Week 5
Foreign Nationals/Limited Sovereignty
W 4/27
Juan Gonzalez, “Puerto Ricans: Citizens Yet Foreigners”; “Puerto Rico, USA:
Possessed and Unwanted.” Harvest of Empire. New York: Viking Books, 2000.
81-95; 246-267. B
René Marqués, La Carreta/The Oxcart. Translated by Charles Pilditch. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1954. B
Week 6
Colonialism and Domesticity
W 5/4
Rosemary Marangoly George, “Domestic.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Eds. Bruce Burgett and Glen Hendler. New York: New York University Press, 2008.
88-92. B
Ana Lydia Vega, “Miss Florence’s Trunk.” True and False Romances: Stories and a
Novella. Translated by Andrew Hurley. London: Serpent’s Tail Publishing, Ltd., 1994. B
Vicente Rafael, “Colonial Domesticity: White Women and United States Rule in the
Philippines.” American Literature, 67 (1995): 639-666. B
Week 7
Race, Desire, and Sexuality
W 5/11
Noel Alumit, Letters to Montgomery Clift
III.
GLOBALIZATION
Week 8
Family Ties
W 5/18
Lisa Lowe, “Globalization.” Keywords for American Cultural Studies. 120-122. B
Mona Simpson, My Hollywood
Week 9
Global/Local
W 5/25
Laurence Chua, Gold by the Inch
From Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
Week 10
Wrapping Up
W 6/1
Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse
Homi K. Bhabha, “On Mimicry and Man: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse.”
The Location of Culture. New York: Routledge, 1994. 85-92. B
Film: White Christmas (dir. Michael Magnaye, 1993; 25 min.)
Film: The Couple in the Cage (dir. Coco Fusco and Paula Heredia, 1993; 30 min)
Tolentino - Fictions of U.S. Empire
3 of 3