Asian American Literature: Sources for Research

The web possesses incredible potential as a research tool for students of Asian American Literature. However, it also possesses the potential to mislead and misinform the unwary on just about any topic. The best, most reliable information is that provided by refereed journals and scholarly books. "Refereed" means that other scholars in the field have read the articles and agreed that they are of sufficient quality to be published.

Refereed Journals

Here are four important journals where articles on Asian American literature appear.

 Amerasia
This Asian American Studies journal has been in publication since 1971, and has a search engine for topics covered in past issues available on their web site (you can also use this site to search the American Indian Culture Journal and Aztlan). Check your local college library for bound and current issues.

 Journal of Asian American Studies
This is an interdisciplinary journal which focuses on Asian American issues and is produced by the Association of Asian American Studies. Some college campuses will have electronic access to this via "Project Muse" of Johns Hopkins Press.

Hitting Critial Mass: A Journal of Asian American Cultural Criticism
According to its website, it is no longer accepting submissions as of February 2001; however, you can still get access to back issues dating back to 1993 via the web (click on link above) which cover a range of topics by a number of important and up-and-coming critics.
 

MELUS: Journal of the Society for the Study of the Multi-ethnic Literature of the United States.
Focused on literature and literary criticism, MELUS is the most important journal for the study of Ethnic American literature and it has individual articles, reviews, interviews, and occasionally whole issues devoted to the study of Asian American literature. MELUS can be found in both print and electronic form and most colleges and universities will provide students with access to the full text MELUS articles for printing, downloading, or emailing.
 

Suggested Scholarly Books

English 170AA Pathfinder
This site, developed by Library Science student David Cismowski for my course in Asian American literature, lists a variety of books on Asian American literature, history and scoiology. It is designed for users of the San Jose State's Clark Library with direct links to the catalog for each book but the titles are widely available.

 Asian American Studies Center at UCLA
A great site that gives information about new books in the field, events and other kinds of information. They have an Asian American Studies Interdepartmental Program.

CSU Stanislaus' "Asian Ameican Literature: A Selective Bibliography"
This bibliogrpaphy is divided in pre 1950 and post 1950 sections and then divided up by ethnic group.

USC's "Asian American Collections: Recent Acquisitions"
This 1999 list gives an update to the texts listed in the CSU Stanislaus website which originated around 1995.  This list contains videos and texts that are not all directly about Asian American literature but which would be of interest to those taking on the theoretical and cultural issues important to the study of Asian American literature nevertheless.

Michigan State University Libraries' Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Resources
This site provides some statistics on Asian Americans along with references with links directly to the MSU catalog in a manner similar to the SJSU page above.
 

Asian American Bookstores and Book Publishers

A short selection of publishers and bookstores which carry or specialize in Asian American Literature

 Arkipelago Philippine Books
Provides books from Southeast Asian and Asian American authors.

 Asian American Writers' Workshop
A non-profit writers' organization geared towards Asian American writers and promoting Asian American literature. Sponsors creative writing workshops, readings, and programs. Located in New York.

 Centennial Books
This online bookstore (affiliated with Amazon.com) provides reviews and online purchasing of books related to American Studies, including topics in Asian American Studies.

 The Filipino and Filipino-American Cyber-Library
An Amazon.com affiliated site with convenient categories and a large assortment of Filipino American texts.

 University of Hawaii Press
Publisher of books on Asian, Asian American, Hawaiian, and Pacific studies. The University of Hawaii Press also publishes several journals related to Asian and Pacific Studies.

 Kaya
Publisher of "asian/diasporic literature and culture." As an independent press, Kaya offers a range of texts that you usually won't see in big commecial bookstores. They generally make quality books and their anthology Premonitions is particularly beautiful.

 Temple University Press
Has some great books, especially their series Asian American History and Culture.
 

 University of Washington Press
Publishing a wide variety of books in the humanities fields, the University of Washington Press web site has a subsection dedicated to their Asian American Studies books.
 

Non Academic Sites dealing with Asian American Issues

If you are not writing for scholarly purposes or are just looking for some resources for general interest, you might try some of these commercial sites.

 aMagazine: Inside Asian America
Think Vanity Fair with an occasional touch of Glamour or Seventeen. In between articles about Lucy Liu and beefcake shots of Asian American men, there are some excellent articles about Asian American theater--see "Sixth Row Center" column and reviews of Asian American literature, music, you name it. The online version of the magazine has slightly different features but you can still get access to items such as the survey of the best colleges for Asian Americans.

 Asian American Village
This site is produced by Minorities' Job Bank which also produces a number of other ethnic "villages." The site is a kind of kiosk for news and information about the arts, politics, lifestyles, and employment geared towards Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

 NAATA, National Asian American Telecommunications Association
Probably your best source for Asian American videos. They don't just distribute videos, they fund and produce them as well. Founded in 1980.
 

Asian American Studies Programs

Interested in pursuing this field? Here are a few programs that you might want to check out. These sites generally supply additional useful links. Discuss these departments with people already in the field (like your professors) to get a better sense of what paths are available. You should also contact the departments to get the most up to date information about current faculty, requirments, how to apply, etc.
 

 San Jose State University
The catalog entry shows what is required for a minor in Asian American Studies at SJSU.

 University of California at Berkeley Ethnic Studies Department
The website provides information on the various areas of specialization available as well as their PhD program. In combination with their strong English department, UC Berkeley has produced many important scholars of Asian American literature.

 University of California at Santa Barbara
See the UCSB homepage for a view of the best location any university student could ask for. The department webpage offers the basics such as class listings and faculty information.

 New York University's Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program & Institute
A glamorous website that is sometimes hard to read but nevertheless provides a lot of information about their program and related events.
 

 University of Wisconsin, Madison Asian American Studies Program
Has links to book and video lists.
 
 

Other Academic Sites

The value of the information on these sites must be evaluated carefully by the user.

 Asian & Pacific Island American History & Literature for K-12 Teachers
The "Internet School Library Media Center Asian Americans page which includes history, literature and biography of American of Asian ancestry. The ISLMC is a meta-site for librarians, teachers, parents and students." A searchable site with lots of great links. This same source also offers a site called "Asian-American Literature: History, Classroom Use, Bibliography & WWW Resources." Be wary of its over-simplified advice about evaluating ethnic literature.

 EN320 - Georgian Court College's Asian American Literature Course
Contains student reviews of Asian American Literature, as well as links to other Asian American resources, reading lists, etc.

 MANOA: A Pacific Journal of International Writing
One of the many journals published by the University of Hawaii Press. Features literary works, interviews, and reviews.
 
 

Search Engines, Directories, and Meta-Sites

These sites feature listings of hyperlinks related to Asian American Studies. As with all non-refereed sites, take all information with a grain of salt.
 

AltaVista: Simple Query "Asian American Literature"

Google Search Results - Asian American Literature VOICE OF THE SHUTTLE HOME PAGE
One of the forerunners in online humanities resources. See the Asian American Literature listing (small), as well as the Asian American Studies listing (large).
 

This site is continually undergoing change and we welcome your suggestions. Email Professor Noelle Williams of San Jose State University at awilli@email.sjsu.edu. A release-time grant from the English Department of San Jose State University enabled the creation of this site. Stephanie Bryant aided in the original compiling and composition of this site.