Megatextual Readings: Accessing an Archive of Korean/American Constructions

dc.contributor.advisorChuh, Kandiceen_US
dc.contributor.authorChung, Tracyen_US
dc.contributor.departmentEnglish Language and Literatureen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2006-06-14T06:09:06Z
dc.date.available2006-06-14T06:09:06Z
dc.date.issued2006-05-10en_US
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation formulates an approach to reading Korean/American narratives through what I call a "megatext" in order to understand the uneven and dynamic production of Korean/Americanness. By advancing a "megatextual" approach to conceiving of identity and politics, I argue for a way of addressing the critical gap Asian Americanist practitioners continue to witness between activist demands for social justice and scholarly articulations of those demands. A megatextual approach seeks to be an alternative reading practice that bridges different realms of knowledge production. Megatexts argue for a practice of reading across an archive in which texts are actively cross-referencing each other. This approach is essential to the way we apprehend knowledge in the current economy. I define the overarching term "megatext" as a rewritable archive of information and meaning within which the processes of archiving and interpretation are taking place at the same time. I identify particular theoretical concepts leading into my formulation of megatexts and argue the political significance of this approach in terms of Asian American studies and public intellectualism. Then, I define and apply the term "Korean/American" in order to refer to the broad body of work constituting here a "Korean/American megatext." The convergences among the various discourses referenced by megatexts demonstrate how they are useful for bridging different realms. Lastly, I identify the significant constructions of "Korea" in the media as impacting Korean/American ethnic identity formations in order to establish my focus on contemporary Korean/Americanness. I apply this focus and formulate megatexts for each chapter based on individual Korean/American authors and the texts and discourses they reference. Chapter one examines a megatext of Chang-rae Lee's novels, authorship, and popularity. Chapter two expands on the concept of authorship and discusses Don Lee and his collection, Yellow, as evidence of the commodification of author and text. Chapter three examines Korean/American women's bodies in Nora Okja Keller's novels as emblematic of the gendered, neocolonial U.S.-Korea relationship. This dissertation emphasizes the importance of reading the dynamic elements of narratives as a way of contending with the shifting and relational nature of the meanings that accrue to Korean/Americanness.en_US
dc.format.extent708595 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3613
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledLiterature, Americanen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAmerican Studiesen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledWomen's Studiesen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledAsian American literatureen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledAsian American studiesen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledKorean American fictionen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledChang-rae Leeen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledDon Leeen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledNora Okja Kelleren_US
dc.titleMegatextual Readings: Accessing an Archive of Korean/American Constructionsen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

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