Reading the Romance in Asian American Literature
About This Course
Course Info
Instructor(s): Kathleen Escarcha
Term: Winter 2026
Dates: February 3, 2026–February 26, 2026 (8 sessions)
Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30–9:30 P.M. ET / 5:30-6:30 P.M. PT (1 hour twice a week)
Enrollment: 15 students
Enrollment Closes: February 2, 2026, 11:59 P.M. ET
Description
While many classes on romance fiction begin with British Romanticism, this course turns to twentieth-century and contemporary Asian American and transpacific texts to foreground a different set of concerns: restrictive immigration and anti-miscegenation laws, Orientalism, queerness, and imperialism. We will examine how race, migration, and empire shape the (im)possibility of love, marriage, and family formation for Asian and Asian American communities. Pairing literary fiction and film with cultural history and critical theory, we will explore how writers use romance to interrogate compulsory heterosexuality, immigration policy, and nation-building. Readings span North America, the Philippines, Japan, and Trinidad, situating Asian American literature within global circuits of empire and migration while rethinking what and whom the romance genre has historically excluded.
Platforms
Google Drive: Participants will receive all readings over Google Drive.
Zoom: All class sessions will be held and recorded on Zoom until 1 month after the course's end.
Class Cap & Enrollment
The class has a capacity of 15 students. 2 full scholarships are available to folks where paying the enrollment fee is a financial burden.
If you are interested in a scholarship, please fill out this short scholarship form. Scholarship applications are due by January 19 and participants will be notified by January 26.
Who Is This For?
All with an interest are welcome!
About the Instructor(s)
Kathleen Escarcha is a Ph.D. candidate in English at the University of Washington, where she teaches courses in composition, ethnic studies, and multiethnic literature. Her research examines how Filipinx and Southeast Asian Anglophone writers use fiction to explore how gender mediates the entanglements of empire, authoritarianism, and modernity. She also serves on the board of the Association for Asian American Studies.
Price
$349 USD
