Submissions are sought for a collection of essays on Asian American and

Asian transnational culture. From Madonna's henna tattoos to the Oscar hype

of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Japanese place settings in the Pottery

Barn catalog and Iron Chef, Asian cultures suddenly seem to be everywhere.

Paradoxically, the current visibility of "Asian-ness" renders invisible the

cultural presence of Asian Americans. Despite the boom in both Asian

American populations and cultural productions, Asian Americans remain

permanent foreigners in the popular imagination. What is our cultural

understanding of Asian American-ness in the wake of popular constructions of

both Asian and American?



Traditionally, Asian American studies have followed two major areas of

inquiry: focusing on the tensions between assimilation and cultural

preservation or documenting the presence of Asian American cultural

production. What alternative understandings of culture exist beyond

East/West binaries? The collection editors are particularly interested in

interdisciplinary work that offers new approaches to cultural texts and

practices, articulating Asian American culture as popular culture in the

U.S.



Equally welcome are topics that include (but are not limited to):

? Approaches that take up trans-national and diasporic Asian cultures

(Bollywood and its international viewership, cross-national ethnic

communities, Anime/Manga, Trans-national industries).

? Asian iconography and influence on American culture (Chinoiserie and

Asian-chic, Eastern religions, martial arts).

? Neglected/Emergent sub-cultures (Nisei ballroom dancing, import car

culture, websites and zines, beauty pageants).

? Asian Americans in the public eye (Wen Ho Lee and other political

controversies, Asian adoptees, celebrity and "stealth Asians," Lucy Liu).





Contact or send abstracts (250-300 words) or essay either by mail to Shilpa

Dave', Asian American Studies Program, Cornell University, 420 Rockefeller

Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853-2801 or by e-mail attachment to

[log in to unmask] (Shilpa Dave), [log in to unmask] (Tasha Oren), and

[log in to unmask] (Leilani Nishime)

Proposal Deadline: November 1. Early submissions are encouraged.



Please feel free to pass this call on to other relevant lists.



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