During this course, we will firstly examine stereotypes and representations of the Chinese and Chinese Americans in the United States. These stereotypes of the Chinese – and Asian Americans in general – range from the figure of the Yellow Peril to the Dragon Lady and the model minority. Secondly, we will read texts by Chinese American writers and analyze how they have responded to these white-produced stereotypes and how they have perceived such issues as ethnic origin, cultural heritage, gender and sexual identity. The texts examined include, for instance, stories by Sui Sin Far, Jade Snow Wong, Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston and David Wong Louie as well as early Angel Island poems by Chinese immigrants.