17 - Theresa Hak Kyung Cha and the Impact of Theory

Summary

The ascent of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictée into the Asian American literary canon in the early 1990s marks the precise moment when theory enters into Asian American studies. While Dictée has often been read as exemplary of a move away from identity toward theoretical abstraction, it may be more accurate to view it as a divided text that moves ambivalently between the needs of identity politics and the demands of theoretical critique. Early publications and anthologies drew on a range of disciplinary methodologies, while also being influenced by the radical politics of the Asian American movement. The readings of Dictée advanced in Writing Self, Writing Nation brings Asian American studies into direct contact with theory. In these readings, the impact of theory, both in Dictée and in its interpretation, is primarily deconstructive, challenging the narratives of identity, unity, and nationalism that have formed the traditional basis for Asian American studies.