Beyond the Borders

The contributors to this book challenge the usual boundaries of 'post-colonial' theory. Focusing on American literature, they examine how America's own imperial history has shaped the literatures that have emerged from within America -- for instance, from Native American, Latino, Black and Asian-American writers. They contrast this with postcolonial literatures from countries whose history has been shaped by American colonialism -- from Canada, Central America and the Caribbean to Hawaii, Indonesia and Vietnam. In this way the contributors explore key questions about national identity and multiculturalism: why, for instance, is a Native writer categorised within 'American literature' if writing on one side of the border, but as 'Canadian' and 'post-colonial' if writing on the other? This is a challenging collection that raises questions not only about the boundaries of post-colonial theory, but also about ethnicity and multiculturalism, and the impact of immigration and assimilation -- issues that lie at the heart of the literary curriculum. "a mass of interesting stuff here that scholars in the field will want to read" Dr Maria Lauret, School of English and American Studies, Sussex