Table Of ContentInterracial Encounters
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Interracial Encounters
Reciprocal Representations in African American
and Asian American Literatures, 1896–1937
julia h. lee
a
New York University Press
new york and london
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
©2011 by New York University. All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lee, Julia H.
Interracial encounters : reciprocal representations in African American
and Asian American literatures, 1896–1937 / Julia H. Lee.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8147-5255-5 (cloth : acid-free paper)
ISBN 978-0-8147-5256-2 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
ISBN 978-0-8147-5257-9 (e-book)
ISBN 978-0-8147-5328-6 (e-book)
1. American literature—African American authors—History and
criticism. 2. American literature—Asian American authors—History and
criticism. 3. Identity (philosophical concept) in literature. 4. African
Americans in literature. 5. Asian Americans in literature. I. Title.
PS153.N5L39 2011
810.9'896073—dc22
2011015709
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that
may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their
binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use
environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent
possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
c10987654321
p10987654321
A book in the American Literatures Initiative (ALI), a collaborative
publishing project of NYU Press, Fordham University Press, Rutgers
University Press, Temple University Press, and the University of Virginia
Press. The Initiative is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
For more information, please visit www.americanliteratures.org.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1 Introduction 1
2 The “Negro Problem” and the “Yellow Peril”: Early
Twentieth-Century America’s Views on Blacks and Asians 22
3 Estrangement on a Train: Race and Narratives of American
Identity in The Marrow of Tradition and America
through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat 48
4 The Eaton Sisters Go to Jamaica 81
5 Quicksand and the Racial Aesthetics of Chinoiserie 114
6 Nation, Narration, and the Afro-Asian Encounter
in W. E. B. Du Bois’s Dark Princess and
Younghill Kang’s East Goes West 138
7 Coda 169
Notes 175
Bibliography 195
Index 209
About the Author 221
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Acknowledgments
The intellectual and personal debts I incurred while writing this book
are too numerous to be recounted here, but I at least know where to be-
gin. This project began as dissertation under the remarkable direction
of King-Kok Cheung, whose wisdom and support was the bedrock of
my graduate experience. I will always be grateful for the unwavering
confidence she had in my research and career, especially at those low
moments when it seemed to me that such faith was seriously misplaced.
Eric Sundquist offered wise counsel regarding my project and generously
helped me countless times at a moment’s notice. I also wish to express
my gratitude to Valerie Smith, who first guided me down the path of
early twentieth-century African American literature, and Richard Yar-
borough and Cheryl Harris, who provided rigorous commentary that
helped this project in its early stages. Chris Looby and the members of
the UCLA Americanist Research Colloquium provided new directions
for the project. Tammy Ho, Susan Hwang, Lynn Itagaki, Bonnie Foote,
James Masland, Holly Crawford Pickett, Jessica Pressman, and Melissa
Sodeman were my first readers and the most generous that any writer
could ask for. Amanda Botticello, Brad Lupien, Jamie Nyez, and Jes-
sica Pressman lightened the pressures of graduate school by filling my
life with pasta, Korean BBQ, and laughter; I am lucky to have them as
friends. For their friendship in Los Angeles, and for getting me out of
the house, I must thank Andy Chang, Kevin Cooney, Melanie Ho, Joyce
Lee, La’Tonya Rease Miles, Derek Pacheco, Nush Powell, Joanne Tong,
and Jiyeon Yoo.
viii / acknowledgments
I want to express my deepest thanks to the administrators, faculty,
staff, and fellows in the University of California’s President’s Postdoc-
toral Fellowship Program; without the generous support of this noble
and far-sighted program, my struggle to revise would have been infi-
nitely more difficult. Brook Thomas at UC Irvine offered a fresh set of
eyes to my work and a sympathetic ear in the seemingly Herculean task
of transforming the dissertation into a book. James Masland, Christine
Wooley, and Caroline Yang took time out of their own busy schedules to
comment on chapters at a critical point in the revision process. Jim Lee
has read my work and always provided the most rigorous assessment of
its strengths and weaknesses; he has also mentored me through many
an academic quandary, and I am proud to walk in his giant footsteps. I
would also like to thank Eric Zinner at New York University Press for his
interest in and enthusiasm for the project, as well as his assistant Ciara
McLaughlin for being ready to answer my questions about the publica-
tion process. Two anonymous readers at NYU Press strengthened this
project in ways too numerous to recount; my appreciation to Priscilla
Wald for showing her support and asking questions that were difficult
but absolutely necessary to answer.
At the University of Texas at Austin, Elizabeth Cullingford and
Madeline Hsu have made me feel like the most valued and protected
assistant professor on the planet. Madeline also provided insightful and
speedy feedback on this book’s second chapter, for which I am eternally
grateful. The College of Liberal Arts provided a semester’s leave, which
enabled me to finish the manuscript, and the Center for Women and
Gender Studies New Faculty Colloquium offered support and a space
for me to present my work. My thanks to Kim Alidio, Kenyatta Dawson,
Madeline Hsu, Barbara Jann, Shanti Kumar, Nhi Lieu, Madhavi Mal-
lapragada, and Sharmila Rudrappa at the Center for Asian American
Studies for encouraging me whenever possible. Colleagues in English
have also provided wise professional counsel and personal support: J.
K. Barret, Phil Barrish, Dan Birkholz, Mia Carter, Ann Cvetkovich,
John Gonzalez, Richard Heyman, Neville Hoad, Coleman Hutchison,
Meta Jones, Martin Kervorkian, Lisa Moore, Gretchen Murphy, Frank
Whigham, and Jennifer Wilks.
Since the first day of graduate school, Jane Degenhardt has been a dear
friend and my most stimulating interlocutor—without her intellectual
rigor, generosity, and madcap ways, I am quite certain that I would not
be where I am today. Although we have been separated by a continent for
acknowledgments / ix
most of our professional careers, she will be forever linked in my mind
with the ideas behind this project.
My grandparents—Lee Young Kyoon, Hong Woon Jun, Lee
Chong Kun, and Kim Ok Ran—are a part of everything I do, even
though they are always so far away. My thanks to Vivien, Amy, and Sar-
ah for reminding me that the bonds of sisterhood cannot be unraveled,
no matter how old we get, and to my brother-in-law Paul Segerstrom
for enduring my bossy ways. Although she arrived on the scene after
this manuscript was completed, it is impossible for me not to mention
the most important person in the Lee family, Keely YunAh Segerstrom,
whose presence has filled all of our lives with joy. I lovingly dedicate this
book to my parents, Kee Chin Lee and Joung Hwan Lee. I thank them
for all the sacrifices they have made—and continue to make—in order to
ensure all of us the best life possible.
