Book Project
I am currently working on a book manuscript entitled Refiguring Race and Risk: Counternarratives of Care in the U.S. Security State, which argues that multiethnic U.S. literature plays a critical role in challenging and dismantling the racist structures of the contemporary U.S. security state. By engaging in counterdiscursive protest against the state’s racist institutionalized risk narratives, contemporary works of multiethnic U.S. literature not only expose and critique the oppression of people of color who are targeted as embodiments of risk, but also reveal how people of color themselves engage, manage, and negotiate risk throughout everyday lived experiences routinely circumscribed by the threat of injury. Each chapter examines a unique site of risk that has taken on racialized proportions in the modern U.S. security state, specifically sedition, contagious disease, gang violence, environmental degradation, terrorism, and immigration, alongside critical analyses of works by Miné Okubo, Abraham Verghese, Sanyika Shakur, Luis J. Rodriguez, Helena María Viramontes, Khaled Hosseini, and Sabrina Vourvoulias.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Articles
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"'A Man of Two Faces and Two Minds': Just Memory and Metatextuality in The Sympathizer's Rewriting of the Vietnam War." College Literature: A Journal of Critical Literary Studies, vol. 50, no. 1, 2023, pp. 57-86.
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"Race Traitors, Race Leaders, and the Necropolitics of Black Exceptionalism in Paul Beatty's Fiction." American Literature. Special Issue: "The Plantation, the Post-Plantation, and the Afterlives of Slavery," vol. 91, no. 3, 2019, pp. 619-647.
"Chicano Gang Members at Risk: Containment, Flight, and an Alternative Vision of Sociality in Luis J. Rodriguez's Always Running." MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, vol. 43, no. 1, 2018, pp. 21-45.
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Encyclopedia Articles
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"Luis Javier Rodriguez." Latino Literature: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited by Christina Soto van Der Plas and Lacie Rae Backwalter Cunningham, ABC-CLIO, 2023.
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“Celeste Ng.” The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction, 1980-2020, edited by Lesley Larkin, Patrick O’Donnell, and Stephen J. Burn, Wiley, 2022, pp. 1001-1006.
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Book Reviews
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Review of Black Bourgeois: Class & Sex in the Flesh, by Candice M. Jenkins. African American Review. Special Issue: "Arturo Alfonso Schomburg in the Twenty-First Century," vol. 54, nos. 1 and 2, Spring/Summer 2021, pp. 178-180.
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Selected Conference Presentations
“Testifying, Witnessing, and Mourning: Care-Based Labor in the AIDS Memoir.” Modern Language Association Convention. San Francisco, CA. 7 Jan. 2023.
“Cultivating Antiracist Praxis in a First-Year English Writing Classroom.” Modern Language Association Convention. San Francisco, CA. 5 Jan. 2023.
“Rewriting the Mixed Self: Narrative Resistance against the White Monoracial Imagination.” Critical Mixed Race Studies Convention. Virtual. 25 Feb. 2022.
“(Anti)Racist Reading Practices and the U.S. War on Terror in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist.” American Studies Association 2021 Convention. Virtual. 13 Oct. 2021.
“Teaching Mixed Race U.S. Literatures in an Age of Colorblindness.” Association for Asian American Studies 2020 Convention. Washington, D.C. 10 Apr. 2020. Conference canceled.
“(Mis)Reading the Arab Body as (Non)Human in Laila Halaby’s Once in a Promised Land.” Modern Language Association 2020 Convention. Seattle, WA. 11 Jan. 2020.
“Speculative Reimaginings of the Global Refugee Crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West." Modern Language Association 2020 Convention. Seattle, WA. 9 Jan. 2020.
“Imagining the Dystopian Future of U.S. Immigration in Sabrina Vourvoulias’ Ink.” American Studies Association 2019 Convention. Honolulu, HI. 9 Nov. 2019.
“Passing Away and Racial Passing in Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You.” Association for Asian American Studies 2019 Convention. Madison, WI. 26 Apr. 2019.
“Antiracist Absurdities: Reanimating Necropolitics and Reaffirming that Black Lives Matter in Paul Beatty’s The Sellout.” Modern Language Association 2019 Convention. Chicago, IL. 3-6 Jan. 2019.
“Environmental Precarity in the Refugee Narrative.” American Studies Association 2018 Convention. Atlanta, GA. 10 Nov. 2018.
“Rewriting the History of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer." American Literature Association 2018 Convention.San Francisco, CA. 26 May 2018.
“‘We Lacked Allies’: Searching for Cross-Cultural Solidarity in May-Lee Chai’s Hapa Girl.” Association for Asian American Studies 2018 Convention. San Francisco, CA. 31 Mar. 2018.
“Graphic Memoir as Visual Testimony: Documenting the Injustice of Japanese Internment in Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660.” Modern Language Association 2018 Convention. New York, NY. 6 Jan. 2018.
“The Antiracist Lens of Latinx Speculative Fiction: Imagining Resistance to Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Policy in Sabrina Vourvoulias’ Ink.” Pacific Ancient Modern Language Association 2017 Convention. Honolulu, HI. 10 Nov. 2017.
“Community in Contagion: Refiguring Infection through Medical Memoir.” Popular/American Culture Association 2017 Convention. San Diego, CA. 12 Apr. 2017.
“Land-Labor Ecology: Contesting Anti-Immigration Environmental Risk Discourse in Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus.” American Studies Association 2016 Convention. Denver, CO. 17 Nov. 2016.
“The Temporal Horizontality of Speculative Fiction: Capturing Slavery’s Reality through Fantasy in Octavia Butler’s Kindred.” American Literature Association 2016 Convention. San Francisco, CA. 28 May 2016.
“The Token Success Story: Exploring Racism Disguised as Civility in Paul Beatty’s The White Boy Shuffle.” Modern Language Association 2016 Convention. Austin, TX. 8 Jan. 2016.
“Playing with Humor in the Risk-Saturated Era of Islamophobia: Comedic Commentary in Zarqa Nawaz’s Little Mosque on the Prairie.” Modern Language Association 2015 Convention. Vancouver, Canada. 10 Jan. 2015.
“Cultivating Antiracist Praxis in a First-Year English Writing Classroom.” Modern Language Association Convention. San Francisco, CA. 5 Jan. 2023.
“Rewriting the Mixed Self: Narrative Resistance against the White Monoracial Imagination.” Critical Mixed Race Studies Convention. Virtual. 25 Feb. 2022.
“(Anti)Racist Reading Practices and the U.S. War on Terror in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist.” American Studies Association 2021 Convention. Virtual. 13 Oct. 2021.
“Teaching Mixed Race U.S. Literatures in an Age of Colorblindness.” Association for Asian American Studies 2020 Convention. Washington, D.C. 10 Apr. 2020. Conference canceled.
“(Mis)Reading the Arab Body as (Non)Human in Laila Halaby’s Once in a Promised Land.” Modern Language Association 2020 Convention. Seattle, WA. 11 Jan. 2020.
“Speculative Reimaginings of the Global Refugee Crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West." Modern Language Association 2020 Convention. Seattle, WA. 9 Jan. 2020.
“Imagining the Dystopian Future of U.S. Immigration in Sabrina Vourvoulias’ Ink.” American Studies Association 2019 Convention. Honolulu, HI. 9 Nov. 2019.
“Passing Away and Racial Passing in Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You.” Association for Asian American Studies 2019 Convention. Madison, WI. 26 Apr. 2019.
“Antiracist Absurdities: Reanimating Necropolitics and Reaffirming that Black Lives Matter in Paul Beatty’s The Sellout.” Modern Language Association 2019 Convention. Chicago, IL. 3-6 Jan. 2019.
“Environmental Precarity in the Refugee Narrative.” American Studies Association 2018 Convention. Atlanta, GA. 10 Nov. 2018.
“Rewriting the History of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer." American Literature Association 2018 Convention.San Francisco, CA. 26 May 2018.
“‘We Lacked Allies’: Searching for Cross-Cultural Solidarity in May-Lee Chai’s Hapa Girl.” Association for Asian American Studies 2018 Convention. San Francisco, CA. 31 Mar. 2018.
“Graphic Memoir as Visual Testimony: Documenting the Injustice of Japanese Internment in Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660.” Modern Language Association 2018 Convention. New York, NY. 6 Jan. 2018.
“The Antiracist Lens of Latinx Speculative Fiction: Imagining Resistance to Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Policy in Sabrina Vourvoulias’ Ink.” Pacific Ancient Modern Language Association 2017 Convention. Honolulu, HI. 10 Nov. 2017.
“Community in Contagion: Refiguring Infection through Medical Memoir.” Popular/American Culture Association 2017 Convention. San Diego, CA. 12 Apr. 2017.
“Land-Labor Ecology: Contesting Anti-Immigration Environmental Risk Discourse in Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus.” American Studies Association 2016 Convention. Denver, CO. 17 Nov. 2016.
“The Temporal Horizontality of Speculative Fiction: Capturing Slavery’s Reality through Fantasy in Octavia Butler’s Kindred.” American Literature Association 2016 Convention. San Francisco, CA. 28 May 2016.
“The Token Success Story: Exploring Racism Disguised as Civility in Paul Beatty’s The White Boy Shuffle.” Modern Language Association 2016 Convention. Austin, TX. 8 Jan. 2016.
“Playing with Humor in the Risk-Saturated Era of Islamophobia: Comedic Commentary in Zarqa Nawaz’s Little Mosque on the Prairie.” Modern Language Association 2015 Convention. Vancouver, Canada. 10 Jan. 2015.
Smiling with May-Lee Chai (San Francisco State University; middle) and Patricia Chu (George Washington University; right), after my presentation at the 2018 Association for Asian American Studies Convention.
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Answering questions at the 2018 Modern Language Association Convention with fellow panelist Timothy Yu (University of Wisconsin-Madison).
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Standing with my fellow panelists at the 2018 American Literature Association Convention. From left to right: Ma Vang (University of California, Merced), me, Long Bui (University of California, Irvine), and Mai-Linh Hong (University of California, Merced).
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Posing with my fellow panelists at the 2018 American Studies Association Convention. From left to right: Sara Mameni (University of California, Berkeley), Shane Hall (Salisbury University), and me.
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Selected Grants and Awards
Center for Teaching and Learning Teaching Advancement Grant, Stanford University, 2021
Modern Language Association International Bibliography Fellowship, 2019-2020
College of Liberal Arts Summer Research Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2019
Community Service Award for Faculty Commitment to Service Learning, Nominee, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2019
BEACoN Research and Mentoring Network Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018-19
NEH Summer Stipend, Campus-Wide Nominee, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018-19
Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018-19
Service-Learning Faculty Fellowship, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2017-18
President's Faculty Diversity Award (Finalist), Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018
College of Liberal Arts Diversity and Inclusion Resource Module Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018
American Cultures and Global Contexts Center Graduate Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara, 2014-15
Graduate Division Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, UC Santa Barbara 2014
Chicano Studies Institute Dissertation Research Grant, UC Santa Barbara 2014
William and Marjorie Frost Award for Scholarly Writing, UC Santa Barbara, 2013
Eugene Cota-Robles Diversity Enhancement Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara, 2010-2012
Modern Language Association International Bibliography Fellowship, 2019-2020
College of Liberal Arts Summer Research Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2019
Community Service Award for Faculty Commitment to Service Learning, Nominee, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2019
BEACoN Research and Mentoring Network Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018-19
NEH Summer Stipend, Campus-Wide Nominee, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018-19
Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018-19
Service-Learning Faculty Fellowship, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2017-18
President's Faculty Diversity Award (Finalist), Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018
College of Liberal Arts Diversity and Inclusion Resource Module Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2018
American Cultures and Global Contexts Center Graduate Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara, 2014-15
Graduate Division Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, UC Santa Barbara 2014
Chicano Studies Institute Dissertation Research Grant, UC Santa Barbara 2014
William and Marjorie Frost Award for Scholarly Writing, UC Santa Barbara, 2013
Eugene Cota-Robles Diversity Enhancement Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara, 2010-2012