The document defines ethnic literature as imaginative writing where the protagonists or speakers are conscious of belonging to an ethnic group sharing a common racial, national, religious, linguistic or cultural heritage. It discusses how ethnic groups are classified and provides examples. Key characteristics of ethnic literature mentioned are themes of prejudice, generational conflicts, and feeling caught between two worlds. The document also addresses who typically writes ethnic literature and generic characteristics like hybridization of styles.

1. What is Ethnic Literature?

2. What does “ethnic” mean?
“of or relating to large groups
of people classed according to
common racial, national,
tribal, religious, linguistic, or
cultural origin or background.”
(Webster’s Dictionary)

3. Ethnic classifications
Hispanics or Latinos are being
classed according to language
(Spanish) more so than “race.”
African-Americans are being classed
according to race.
Asian-Americans are classed
according to race, but often also
according to national origin.

4. Ethnic classifications
White Americans are usually
considered ethnic only in terms of
strong national or religious
identifications i.e. Italian, Jewish
Native Americans are usually
classified by tribe, but sometimes by
race as indigenous or native peoples

5. Ethnic Classifications
There can also be regional
identifications--New Yorkers,
Californians, locals
Both regional and national
identifications can be strengthened by
moving away from the group--when
they are dominant they are often
taken for granted.

6. Ethnic identifications
Linguistic, and cultural identifications
are weakened through exposure to a
dominant alternative culture as
members of ethnic groups become
assimilated.
The following poem by Pat Mora
describes this process:

7. Immigrants
Wrap their babies in the American flag,
feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie,
name them Bill and Daisy,
buy them blonde dolls that blink blue
eyes or a football and tiny cleats
before the baby can even walk,
speak to them in thick English
hallo, babee, hallo

8. Immigrants
whisper in Spanish or Polish
when the babies sleep, whisper
in a dark parent bed, that dark
parent fear, “Will they like
our boy, our girl, our fine american
boy, our fine american girl?”

9. What is Literature?
Imaginative Writing
Stories, novels
Autobiography
poems, song lyrics, chants
plays
Films

10. So what is ethnic literature?
Literature in which the protagonists
or, in the case of poetry, the
speakers, are conscious of being
members of a group of people
sharing a common and distinctive
racial, national, religious, linguistic, or
cultural heritage.
I define it by subject matter rather
than the ethnic background of the
author.

11. Who writes “ethnic” lit?
Members of ethnic groups can write
literature that is not “ethnic”
People who are not part of a specific
ethnic group can write ethnic
literature about that group but this
may raise difficult questions about
authenticity.
For the most part I try to chose works
written by “insiders.”

12. Generic characteristics of ethnic
literature
Recurrent themes (list Consciousness of a
follows) double audience-
Hybridization insiders from own
mixture of styles and culture and outsiders
genres from dominant culture
mixture of traditions multi-lingual
from different cultures
incorporation of
Presence of a culture visions, dreams or
bearer-older character other supernatural
who passes on elements
traditions and wisdom

13. Themes of ethnic literature
Experiences of nostalgia for or
prejudice, struggle to recover
discrimination, or a lost ethnic
racism identity,
generational pride in and
conflicts-- celebration of one’s
particularly heritage versus
between immigrant shame and
parents and their discomfort at being
American-born different,
children or
grandchildren,

14. Themes of ethnic literature
The feeling of being caught between
two worlds.
Conflicts between “American” values
and “ethnic” values,
The conflict and convergence of
differing ethnic traditions.