Chinese teacher Ying Xu has published her essay, “Teaching Asian American Literature and the Law in the Land of Enchantment: A Case Study,” in the MLA anthology Teaching Asian North American Texts. The essays in this volume provide context for understanding the history of Asian immigrants to the United States and Canada and the experiences of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
In her article, Dr. Xu re-examines the case of Territory of New Mexico v. Yee Shun in 1882 (which historically granted non-Christian Chinese the right to testify) and argues that early Chinese immigrants’ struggles and their experiences contributed to the shaping of New Mexico history. Within this context, she discusses how she designed the first Asian American Literature and the Law course and taught it in 2017 at the University of New Mexico. She discusses the significance of teaching multi-ethnic and minority literature courses to a diverse body of students at UNM who are familiar with multiculturalism, yet not sufficiently exposed to Asian North American writing.
Dr. Xu says she was inspired to develop the course at UNM and the subsequent essay because she was dissatisfied with the lack of Asian American literature that was used in her graduate studies. “I read a lot of stories, some of which are highly inspirational, but, unfortunately, I did not read my stories in literature.”
Dr. Xu brings her work to her Academy classroom by including history of Chinese immigrants and the historical legal exclusion of Asian Americans in the 19th and early 20th century in relation to the stereotypes of and discrimination against Asian Americans.
“It’s a wonderful accomplishment that surely reflects not only her stellar academic work but also contributes to her dedicated teaching in the classroom,” says World Language Department Chair Sibylle Schlesier.
