Speculative Asias - bmc.ENGL.B230.001.F26

Section outline

• Select section Welcome to Speculative Asias!

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  Welcome to Speculative Asias!

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  Cover art to Franny Choi's Soft Science (2019)

  Hi, my name is Sophia Mao (she/hers), and I'll be your professor this semester for Speculative Asias.  We meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:40AM-1:00PM in the English House Lecture Hall (enter English House, walk all the way to the back past the staircase, and turn right). Welcome to class! 

       

  You can reach me by e-mail at sjmao@brynmawr.edu. I'm available by e-mail from 9AM-5PM Monday-Friday and usually respond within 24 hours. Saturdays and Sundays are my time to recharge (and I also encourage you to cultivate a healthy relationship to school and work obligations)! so I am much slower in responding to messages. 

  

  My office hours are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30AM-10:30AM in-person in English House 212 or via Zoom. Office hours must be booked at least 12 hours in advance; you can sign up for a 15-minute office hours appointment here: https://calendly.com/sophiajmao-bmc/15min If these times do not work, feel free to e-mail me to set up a separate appointment.

  • Select activity Announcements

    

    Announcements Forum
  • Select activity F26 Speculative Asias Syllabus [updated 09.05.26]

    

    F26 Speculative Asias Syllabus [updated 09.05.26] File PDF

    3.7 MB · Uploaded 09/5/26, 17:21
  • Select activity Course reserves at Canaday Library

    

    Course reserves at Canaday Library URL
  • Select activity Collective class notes

    

    Collective class notes URL

    Check the collective notes schedule and upload files at this link. 

  • Select activity Professor Mao-Letter of Recommendation Guidelines [updated 08.17.26]

    

    Professor Mao-Letter of Recommendation Guidelines [updated 08.17.26] File PDF

    70.7 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 11:45
• Select section UNIT ONE: Orientalism & Techno-Orientalism

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  UNIT ONE: Orientalism & Techno-Orientalism

  We will learn about the racialization of Asians in the West through key moments in the history of Asian immigration and labor (Orientalism); we will then learn how to map this history onto the speculative genre (Techno-Orientalism).
• Select section Week 1: Introduction

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  Week 1: Introduction

  • Select activity Astria Suparak, “Virtually Asian” (2021)

    

    Astria Suparak, “Virtually Asian” (2021) URL
  • Select activity Edward Said, Orientalism (1978), "Introduction"

    

    Edward Said, Orientalism (1978), "Introduction" File PDF

    11.1 MB · Uploaded 08/26/26, 18:54
  • Select activity William Gibson, WIRED, “My Own Private Tokyo” (2001)

    

    William Gibson, WIRED, “My Own Private Tokyo” (2001) File PDF

    5.2 MB · Uploaded 08/31/26, 18:17
• Select section Week 2: Chinese Exclusion & Coolie Labor

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  Week 2: Chinese Exclusion & Coolie Labor

  • Select activity American Federation of Labor, “Some reasons for Chinese Exclusion; Meat vs. Rice. American Manhood Against Asiatic Coolieism; Which Shall Survive?” (1906)

    

    American Federation of Labor, “Some reasons for Chinese Exclusion; Meat vs. Rice. American Manhood Against Asiatic Coolieism; Which Shall Survive?” (1906) File PDF

    15.1 MB · Uploaded 08/18/26, 10:04
• Select section Week 3: Japan Panic

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  Week 3: Japan Panic

  • Select activity Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1989)

    

    Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1989) URL
  • Select activity William F. Wu, Twilight Zone, “Wong’s Lost and Found Emporium” (1985)

    

    William F. Wu, Twilight Zone, “Wong’s Lost and Found Emporium” (1985) URL
• Select section UNIT TWO: Cyberpunk, Critical Re-appropriations

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  UNIT TWO: Cyberpunk, Critical Re-appropriations

  In this core unit, we will learn about how a key genre of speculative fiction, cyberpunk, often features Asia or Asians and examine the figure of the (Asian) cyborg, thinking about its implications for race and gender. 
• Select section Week 4: Cyberpunk and Cyborgs

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  Week 4: Cyberpunk and Cyborgs

  • Select activity Ridley Scott, Blade Runner (1982)

    

    Ridley Scott, Blade Runner (1982) URL
  • Select activity Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto” (1985)

    

    Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto” (1985) File PDF

    412.0 KB · Uploaded 08/18/26, 10:19
  • Select activity Leslie Bow, Racist Love, “Asian ● Female ● Robot ● Slave: Techo-Orientalism after #MeToo” (2021)

    

    Leslie Bow, Racist Love, “Asian ● Female ● Robot ● Slave: Techo-Orientalism after #MeToo” (2021) File PDF

    857.5 KB · Uploaded 08/18/26, 10:21
• Select section Week 5: Cyborgs, cont.

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  Week 5: Cyborgs, cont.
• Select section Week 6: Midterm

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  Week 6: Midterm
• Select section Week 7: FALL BREAK

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  Week 7: FALL BREAK
• Select section Week 8: Critical/Creative

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  Week 8: Critical/Creative
• Select section UNIT THREE: The Asian Century

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  UNIT THREE: The Asian Century

  We will wrap up the semester by turning to the “Asian Century,” considering how the rise of the East Asian Tiger Economies intersects with the globalization of labor and capital. While the influence of Techno-Orientalism continues into the present, we will consider what happens when the West no longer forms the center of cultural imaginations.
• Select section Week 9: Asian Tech

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  Week 9: Asian Tech

  • Select activity Andrew B. Liu, n+1, “Lab Leak Theory and the ‘Asiatic’ Form” (2022)

    

    Andrew B. Liu, n+1, “Lab Leak Theory and the ‘Asiatic’ Form” (2022) File PDF

    7.3 MB · Uploaded 08/18/26, 10:25
  • Select activity Close reading exercise

    

    Close reading exercise Assignment

    Opened: Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 12:00 AM

    Due: Thursday, October 29, 2026, 5:00 PM
  • Select activity Tips for close reading handout

    

    Tips for close reading handout File PDF

    98.1 KB · Uploaded 08/18/26, 15:20
• Select section Week 10: Tiger Economies

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  Week 10: Tiger Economies

  • Select activity Ken Liu, “A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel” (2013)

    

    Ken Liu, “A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel” (2013) File PDF

    118.6 KB · Uploaded 08/19/26, 11:57
• Select section Week 11: Ecological Speculation

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  Week 11: Ecological Speculation
• Select section Week 12: Revolutions

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  Week 12: Revolutions
• Select section Week 13: THANKSGIVING BREAK

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  Week 13: THANKSGIVING BREAK
• Select section Week 14: Pop Culture

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  Week 14: Pop Culture

  • Select activity Tara Fickle, The Race Card: From Gaming Technologies to Model Minorities, “Mobile Frontiers: Pokémon After Pearl Harbor” (2019)

    

    Tara Fickle, The Race Card: From Gaming Technologies to Model Minorities, “Mobile Frontiers: Pokémon After Pearl Harbor” (2019) File PDF

    11.2 MB · Uploaded 08/18/26, 10:29
  • Select activity Comparative Essay

    

    Comparative Essay Assignment

    Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM

    Due: Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 5:00 PM
• Select section Week 15: Wrapping Up & Gratitudes

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  Week 15: Wrapping Up & Gratitudes

  • Select activity Event Write-Up

    

    Event Write-Up Assignment

    Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM

    Due: Friday, December 11, 2026, 5:00 PM
  • Select activity Creative Project

    

    Creative Project Assignment

    Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM

    Due: Monday, December 7, 2026, 5:00 PM