Natalie Naihuei Hsieh

n.hsieh.1@research.gla.ac.uk

Research title: Encountering Windows and Mirrors in the Diaspora: Using Young Adult literature to explore the stories and counter-stories of East Asian young persons

Research Summary

Research Interests

My research focuses on the representation and recognition of East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) young adult identities in contemporary Young Adult literature (YAL), and how ESEA young adults themselves respond to these representations.

Specifically, I am interested in:

  • how ESEA young adults themselves respond to Asian YAL as “cultural insiders,” particularly when the label ‘Asian’ covers a multitude of nationalities, ethnicities, cultures, and diasporas
  • the ways that YAL portrays the hybrid identities of young people in the diaspora and describes their negotiations between cultures 
  • differences in representation of the transatlantic ESEA diaspora in US and UK YAL
  • how narratives and stories can create social realities
  • the necessity for diverse representation in YAL and school curriculums
  • how interculturalism is connected to the areas of cultural identity and hybridity

Supervisors


Natalie Hsieh