Hi Students,

I am very pleased that you are considering this course on multicultural literature. My hope is that you will find it intellectually stimulating, relevant to your life and work, and fun to meet new people and exchange ideas. The previous classes seemed to have a good experience with the materials and readings, especially those students who did not have an opportunity in their previous education to focus on the "voices" of ethnic writers or learn how history, culture and the social environment influence us all in how we think and act. The course is a "connector" that may help you pull together your thoughts and experiences about diversity in America. One can hardly open a newspaper or hear a news report without coming in contact with the "themes" of this course.

One of the major themes that weaves itself into the course is that we are all "immigrants" to the U.S. in some generation (except if you have pure native tribal roots) and, therefore, we have commonalities with other such groups....and differences, too. As a result, many students have been stimulated to research or rethink their own family history and heritage. This year, I added a new unit on Hmong Literature, since this is an emerging group in Wisconsin and the Midwest.

The class is likely to be diverse in itself, if not in multicultural status, in student interests and experience. In the past, the class had students from 11 different states and Canada. They were working adults, UW campus students, retired folks, teachers, health professionals, and high school students in advanced placement programs. Usually a class is a rich mix of different interests, backgrounds, and lifestyles so that the class discussions can be very interesting and personal.

Professor Marie Wunsch