Journal of Transnational American Studies

In this essay I first draw upon selected cases to briefly map out crucial issues relevant to teaching Asian American studies in East Asia. I then use my own teaching experience to illustrate how graphic narratives can help non-native students cultivate needed cultural and historical literacy in order for them to review and challenge the dominant ideologies that have informed their imagined vision of the United States. I argue that the graphic form can make visible the systematic operations of racial, class, and gender inequality inside and outside the United States, an understanding that is essential to the practice of transnational American studies.