UC professor publishes dataset mapping Asian American literary canon

A new dataset containing 1,900 entries aims to reveal which works scholars consider “Asian American” and which voices may be missing from that conversation, according to University of California, Berkeley assistant professor Long Le-Khac.

What they found: Using custom code to analyze academic publications, Le-Khac and his research assistants Kate Hao and Taylor Huie identified 1,886 references to nearly 984 works created by 783 authors. Their methodology targeted publications with “Asian American” in their abstracts or those published in Asian American studies journals. For each entry, the researchers documented publication dates, author demographics such as educational background and immigrant generation, and measures of recognition including awards and bestseller status.

Coverage starts in 1971, reflecting when academics began using the term coined three years earlier by two UC Berkeley student activists as a way to bring together various ethnic groups under one identity and reject outdated, exoticizing terminology. The scope is wide-ranging: Chinese American playwright David Henry Hwang, Palestinian American poet Naomi Shihab Nye and Berkeley professor emerita Maxine Hong Kingston all appear, with formats ranging from poetry and novels to films including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”

About Le-Khac: Le-Khac, an assistant professor in Berkeley’s Ethnic Studies department, focuses on relational race studies and the literatures of Asian Americans and Latinos. The latest dataset traces its roots to 2016 when Le-Khac, fresh from completing his Ph.D., attempted to map geographic settings in Asian American fiction but first needed to define which texts qualified as “Asian American,” a question that increasingly became more interesting to him.

Why this matters: The data reveals troubling patterns in scholarly attention. In a news release, Le-Khac pointed to unevenness in the canon, arguing that “for a minority canon to replicate unevenness is a fraught and charged thing, and is worth scrutiny.” A 2021 study he conducted found the number of Filipino authors being cited was declining. Meanwhile, his analysis of the dataset indicates the authors studied tend to be what he calls “uber credentialed,” a pattern he describes as “pretty problematic” since it contradicts the field’s efforts to challenge model minority stereotypes.

The dataset allows scholars to examine whose stories receive validation within academia and potentially reshape which Asian American voices gain prominence in literary discourse. By quantifying these disparities, the research transforms abstract concerns about representation into measurable patterns that scholars can systematically address.

The researchers plan to update the dataset every five years. Le-Khac’s next project will examine how the Asian American canon looks beyond academic circles.