한국 영문과의 상황에서 한국계 미국문학 교수법의 모색

A Pedagogical Search for Teaching Korean American Literature in the Context of English Departments in Korean Universities

In the one hundred year history of Korean American immigrants, Korean American literature became a part of the American literary history. There is a growing need for pedagogical exploration in the interactive network of Koreans, Americans, and Korean Americans. Teaching Korean American literature is understood differently in each of the contexts of Korea, America, and the blurred area of the Korean-American matrix. The premise of this paper is that context greatly matters in the interpretation of literature, and that the Korean pedagogical focus needs to be considered in the specifically Korean context, in that traveling texts work differently in different contexts, and that the meaning of Korean American literature is created where Korea and America meet. Therefore, the curriculum of Korean American literature needs to be redrawn and expanded, in the dynamics of what, how, and why to teach. Three subcategories for designing Korean American literature curriculum focuses are suggested in the paper. These are Korean American literature as Diaspora Literature, as Korean Studies, and as Korean American Studies. Korean American literature has functioned in a variety of ways: a window to understand Korea, an introductory guide to the culture, and a remover of Korean stereotypes. The literature affects images of the nation. Korea or Korean-ness latent in Korean American literature gives different meanings to different people of diverse nationalities. Possible topics in the classroom are suggested as to how Korean American literature works in bringing understanding of Korea. General ethnographic questions, intersections of various subcultures, and Aesthetics of Korean American subaltern studies need to be addressed. In designing Korean American literature curriculum, this paper suggests two arenas: the interdisciplinary possibilities of pedagogical studies and the necessity of the extensive use of educational technology. The rationale is to encourage a sense of community among students and professors, which is explored here in such a way that a pedagogical focus needs to be more geared to the interests and capability of students. Moreover, potential educational projects, a variety of discussion topics, and cross-cultural outlooks can be realized by the expansion of new media technology. This pedagogical exploration ultimately leads to the redrawing of the concept of Korea, Korean and Korean-ness, in an expanding network of Korean American Studies and Korean American Aesthetics.