Jacqueline DeSantis's ASTU Blog

My ASTU class recently had the privilege of visiting our library archives to see the early work Joy Kogawa did on her novel Obasan. Our class was able to look into her early drafts which showed the development of the storyline and characters that occurred before the final product. What interested me most about exploring the development of the novel was that it contradicted the thought process I usually approach books with. I tend to see any book I read as the only version of the story since it’s the…read more

Over the past few weeks in my Political Science class we’ve been learning about the concept of cultural hegemony while in my ASTU class we’ve been reading a graphic report on the war in former Yugoslavia. While reading Joe Sacco’s Safe Area Goražde our ASTU class has discussed some of the different times in the book where the influence of western and specifically American culture can be noted in the everyday lives of those living in the isolated war zone. Our class has also come to agree in discussions that…read more