An American of Chinese descent and a professor of Comparative Literature and East Asian Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Eoyang offers some non-boilerplate perspectives on diversity. However, these essays, many delivered as academic papers, are too loosely linked to comprise a full credo. Still, Eoyang offers cogent observations: even Americans' familiar reference points (north, south, etc.) have varied connotations in different cultures; the premium we place on literacy shouldn't allow us to denigrate the works of "the unlettered populations"; the new rhetoric used to describe race lags behind the reality of multiethnic, interracial identities. Eoyang, who considers himself a non-politically correct multiculturalist, sensibly reminds us that "a proper definition of white culture in America must take into account the nonwhite elements as well." He remains optimistic that America will be enriched by its "multicultural rainbow."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Eoyang, perhaps because he frequently speaks about diversity and multiculturalism, deconstructs the language of inclusion and exclusion in a style so crisp and conversational it will fascinate even readers who can't pronounce Foucault or Derrida. Eoyang demonstrates how the word we can be used to define which of us truly matter; contrasts Western and Chinese ideas of the self and of the strengths of youth and of age; explores "The Complexities of Complexion" and "The Logic and Rhetoric of Racism"; notes different treatment of our "visible" and "invisible" immigrants, "audible" and "inaudible" immigrants; and urges the need to teach "other" (not "foreign") languages, respect oral as well as written traditions, and understand the commonalities of "The Three L's: Liberalism, Liberty, and the Liberal Arts." Throughout his essays, Eoyang celebrates the vitality and creativity generated by the multiple strands in the U.S.' heritage, insisting that "the essence of being American is neither racial nor cultural nor political: those who seek a common thread overlook the most obvious--[we are] cultural exiles unified by the belief in the ultimate worth of each individual and the conviction that our strength as a country lies precisely in the diversity of its citizens." Mary Carroll
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