Viet Thanh Nguyen has produced a deep meditation on the intersectionality of self and other vis--vis identity, language, and writing.Partly autobiographical, partly critical, and partly political, the prestigious Norton Lectures, delivered at Harvard University and collected in this volume, illuminate his insights as he finds his voice.Not only is his sense of being a refugee from war-torn Vietnam conjoined with his education in English and American literatures, but the book also reveals how the opportunities afforded by academia and scholarship offered him an alternative savior from war, colonialism, racism, and displacement.As Viet Nguyen navigates the haven of the world of writing and art, he defines his sense of belonging as an Asian American, a sense that is intertwined with a deep awareness of the "inherent inauthenticity" of "othering" (19).This is similar to the feelings expressed by the Palestinian American Edward Said of being an "insider" and "outsider."Viet Nguyen is deeply aware of the fact that art and the humanities have been partially complicit in the making of Empire and "othering."He addresses the serious and often tragic intersectionality of otherness and value/money.Elaborating on the encounter of "war, enslavement, and genocide" and the questions of "class, capital, and labor" (12), he adds the issue of patriarchal violence that created the imperial system of previous centuries, which continues to be part and parcel of the ongoing human condition in the 21st century.The book is comprised of six chapters that tackle the complex ambiguity of belonging.This brief review will not do justice to the rich ideas, candid feelings, and illuminating insights he expresses in the lectures.I'd like to highlight Viet Nguyen's thoughts about the Israeli Genocide in Gaza-Palestine.As an Asian American, he injects a moral compass regarding American imperialist projects "in opposition to the anti-Asian violence that has been endemic and systemic throughout the country's history and present" (41).He connects the Vietnam War that was launched against his country of origin and America's
Salam Mir (Thu,) studied this question.