Storytelling can be a conversation among people of different generations, a conversation that helps them negotiate a shared identity based on both the past and the present. As Khmer stories are adapted into different genres and media, including feature films, television dramas, and performance arts, the social messages that different writers communicate shift and evolve. Yet, these desperate modes of storytelling retain their powerful affect as embodied ways of sharing identity between generations from past to the present. My research, which centers on modern and contemporary adaptations of “traditional” Khmer storytelling, moves beyond the conventional imperialist paradigm that posits a dichotomy between modernity as enlightened and progressive, and tradition as conservative and backward, arguing for a more nuanced conception of the dynamic relationship between the two. These kinds of cultural artifacts are not produced purely for entertainment, nor solely as vehicles for nostalgia. Moreover, I argue, these adaptations play a productive role in the ongoing negotiation and construction of identity in Cambodia and among Cambodian diasporic communities.

The authenticity of Spanish usage in children’s literature has been widely investigated, with many scholars having found that the way Spanish is used in children’s books is not accurate and caters more to a monolingual English audience than to native speakers of Spanish and bilingual audiences. Previous research has also explored Spanglish and Spanish/English code-switching and how it is presented in children’s literature, but these articles have yet to fully study how accurate and authentic Spanglish appears in literature in general. This project addresses this issue by exploring a variety of works that claim to include Spanglish, especially those with acclaimed authors who are known for their use of Spanglish. I specifically examine whether there is Spanglish present or if it is code-switching under the guise of Spanglish. I argue that much of the so-called Spanglish presented is more so code-switching, and that in literary form, Spanglish is still being constructed, but that it’s legitimacy remains for now in it’s oral form. Despite the prevalence of spoken Spanglish, the usage is still controversial, and by examining how written Spanglish forms reflect oral forms, I also consider language ideologies as well as how those ideologies are presented to speakers.

The assimilation of cultures in Anaya’s Chicano novel Bless Me, Ultima has prompted multiple debates on which culture the protagonist Antonio must choose: his Mexican indigenous side or his Latin fused culture with Anglo-American. However, I argue that Anaya proposes a balance of Antonio’s two worlds. I demonstrate this balance by analyzing Anaya’s novel through a New Critical lens while at the same time trying to prove how Gloria Anzaldúa’s borderlands theory shapes the novel and Antonio’s decisions. The certain aspects that will be addressed are the overarching metaphor of the two sides, las Pasturas and the city of Guadalupe, the mythology depicting evil and good, and narrative voice. By looking at Anaya’s novel through a New Critical lens this novel’s structural merit can be observed, revealing important insights on the issue. These insights are particularly important to Chicano/a readers who struggle with an identity crisis similar to the one that Antonio faces.