On Asian American Literature (and Life) in the Time of COVID

The Fordham University Department of English is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Hong Sohn, Ph.D., as the Thomas F. X. and Theresa Mullarkey Chair in Literature and requests the pleasure of your company at his installation ceremony and inaugural lecture. A reception will immediately follow the lecture.

In this talk, Sohn will explore the various ways his professional life, research, and relationship with Asian American literature have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sohn will detail how he first accepted his offer to come to Fordham in January 2020 and how the COVID-19 lockdown period enabled him to complete a book even as he was compelled to initiate a new research project. His experiences reading Asian American literature shifted radically, beginning in March 2020 as the pandemic complicated how he engaged with genres like science fiction and fantasy, and his subsequent move to New York City continued to push him to develop this line of thinking further. He will also describe his current and upcoming book projects, focusing first on the importance of speculative fiction as a site of radical potentiality and then detailing the crucial place of Asian American literature and studies as a site of care work.

The Mullarkey Chair in Literature was established at Fordham by Theresa Mullarkey in memory of her husband, Thomas F. X. Mullarkey, FCRH ’54, LAW ’59, and as a continuation of his long-standing support of Fordham and the humanities.