I was an English undergrad, but I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a work of (intentional) fiction. I’m now an IR grad student, and I’m curious about books that would be good for someone who’s interested in themes about cultural relations/conflicts, identity, US foreign policy, etc.
One note, is that the relation to IR doesn’t have to be immediately apparent. For instance, The Invisible Man is a great book about identity, though it takes place in the US, and doesn’t really (from what I remember) focus much on the wider world.
I seem to recall having Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” assigned in one of my IR classes in college, but that was a long time ago so I might be mistaken about which class it was.
How about Barbara Kingsolver? I’d say “cultural relations/conflicts, identity, US foreign policy, etc.” pretty much describes her work. The Poisonwood Bible is about Africa and deals with international relations themes, and her new book, The Lacuna, deals with Mexico, the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Another one I remember having assigned in my Middle Eastern Studies course was “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea. Again, though, this was like 20 years ago (and written many years before that) so it’s quite likely not current enough for your needs, especially given everything that’s happened with Iraq since then. I do remember enjoying the book, though.
Neither Asia nor the Middle East, but The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz, is fucking brilliant. Not only is it an incredibly engaging read, but it taught me a ton about the Dominican Republic, and its relationship with the US. Won a Pulitzer, it did.
The Quiet American by Graham Greene (Vietnam)
Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo (Sudan)
Disgrace by J.M Coetzee (South Africa)
Snow by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey)
The Kite Runner/Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan)
And upthread there’s a vote for Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown. I’d also add his Midnight’s Children.
This is a good pick, and I’ll add Midnight’s Children as well. (Okay, Midnight’s Children is one of my favorite books and I can squeeze it into pretty much any literary discussions.)
This is an interesting thread. In theory, I enjoy reading novels too, but I am also a grad student (in international public policy, so pretty much the same thing as IR) and don’t really have the time. I may come back with more ideas later.
Does it have to be about real cultures? Most of CJ Cherryh’s science fiction novels deal with cultural conflicts, diplomacy, etc. I particularly recommend the Foreigner novels (starts with Foreigner) and the Chanur ones (begin with The Pride of Chanur.)
The Inheiritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (India)
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (India)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (India)
I just finished reading the White Tiger and it was terrific.
War Trash by Ha Jin (China/Korea)
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic)
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende (Chile)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Japan)
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Years of Rice And Salt presents an alternate Earth in which The Black Death wiped out European civilization. We see generations of history, on a planet governed by Islamic, Buddhist, etc., principles.
Something I’d recommend that would fit the bill would be Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson. It’s sort of sci-fi-ish, which I generally hate, but as far as identity and inter(really intra-)national relations, it’s awesome.
No. Avatar is a recent example of sci-fi that has a number of IR themes. Though I’ve only seen one Star Trek movie and never seen the show once, I was struck by Spock’s identity, and how it follows with a lot of the non-fiction I’ve read on identity issues.
