Explores the issue of cultural otherness in fiction, film, and other forms.

"Methodologically situated in the contentious spaces between critical theory and cultural studies, and always attending to the implications of ethnicity, this book constitutes a unique intervention in contemporary cultural politics." —Social Semiotics

At a time when cultural identity has become intrinsic to the way we read our many "others," Rey Chow argues that what demands to be examined critically is no longer identity politics per se but the idealism—especially in the sense of idealizing otherness—that lies at the heart of identity politics. She discusses multiple cultural forms—fiction, film, popular music, poetry, and essays—and a range of cultural topics—pedagogy, multiculturalism, fascism, sexuality, miscegenation, fantasy, nostalgia, and postcoloniality.