Claiming Others: Transracial Adoption and National Belonging

(University of Minnesota Press) In this study, Jerng traces the history of adoption to the early 19th century, revealing its centrality to American literature, law, and social thought. He rethinks the parent-child bond as central to issues of race and nationality, showing the ways adoption also speaks to broader questions about our history and identity. Understanding adoption, he argues, is crucial to understanding not just the history between races in the United States, but also the meaning of emancipation and the role of family in nationhood. Jerng is an assistant professor of English at the University of California, Davis.