Dr. Hertha Wong

Biography

Hertha D. Sweet Wong is a Professor in the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in autobiography, Native American literatures, ethnic American literatures, and visual studies. Her recent book, 'Picturing Identity: Contemporary American Autobiography Image Text', published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2018, explores the intersection of autobiography studies and visual studies, focusing on how late 20th-century writers and artists experiment with innovative interart autobiographical forms to convey shifting identities. Wong's research addresses the complexities of late 20th-century American subjectivity, shaped by history, culture, and community, as represented through a variety of image-text forms including story quilts, comic books, and illustrated memoirs. In addition to her book, she has authored 'Sending Heart Back: Tradition Innovation in Native American Autobiography' and numerous articles on Native American literatures and visual culture. Wong served as the editor of casebooks on Louise Erdrich’s 'Love Medicine' and works focusing on contemporary Native American women's fiction, further contributing to the academic discourse on these critical subjects.

Research Interests