POLYPHONIC IDENTITIES AND CULTURAL MEMORY: MULTICULTURAL DISCOURSES IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE (NATIVE AMERICAN, ASIAN AMERICAN, AND LATINO NARRATIVES)

Abstract

The article explores the multicultural panorama of contemporary American literature through the prism of Native American, Asian American, and Latino literary traditions. The relevance of this study is in the growing scholarly interest in multicultural dynamics within contemporary American literature, where the minority voices play a crucial role in shaping cultural memory and identity. In the context of globalization and the reinterpretation of historical narratives, the analysis of Native American, Asian American, and Latino literary texts as carriers of alternative discourses becomes especially significant. The aim of this article is to give general overview on polyphonic identities and the cultural memory formation in contemporary American literature through the lens of multicultural writings (Native American, Asian American, and Latino). Thus, the objective of the article is to focus on multicultural discourse in Native American, Asian American, and Latino narratives. Оbjectives. To prove that contemporary American literature is characterized by a plurality of voices reflecting complex identity formation processes in a multicultural society. Results. Drawing on works by authors such as Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, Maxine Hong Kingston, Leslie Marmon Silko, Amy Tan and others the article focuses on how literary texts negotiate questions of hybridity, migration, historical trauma, and cultural continuity. Special attention is given to narrative polyphony, mythopoetic reconstruction, and code-switching as tools for redefining American identity. Conclusions. As a result, the research demonstrates that modern American literature is no longer centered on a singular cultural paradigm but instead represents a dynamic and dialogic space shaped by multiple ethnic voices. Multicultural narratives play a significant role in preserving and transforming cultural memory, facilitating a deeper understanding of identity formation and cultural interaction in a globalized world.