Asian American literature, African American literature, queer studies. Author of articles on Carlos Bulosan, Langston Hughes, Jose Garcia Villa, and the Filipino diaspora. His book, Beyond the Nation: Diasporic Filipino Literature and Queer Reading, was published by New York University Press in 2012.

His current projects include a study of how competing imperialisms and nationalismsare mediated through sexuality in Asian American literature; an analysis of how non-normative desires and sexualities are framed in post-1965 Asian American literature; and a reconsideration of "identity politics" in 1960s and 70s ethnic cultures.