2024 Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium: Hmong Studies in the University of Wisconsin System

This plenary session brings together students, faculty, staff, and community members involved in envisioning, fighting for, growing, building, and implementing Hmong Studies programs within the University of Wisconsin System over the last two decades. Hmong Studies as a field of study emerged and was formed through advocacy, much like other interdisciplines such as ethnic studies and gender and women’s studies. Since the mid-2000s, we’ve seen the emergence of Hmong Studies and Hmong-related courses, research, language revitalization efforts, creative activity, student programming, international study programs, and community-based activist and scholarly projects emerge on campuses in the UW System. However, we have yet to learn how these developments came about and the stakes involved in ensuring the growth and continuance of Hmong Studies as a field of study in the UW System. This plenary charts the emergence of Hmong Studies by detailing the challenges and successes it has encountered as it sought to ground itself in the academy.