Hmong Studies Consortium
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Spring 2015 Hmong Conference at UW-Madison

“Hmong Around the World”
A Conference Organized by the Hmong Studies Consortium, 
Center of Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), University of Wisconsin-Madison
April 10-11, 2015
Ingraham Hall, room 206, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 
1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 

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Conference Itinenary

9:00-9:15 Conference Opening, Ian G. Baird (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

9:15-9:55 Panel Discussion: “Hmong Resources in SEAiT”
Moderator: Larry Ashmun (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Panelists:

  1. Larry Ashmun (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  2. Frederic C. Benson
  3. William Sage

9:55-10:55 “Hmong Change”
Moderator: TBD

  1. Cho Ly, “Practices and Representations of the Hmong of French Guiana on their Language
  2. May Vang (Concordia University) “Hmong Heritage Language Learners:  Locating Meaning and Identity Through the Imagined”
  3. Pao Vue (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “From Subsistence to Cash Crop Farming”

10:55-11:15 Break

11:15-12:30 “Hmong Women and Gender Issues”
Moderator: Chong Moua (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  1. Mai Na Lee (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) “Queens and Women Warriors in Hmong Messianic Rebellions”
  2. Leena Her (Kennesaw State University) “Decolonizing Hmong Women in Western Texts”
  3. Choua Xiong (University of Wisconsin-Madison) (presenter), and Ari Anand, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, “Racialized Gender Among Hmong-American Undergraduates”
  4. Lori Lopez (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Hmong Women and Participatory Media”

12:30-1:30 Lunch (including Soul Vang poems at the end of the lunch period, introduced by Timothy Yu (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

1:30-3:05 “Contesting Change from Within and from Without: Perspectives on the Hmong Diaspora”
Moderator: Ricky Gettys (Brigham Young University)

  1. Jacob R. Hickman (Brigham Young University), Chinou Vang (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Chee Lor (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “The Lifecourse and the Course of Life: Why Understanding Hmong Modes of Development Matters for Understanding Cultural Change”
  2. Brittany Paxton (Brigham Young University) “Hmong Culture and Gender as Objects of the Tourist Gaze”
  3. Jolysa Sedgwick (Brigham Young University) “Pandora’s Hope for Hmong Identity in a Relocation Community in Thailand”
  4. Ricky Gettys (Brigham Young University) “Modeling Minorityhood: ‘Official’ Policies and ‘Unofficial’ Politics”
  5. Austin Gillett (Brigham Young University) and Jacob R. Hickman (Brigham Young University) “Tradition, Agency and Emotion in Hmong Moral Discourse”

3:05-3:25 Break

3:25-4:05 “Hmong Culture, Cloth and Clothes”
Moderator:  TBD

  1. Gao Yan (Bijie College, Guizhou, China) “A Sharp Change in Northwestern Guizhou Hmong Costumes”
  2. Linda A. Gerdener (Stanford University) “Hmong Story Cloths: Preserving Historical and Cultural Treasures”

4:05-4:25 Break

4:25-5:25 “Hmong in America”
Moderator: TBD

  1. Mai See Yang (University of Massachusetts Boston) “The Impacts of Life Events on Depression in Later Life among Older Hmong Immigrants”
  2. Victor Jew (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Bridging Knowledges: Connecting Hmong American Self Told Narratives with Archival Sources”
  3. Ruth Hammond, “The Neo Hom Resistance Movement as Reality and Fantasy: 1989 and 2007”

5:25-5:40 Break

5:40-6:40 Roundtable Discussion: “Hmong Scholars around the Table Roundtable: Locating the Critical in Critical Hmong Studies”
Chairs: Chong Moua (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Kao Nou Moua (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
Moderator: Pa Der Vang (St. Catherine’s University)
Roundtable Discussants:

  1. Leena Her (Kennesaw State University)
  2. Mai Na Lee (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
  3. Kong Pheng Pha (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
  4. Mai See Thao (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
  5. Lesley Yang (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)

April 11, 2015

9:00-10:00 “Hmong American Education”
Moderator: Lynet Uttal (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  1. Pao Lor and Ray Hutchison (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay) “Educational Achievement of Hmong American College Students”
  2. Tetyana O. Schneider (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Development of Hmong Students as Global Citizens: Voices of Students Who Majored in STEM in Two-year Colleges”
  3. Pa Der Vang (St. Catherine University) “Experiences of Two Generations of Hmong in Work and School”

10:00-10:20 Break

10:20-11:20 Panel Discussion: “Paj Ntaub: Weaving Women’s Voices Across Generations”
Moderator: Jacqulyn Teoh (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Panelists:

  1. Pa Nhue Vue (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  2. Bao Nhia Moua (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  3. Pang Xiong (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

11:20-11:40 Break

11:40-12:40 “Hmong in Asia History”
Moderator: Mai Na Lee (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)

  1. Frederic C. Benson, “From Nong Het to Long Tieng: Genesis of the Hmong-American Alliance”
  2. Seashia Vang (University of California, Berkeley) “Spheres of Influence: the Hmong and other Upland Peoples during Lao Nation Building (1945-1975)”
  3. Ian G. Baird (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Two Crucial Encounters Related to Hmong Involvement with the Communist Party of Thailand”

12:40-1:40 Lunch (including Soul Vang poems at the end of the lunch period)

1:40-2:15 Keynote Presentation,
Urai Yangcheepsutjarit (Chiang Mai University) “Contesting Social Memories at Doi Yao-Pha Mon”

2:15-2:35 Break

2:35-3:50 Roundtable Discussion: “Racism, Sao Lue Vang, and Hmong American Students: A Roundtable Discussion”
Moderator: Choua Xiong (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Panelists:

  1. Choua Xiong (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  2. Mloog Lus Xiong (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
  3. Mai Neng Vang (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  4. Maggie Xiong (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse)
  5. Pelli Lee (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse)
  6. Kong Yang (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse)

3:50-4:05 Break

4:05-5:20 Roundtable on “Constructing a New Hmong Narrative”
Moderator: Ray Hutchison (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
Panelists:

  1. Pao Lor (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
  2. Mai Na Lee (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
  3. Chong Moua (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  4. Vincent Her (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse)

5:20-5:35 Closing – Ian G. Baird (University of Wisconsin-Madison)