Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. The Making of the Hmong Diaspora: History, Multiple Homelands, and Ambivalent Belonging

Hmong Diasporic History and Multiple Homeland Narratives

Locating the Hmong Diaspora in Ambivalent Local Belongings

 
Part Ⅱ. Transnational Ethnic and Cultural Continuity

An “Imagined” Community of Transnational Kin: Hmong Kinship Continuities in the Diaspora

Compassionate Money: Monetarized Longing and Emotional Remittances in the Transnational Familial Economy

From Local to Transnational: Hmong Shamanism and Spiritual Rituals across Borders

 
Part III. Cultural Difference and Discursive Fragmentation

Cultural Differences in the Diaspora: Hmong Funerals and the Nation-State

Diaspora’s National Affiliations: Relative Belonging to the Nation-State and Discursive Fragmentation

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Sangmi Lee is an assistant professor of anthropology at Arizona State University.

Reviews

“The author uses highly original methods to address the complexities, nuances, and challenges of understanding identities and senses of belonging among the Hmong diaspora. The linking of the Hmong communities in central Laos and Sacramento, California, is a particularly novel approach that pushes forward new understandings of community and belonging that transcends borders.”--Vanessa L. Fong, author of Paradise Redefined: Transnational Chinese Students and the Quest for Flexible Citizenship in the Developed World