Diaspora Politics, Homeland Erotics, and the Materializing of Memory
Author(s):
Schein, Louisa
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
Positions, Volume 7, Issue 3 (1999-01). pp. 697-729.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Hmong Americans' understandings of their Chinese homeland are studied to demonstrate how gender & memory are played out in such imaginings. Analysis of Hmong American conceptions of Chinese history, especially the genealogy of Hmong identity, reveals the complexity of their commitments to different locales. Two features of the celebration of the Hmong New Year in Fresno, CA, in 1996 -- participation of Laotian dignitaries & the legitimacy of the organizing body -- illustrate the attempt to recuperate a Hmong political state. Anecdotes regarding Hmong American males' return to the homeland & their sexual escapades there are examined to understand how the homeland is eroticized by immigrants. These distinct perspectives of Hmong homeland practices exemplify the theoretical shortcomings of normative models of diasporic configurations. 2 Figures. J. W. Parker