Carolyn Wong

Voting Together

Intergenerational Politics and Civic Engagement Among Hmong Americans

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Carolyn Wong is a Research Associate at the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and the author of Lobbying for Inclusion: Rights Politics and the Making of Immigration Policy (Stanford, 2006).

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 304
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Juni 2017
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 231mm x 157mm x 20mm
• Gewicht: 499g
• ISBN-13: 9780804782234
• ISBN-10: 0804782237
• Artikelnr.: 45002417

Autorenporträt

Carolyn Wong is a Research Associate at the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and the author of Lobbying for Inclusion: Rights Politics and the Making of Immigration Policy (Stanford, 2006).

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
1Citizenship and Participation
chapter abstract
Chapter One introduces the general argument developed in subsequent
chapters. In Hmong American communities, political participation arises and
deepens through inter-generational social mechanisms of voting. The process
is aided by local institutions that educate newcomers in participatory
skills and aid reconstruction of identity narratives. Present-day notions
about citizenship rights and a desire for political inclusion are
influenced by the Vietnam War experience of the Hmong Americans and their
status as stateless refugees after the war. The relatively low levels of
social-economic attainment of the Hmong Americans compared to other Asian
Americans helps explain the motivation to participate in politics to press
for public policy that would address poverty and educational reform
2Reconstructing Identity Narratives
chapter abstract
Chapter Two examines the cultural and political meaning of identity stories
as articulated by Hmong Americans, including examples of how freedom and
parity are expressed in these narratives. These stories have formed through
an amalgam of lived experience and values. The process of construction and
telling of the narratives is participatory. The engagement of ordinary
people in conversations and creation of interpretive stories and performing
art productions is what animates the identity narratives in civic and
political life.
3Participation in Local Contexts
chapter abstract
Chapter Three compares local contexts of political and civic participation
in several cities - principally, Fresno, California; Saint
Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and Hickory, North
Carolina. The analysis uses a conceptual framework delineating the nature
of parity of participation in society, including the realm of economic
distribution and cultural recognition, as articulated by Fraser. The
analysis emphasizes the importance of public educational institutions and
community based organizations in promoting citizen education. . Interviews
of high school students illustrate the importance of cultural recognition
in the process of citizen education.
4Views on Politics: From Leadership and the Grassroots
chapter abstract
Chapter Four uses interviews of Hmong American leaders and grassroots
community members to examine views on a wide range of questions: the nature
and extent of participants' political and civic engagement; sources of
political information; attitudes about leadership; relationships to
political parties; views about the main problems in the community; concepts
of ethnic identity; and views of national policy issues.
5Human Rights Advocacy Across Borders
chapter abstract
Chapter Five presents a case study of the politics of recognition and
dignity as expressed in the testimony of Hmong refugees about human rights
violations in Thailand, where their relatives' graves were desecrated. A
collaborative project led by human rights researchers at the University of
Minnesota and Hmong American political leaders explored how the rights
claims can be usefully framed in terms of indigenous religious rights. From
the work of a newly emerging generation of college-educated Hmong
Americans, parts of this story began to find moving expression in a nascent
literary and performing arts.
6 Deepening Intergenerational Participation
chapter abstract
Chapter Six concludes with a discussion of future prospects for wider and
deeper political participation of the Hmong Americans. The desire to engage
in elections is rooted in a belief in the role of government in assisting
people poverty to become self-sufficient. Experiencing racial prejudice and
economic disadvantage opens opportunities for education about commonality
of interest with other racial-ethnic minorities and socially marginalized
people. From this ground there is potential to better appreciate the power
of collective action in politics and to gain the skills needed in a truly
participatory citizenship which extends beyond voting alone. To realize
this potential requires imagining collaborative and inter-generational
projects of community-based political education.