Resettling Histories: Hmong Migrations and Identity Beyond Borders

Dear Colleagues,

Population displacement affects not only those who are uprooted but also the communities that receive them. The history of Hmong migrations is characterized by displacement, resilience, and adaptation across diverse geopolitical landscapes, with their forced migration from Southeast Asia having resulted in the formation of diasporic communities in the Americas, Europe, and beyond. Given this background, the aim of this Special Issue is to explore how Hmong communities negotiate borders—geographic, cultural, and political—while simultaneously maintaining and transforming their sense of identity. We invite critical engagement with historical trajectories, oral traditions, and contemporary realities that illuminate the complex interplay between migration, resettlement, and identity formation. In doing so, our aim is to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue that situates Hmong histories within broader global conversations on migration, diaspora, and cultural continuity. We invite scholars and researchers to submit proposals for papers that examine the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of Hmong migrations and identity formation across time and transnational contexts. Papers that chronicle and reflect on the experiences and representations of Hmong populations globally are especially welcome.

Beyond historical reconstruction, this Special Issue engages with contemporary debates on diaspora, transnationalism, and cultural preservation. It highlights how Hmong communities negotiate language, religion, and intergenerational identity in host societies, offering insights that complicate conventional models of assimilation. By incorporating interdisciplinary approaches and prioritizing community-centered narratives, this Issue will enrich the existing literature and challenge dominant paradigms in migration studies. In doing so, it will not only fill critical gaps in scholarship but also provide a platform for dialogue on the enduring legacies of displacement and the dynamic processes of cultural continuity and change.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editor (vangcy@uwm.edu) or to Genealogy editorial office (genealogy@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

References

Nicholas Tapp and Gary Yia Lee (eds). The Hmong of Australia: Culture and Diaspora (Australian University Press, 2010).

Mark Pfeifer, Monica Chiu, and Kou Yang (eds.), Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the Twenty-First Century (University of Hawaii Press, 2013).

Chia Youyee Vang, Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora (University of Illinois Press, 2010).

Chia Youyee Vang, “Thinking Refugee: The Politics of Hmong Place-Making in Argentina and French Guiana.” Amerasia Journal, 44:2 (2018).

Melissa May Borja, Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change (Harvard University Press, 2023).

Sangmi Lee, Reclaiming Diasporic Identity: Transnational Continuity and National Fragmentation in the Hmong Diaspora (University of Illinois Press, 2024).

Jean-Pierre Hassoun, Hmong du Laos en France: changement social, initiatives et adaptations (Presses Universitaires de France, 1997)

Dr. Chia Youyee Vang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genealogy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• war
• memory
• Hmong communities and placemaking
• refugee resettlement
• diaspora
• displacement
• oral traditions
• transnational migration
• Hmong identity cultural preservation