Researching Transnational Hmong Networks
Prasit Leepreecha
Associate Professor
Department of Social Science and Development
Faculty of Social Sciences
Chiang Mai University.
Hmong is a transnational ethnic group. Today, Hmong populations are dispersed across different parts of the world. Living in a globalized context, Hmong communities maintain transnational networks using modern communication technologies. Kinship networks can be represented in family-tree diagrams generated using RPA scripts, linking members of the same lineage who live in different countries. The entertainment sector also plays a vital role in connecting Hmong communities across national borders. Religious beliefs, including both Hmong ancestral beliefs and Christianity, have likewise become transnationally connected. Transnational business ties have also become increasingly prominent in areas such as clothing, herbal medicine, and other commercial activities. In addition, Hmong tourism between more developed and less developed countries, in which Hmong visitors travel to meet and visit other Hmong communities, has become an increasingly prominent phenomenon and has contributed to the formation of new social connections.
Therefore, rather than focusing exclusively on a single issue or a particular local or national field site, I propose that scholars of Hmong studies should examine these transnational Hmong networks and the ways in which they are formed, maintained, and transformed across national borders.