AAS Call for Proposals

Hi all.

My name is Dr. P. Mike Rattanasengchanh and I am an Assistant Professor of Asian and US history at Midwestern State University. 

I am seeking 1 other person to submit a panel to the next AAS conference. The theme can still be figured out but I was thinking of a panel about refugee/immigrant/diaspora communities, specifically about the historical memory of "their homeland's" history and key events that took place. As is explained further below, I look at how first and second generation Lao-Americans have differing narratives of Lao history and of the civil war that took place. This has led some members of the community to vote different politically, with the first generation being more republican and the second leaning towards democrat -- historical understanding being one factor in how they view politics.

This is just a rough abstract below.

My paper will be on my research with first and second generation Lao-Americans, specifically on how members within the refugee community have diverging memory and narratives of Lao history and its civil war during the Second Indochina war. Though it is not new that first and second generation immigrants, like the Lao, are not same due to differing assimilation experiences, their understanding of key moments in Lao history has shown a growing distance between older and younger groups. Through oral interviews and primary and secondary source research at several archives and libraries, older Lao-Americans view the U.S. bombing of Laos as necessary and see the American intervention as justifiable due to outside invasion and the request of the Royal Lao Government. The Lao born in the United States and some of the 1.5 generation disagree with their elders, criticizing the U.S. involvement and highlighting the resulting destruction caused by what they see as indiscriminate use of violence. This diverging memory or narrative has carried over into domestic politics being one factor in their political decision-making process. Most of the first generation lean towards the Republican Party, while the younger Lao-Americans are more liberal in their political views and vote more for the Democrat candidates. This is an important story about competing historical narratives that endure across generations and that can often lead to further misunderstandings within refugee communities who are already struggling to feel accepted in the United States.

Please let me know if you are interested or know someone that might be.

Best. Mike Rattanasengchanh, mike.rattanasengchanh@msutexas.edu