Memory Beyond Borders: The Hmong Diaspora, Communication Technologies, and the Transnational Processes of Collective Memory-Making

Abstract

Alongside cross-border movements of peoples, information, and ideas, globalisation has also accelerated and amplified the flows of memories across state borders. In particular, the increase in global access to new communication technologies – such as online media – has enabled greater cross-border mobility of cultural products, such as films and texts, which are carriers of memories. In this thesis, I examine how Hmong diasporic communities in the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere have been impacted by the globalisation of communication technologies. In particular, I focus on why and how Hmong diasporans have used technology to remember, digitalise, and preserve the memories of homeland, trauma, and solidarity across borders. Using communication technologies, Hmong diasporans in different parts of the world have been able to partake in commemorative narratives and practices of remembrance. In return, digital memories are produced and are easily shared across borders. Hence, digital memories have enabled transnational processes of collective memory-making to unfold. Importantly, these transnational processes have helped diasporans to mitigate the geographical distance within and across hostlands, and to maintain cross-border connections with co-ethnic communities and the homeland. Therefore, I argue that the transnational processes of collective memory-making sustain a Hmong diasporic identity and also address the challenges faced by Hmong diasporans who have experienced a traumatic exodus from Laos (the homeland) and assimilation in a hostland. As I will illustrate, the Hmong diasporic community in the U.S. has been at the forefront in the transnational making of a Hmong collective memory.