Southeast Asian Archive Newsletter

Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring 1995
Editor: Anne Frank

Recent Gifts

Pham Boi Diep: Tieng Tho Hai Ngoai, by Hoang Diep.

Diem Hoang Do: Peace and Prisoners of War, by Phan Nhat Nam, 1989.

Nguyen Kinh Doanh: His Trat Tu Tan The Gioi va Sieu Quyen Luc.

Dr. Motoo Furuta: 1995 calendar from Vietnam, handpainted on silk.

Hmong Student Association: Photocopy of Hmong, History of a People, by Keith Quincy.

Terpsi Kapiniaris-Tan: copies of newspapers clippings, articles, newsletters and ephemera relating to Cambodian Americans.

Gen Lee: Praleng Khmer 1993 (UCLA United Cambodian Students).

Nguyen Long: His Vietnam 95, 1995.

Sue Mote: Her M.A. thesis (UC Davis), Patients and Providers: Two Views of Hmong Health Care, 1993.

Khuong X. Nguyen: Bong Sen, Phat Giao Hai Ngoai, Tap San Linh Son 03, 1995; Tap San Hoa Sen, vol. 23:9, 1994, and Cac Tong Phai Fao Phay.

Viet Nguyen: Catalogue of his works, Viet Nguyen, Sculptetching Va Beyond.

Daniel Tsang: articles and newspaper clippings concerning Vietnamese youth; copies of the Angkor Borei News. Van Nghe: Dau Chan Cat Xoa, Minh Lai Soi Minh, Nguoi Vai Tu Phuong, by Doan Quoc Sy (1995); Hon Nua Doi Hu, by Vuong Hong Sen (1995).

Vietnamese Professionals Society: Giao Diem, vol. 22:2 (February 1995).

Vietnamese Student Association: Vuon Xuan UCI 1995.

Linh D. Vo: Freedom Plaque and folder of photographs and accompanying materials concerning "The Girl in the Photograph," (by Nick Utt) and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Christina Woo: Issue no. 1 (1995) of Vietnow.

Sincere thanks to all the individuals and organizations who have donated materials to the Southeast Asian Archive. Your support has been vital to our success.

Vietnamese American Art Exhibit at UCI Library

Khoa Le, besides being a well-known photographer, is an accomplished musician and composer. His symphony, "1-9-7-5", will be performed by the Pacific Symphony Institute Orchestra at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on June 3. He also is the co-chair of Project 20, the year long commemoration of the first 20 years of life in the United States for the refugees from Vietnam.

Viet Nguyen fled Saigon in the last hours of the U.S. airlift on April 30, 1975. His training as a traditional Vietnamese artist included French influences and those of other Asian cultures. He continued his art studies in Southern California, and his work has evolved from an early realism to a more abstract style which includes the many artistic traditions to which he has been exposed. He has exhibited widely in Southern California, including the 1991 Irvine Fine Arts Center exhibit,"Four Artists/Bon Hoa Si."

The show runs from April 25 through May 19. The hours are 8:00 AM-11:00 PM, Monday- Thursday; 8:00 AM-6:00 PM, Friday; 12 noon- 6:00 PM, Saturday; 12 noon-11:00 PM, Sunday. For directions to UCI, parking information, and other questions please call 824-4968.

New SEA Archive Student Assistants

I have enjoyed my four years at UCI, mainly because I have realized that there is more to life than just studying. I am a well-rounded person, and I take pride in everything I do. The things I value most are my family, friends, good health, and a good sense of humor. I was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. when I was four years old. I have two older brothers and four younger sisters. Being the oldest girl has its advantages and disadvantages.

After graduation I hope to take a trip somewhere (anywhere) for a month before I begin optometry school in August. I will be attending the Southern California College of Optometry.

Single Asian female seeking a nice looking guy. Must be 5'8, weight approximately 175, must have brown eyes. OOPS!!! wrong advertisement!!!

Hi, my name is Lien Lam. I have just started working at the Southeast Asian Archive. This is my first year at UCI. I am a Bio major with a minor in Psychology. I'm planning to double major in Spanish. I tried to take as many PE classes as I can before the PE department closes down. I like to live on the dangerous side; I ride my bike without a helmet.

Vietnamese American Classes at UCI

"The Vietnamese American Experience" is being offered during UCI's Summer Session I, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 1:00-3:00 in Social Sciences Trailer 100. The class will be taught by Robert Hayden, who is a graduate student in Social Sciences (Comparative Culture) at UCI. For a number of years Robert has served as reader for Pham Cao Duong's popular course at UCI.

For the 1995-1996 academic year Dr. Tri Dinh Tran has been appointed as a lecturer in the Student Recommended Faculty Program at UCI. Dr. Tran currently teaches at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose. During Fall quarter he will offer "Vietnamese Culture," Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00-12:20, and "Vietnamese American Identity and Experience" (Social Sciences 189C), Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 12:00-12:50.

The Future of Asian American Studies
by James Chung Lam

I want to talk about the issue of Asian American Studies here at UC Irvine, and to place it in a historical context.... From there I will go into my personal recommendations for the direction of our program and Asian American Studies in general ....

Asian American students at UCI, through the Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA), began to pressure the university in the mid-1980s. But it wasn't until the 1990-91 school year that constructive steps were finally taken. During this year, the four major umbrella organizations of the Cross-Cultural Center formed the Ethnic Studies Coalition Against Prejudicial Education (ESCAPE). In the Spring of 1991, ESCAPE staged a mass rally during the close of Asian Heritage Week, and then disrupted UCI's 25th anniversary celebration at Wayzgoose with another mass demonstration. Two years later, however, promises made by the administration in response to the ESCAPE protests remained unfilled - no Asian American Studies professors had been hired. In the Spring of 1992, frustrated by the university's inaction, APSA ended Asian Pacific Heritage Week with another mass rally, occupying the chancellor's office for hours. An educational vigil and rotational fast followed the demonstration; it lasted for 35 days and culminated in another protest and occupation of the chancellor's office on the last day of school.

From these student efforts, four FTE (professorship) positions were allocated for the creation of an Asian American Studies program: one for a director, one for an associate professor, and two assistant professors .... presently, we are still in the process of recruiting for the directorship and the two other faculty positions.

It's pathetic that UCI does not have an Asian American Studies program when one out of every two undergraduate students is Asian American. But there are also positive aspects to the fact that the program is still in a formative stage, because students can guide the future direction of this program. So, finally, I want to make some recommendations as to how we can build a program that addresses the diversity of the Asian American community, and will stay committed to its community activist roots.

First, to address the diversity of Asian American, we need to see that "Asian America" means something different today than it did in the 1960s. The experience of newer groups, such as Southeast Asians, has not been adequately examined. At UCI, our Asian American Studies program should concentrate its research endeavors on the study of Southeast Asian communities because of Irvine's proximity to the largest Vietnamese community in the United States. By doing so, our program will be on the cutting edge of Asian American research. Moreover, Asian American Studies is not only about the experience of Asians in America. We need to move beyond this geographical limitation. The experience and identity of most Asian Americans today is constructed not only in the U.S., but also in the countries that we come from. For instance, we cannot talk about Vietnamese Americans by mentioning only what they have gone through in America; it is essential that we also discuss what Vietnamese people experienced in Vietnam, their experience with the war, with communism and imperialism, in concentration and refugee camps, etc. What they have gone through overseas in a large part determines and informs what they experience here in America, how they see themselves, and how they identify themselves as Vietnamese Americans. So our Asian American Studies needs to implement an international focus - what is going on in Asia that impacts on Asian American communities? In addition, Asian American Studies needs to be multilingual to be successful. Our efforts here to establish a strong Asian American Studies program should coincide with a new student movement to broaden the Asian Language class offerings to include languages such as Tagalog and Vietnamese.

On the political and activist side, Asian American Studies has become "depoliticized;" it needs to provide leadership on political issues by analyzing policies that affect our communities, and providing race- and gender-sensitive alternatives to public policy issues. By taking this political stance, Asian American Studies can rebuild that connection with the communities. We need to ask ourselves: how can Asian American Studies and the communities as represented by community-based organizations) be resources for each other in terms of research, providing student interns and volunteers, and in training new activists to work within these communities. Even in our discussion today, this panel lacks the representation of community-based organizations.

In sum, I hope that this talk helps us to better understand Asian American Studies and what's been going on here at UCI. We need to see that our struggle here at Irvine is a continuation of the student movement which began in the Sixties. We should be proud that we are part of this great student legacy of student and community empowerment. Looking back at our failures and accomplishments, it's scary to realize how much further we need to struggle on. But then again, I hope that our movement here empowers us and encourages us all to become more active in the pursuit of making education more equitable, inclusive, and open to alternative perspectives. So I hope this brings up more dialogue on how we can establish an Asian American Studies program that is progressive, politically active, and community- and student-oriented.

James Chung Lam is a UCI alumnus. He has served as co-editor of The RicePaper and as chair of the Vietnamese American Coalition. In Fall 1995, as a Woodrow Wilson fellow, he will be working for his masters degree in public policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

April 30th Commemoration at UCI

VSA Spring Concert

Vietnamese Handicapped Support Group (VHSG)

20th Anniversary Reunion at Camp Pendleton

CYA Needs Books

Upcoming Conferences

Association of Asian American Studies (AAAS) National Conference: Parc Oakland Hotel and Oakland (CA) Convention Center, June 1-4, 1995.
The preliminary program lists a number of sessions on the program concerning Southeast Asians. Included are papers on: Vietnamese American exile politics; new trends in Vietnamese American culture and literature; Vietnamese American voices inside schools; mental health risk factors among Vietnamese refugees; role of a religious group in the identity formation of Vietnamese immigrant women; Vietnamese American contemporary popular music; Vietnamese American - Vietnam relations; Vietnamese American women in transition; Hmong in exile; Iu- Mien refugee identity; politics of forging a community and self-representation among Vietnamese/Cambodian-Cham Americans; and Vietnamese in America: their struggle to define "home." There also will be a Cambodian American roundtable discussion. For more information contact Jiannbin Shiao, Asian American Studies Department, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2574; 510/642-6555; 510/642- 6456 (fax); asamst@uclink.berkeley.edu.

The National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans (NAFEA) is issuing a call for proposals for their 16th annual conference in New Orleans, March 31-April 2, 1996. There is particular interest in proposals that reflect innovative approaches to addressing the concerns of the Southeast Asian communities. For a copy of the proposal form contact Greg Levitt, Center for the Pacific Rim, University of New Orleans - College of Education, 5820 Hurst St., New Orleans, LA 70115. Deadline for submission is July 31, 1995.

Selected Recent Acquisitions

Bliatout, Bruce Thowpaou. Hmong death customs: traditional and acculturated. In Donald P. Irish, Kathleen F. Lundquist, Vivian Jenkins Nelson (Eds). Ethnic variations in dying, death, and grief: diversity in universality. (pp. 79-100). Washington, D.C.: Taylor and Francis.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters File
Detailed description and analysis of traditional funeral customs and the adaptation of the funeral process in the United States. Includes a short section on the customs of Hmong Christians.

Do, Camille Ngoc. Vietnamese former detainees in the U.S.: assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder and current needs. M.S.W., California State University, Long Beach, 1992.
HV640.5 V5 D6 1992a Southeast Asian Archive
Examines the resettlement needs, including mental and physical health, family counseling, and employment assistance, among a group of 54 former detainees who have arrived in the U.S. since 1989.

Duchon, Deborah A. Home is where you make it: Hmong refugees in Georgia. M.A. Thesis, Georgia State University, 1993.
Cataloging in Process
Examines the factors that have contributed to the successful adaptation of Hmong refugees in metropolitan Atlanta.

Hall, Kari Rene. Beyond the killing fields. 1992. Video.
Uncataloged
Photographs, on-site sounds and interviews concerning Khmer refugees in Site 2 refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border. From the book of the same name.

Hunt, Dennis J. The effects of stressful life experiences on the adjustment of adolescent Vietnamese refugees in foster care. Ph.D., George Washington University, 1988.
Cataloging in Process
Examines the adjustment of 63 Vietnamese and 29 Amerasian refugee children during their first 18 months in foster care in the U.S.

Kiang, Peter N. & Kaplan, Jenny. (1994). Where do we stand? Views of racial conflict by Vietnamese American high-school students in a black-and-white context. The Urban Review, 26(2), 95-119.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters File
Uses qualitative research to examine the views of Vietnamese students at South Boston High School in the aftermath of a 1993 violent clash between black and white students at the school.

Longmire, B. Jean. (1992). Communicating a social identity in a job interview in a Cambodian American community. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 3(1), 49-58.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters File
Examines how traditional Cambodian values, transmitted in job interviews, can be interpreted negatively by American employers, not recognizing Cambodian values of respect for hierarchy, recognition of place, and collectivism.

Les recherches en science humaines sur le Laos. Actes de la conference internationale organisee a Vietniane., 7-10 Decembre 1993. Paris: 1994.
Cataloging in Process
Bibliographic essays on various topics, e.g., geography, linguistics, religion, etc., and on the state of Lao studies abroad.

Rolland, Barbara J. & Moua, Houa Vue. Trail through the mists. Eau Claire, WI: Eagles Printing Co., 1994.
Cataloging in Process
Tells the story of Houa Vue Moua and her family from March 1963, when the family was forced to leave Laos, to their arrival in 1975 at a refugee camp in Thailand.

Sing, Phia. Traditional recipes of Laos. London: Prospect Books, 1981.
TX724.5 L28 S5613 1981 Southeast Asian Archive
A facsimile reproduction and English translation of the manuscript recipe books of Phia Sing, the Master of Ceremonies and Chef from the Royal Palace at Luang Prabang.

Trinh, Dzung. Health beliefs and practices of Vietnamese refugees in San Diego and San Jose. M.D., University of California, San Diego, 1987.
Uncataloged
Identifies health practices of Vietnamese refugees, beliefs about illness and how these beliefs influence treatment choice, and similarities between folk practices and western medicine.

Who we are: voices of diversity. West (San Jose Mercury News Sunday magazine), Dec. 4, 1994, pp. 12-27.
Uncataloged
Profile of the Vietnamese American community in San Jose, California. Includes biographical information on individuals.

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