Following the April 2002 HMoob veterans’ protest, over 40 HMoob American students came together to demand that UW-Madison address the academic needs of its HMoob American students. Known as the beginnings of the HMoob American Studies initiative, students called for courses on HMoob history and culture; the offering of HMoob language classes during the academic year; public lectures on HMoob American experiences; better cross-cultural advising; and HMoob-centered study abroad programs in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and China.
Since 2002, more attempts have been made by student groups together with the Center of Southeast Asian Studies and the Asian American Studies Program to establish a HMoob American Studies program. While these efforts were largely unsuccessful, HMoob American students, undeterred by these setbacks, came together to form the HMoob American Studies Committee and submitted in 2017 another proposal for the creation of a HMoob American Studies program. The student-led Committee backed this appeal with a comprehensive campus study released in 2019 that found that the vast majority of HMoob American students felt unwelcomed or excluded at UW-Madison.
In response to the needs and demands of our students, the Asian American Studies Program has partnered with the HMoob American Studies Committee to establish the HMoob American Studies emphasis within the Asian American Studies certificate program. The Asian American Studies Program recognizes this emphasis to be a first step towards addressing the HMoob American Studies Committee’s demand for the creation of a HMoob American Studies program.
Requirements
To earn a HMoob American Studies emphasis, students must be enrolled in the Asian American Studies certificate program. Students must complete 2 courses (6 credits) in any of the designated HMoob American Studies courses listed below:
- ASIAN AM 170 Hmong American Experiences in the United States
- ASIAN AM 240 Hmong and Refugee Texts
- ASIAN AM 240 Hmong Refugee History
- ASIAN AM 246 Southeast Asian Refugees of the “Cold” War
- ASIAN AM 441 Hmong American Social Movements in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Declaration Process
Students enrolled in the certificate program have the option to declare an emphasis in HMoob American Studies. To declare an emphasis, contact Faculty Associate & AASP Undergraduate Student Advisor, Dr. Lisa Ho at lho26@wisc.edu.