Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-410).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-166). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-247).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-204).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [380]-426).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 1986. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-209).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-204).

Based on fourteen-months of multi-sited, ethnographic fieldwork that compares two Hmong communities in Vang Vieng, Laos, and Sacramento, California in the United States, my doctoral thesis examines how the Hmong diaspora is constituted in the absence of a territorial ethnic homeland. Although scholars claim that the Hmong originated in the southwestern part of China, many Hmong are uncertain about their origins and have lost their connections to the ancestral homeland. This thesis suggests we examine diasporas as a dialectical process involving both transnational continuity and national differentiation. Despite their further migratory dispersal after the Vietnam War, Hmong in Laos and the United States have actively created a transnational diasporic community by maintaining their cultural practices across national borders, particularly in the domains of kinship practices and spiritual rituals. At the same time, diasporic Hmong have also created partial 'homes' in the nation-states where they reside. Therefore, their ethnic traditions and perceptions are transformed according to different national contexts, such as local socioeconomic conditions, state policies, and access to economic capital. This results in cultural differences within the diaspora. In addition, Hmong in different countries disagree about their relative position in the diaspora in relation to each other, leading to discursive fragmentation. As a result, diasporas are refracted through different national affiliations. Nonetheless, the sense of national belonging among diasporic Hmong remains partial because they continue to experience social, economic, and ethnic marginalization as an ethnic minority group in both Laos and the United States, which causes them to maintain a diasporic affiliation to Hmong scattered in other countries as an alternative source of ethnic belonging. In this sense, the Hmong are constantly positioned 'in-between' the diaspora and the nation-state.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 16, 2006. Dissertation Committee: John R. McCarthy (chair), Larry D. Kennedy, David L. Tucker, Lemuel W. Watson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-88) and abstract. Also available in print.