1) ASSIGNED LECTURE SLIDESHOW

– Lecture Slideshow – Hmong Documentaries

– Documentary Film Review and Interview by Valerie Orlando

2) VIEW / STREAM ONLINE

• To stream online the following two transnational films (filmed in France, the USA, Laos and Thailand: 

1. Hmong Memory at the Crossroads (2015).  

2. Growing up Hmong at the Crossroads (2017).

Requirements of Assignments:

1.Discussion:

In this week’s discussion, and in preparation for your weekly response assignment, you are asked to reply to 2 questions of your choice from the list below, and respond thoughtfully (based on online discussion criteria) to another classmate’s comment. 

Your posts must refer to each film to discuss how memory is constructed by the Hmong community in France, the United States and South-East Asia, by using specific examples, quotes, and other details from this week’s videos. 

Question:

This assignment is an opportunity to expand and build on ideas you explored in the Online Discussion Forum for this week’s Module 2.

In this week’s discussion, and in preparation for your weekly response assignment, you are asked to reply to 2 questions of your choice (one from A and one from B lists below), and cite at least one key idea from the assigned reading to support your comments or arguments. 

Your posts must refer to each film to discuss how the personal stories told by the Hmong community in France, the United States and South-East Asia enables them to construct their own versions of history (their memory of the past) and to humanize them.  In your answer, please use specific examples, quotes, and other details from this week’s videos. 

2.WRITTEN RESPONSE TO READINGS and/or VIDEOS

This week’s online discussion was a preparation for your weekly response assignment below, in which we begin to explore and brainstorm answers informally within the discussion forum as a class. 

In this assignment, you are asked to reply to four questions of your choice (2 questions from A and 2 questions from B lists below), and cite at least one key idea from the assigned reading to support your comments or arguments. 

Your posts must refer to each film to discuss how the personal stories told by the Hmong community in France, the United States and South-East Asia enables them to construct their own versions of history (their memory of the past) and to humanize them.  In your answer, please use specific examples, quotes, and other details from this week’s videos. 

* PLEASE NOTE: Your Weekly Written Assignments are a more refined and expanded version of the Online discussion content, in which students are expected to conduct a more developed analysis (following instructions in the prompt) and also consider ideas of other classmates to incorporate in the final answers.  Students are allowed to include in their weekly written assignment answers to questions they already chose to answer in the online discussion, as long as they are more expanded, either by individual effort or by incorporating other classmates’ ideas that are relevant to the questions (on condition that the names of students who contributed the idea be cited/acknowledged).

You need to submit these two assignments to me separately.

Question #A  – Choose ONE discussion point from the following list to present your critical reflection on the main issues and themes explored in the film Hmong Memory at the Crossroads (2015):

a.    In the film, experts, historians and French and American government officials offer their specific perspectives on the history of the Hmong people.  What do we learn from them about Hmong people ? Give specific examples from the film. 

b.    What are the highlights of Liachoua Lee’s trip to France? Why is this trip important for him ?  How does his personal story & family history help us gain insight into what was erased from official French History and America History?

c.    What are the most important moments of Liachoua Lee’s trip to Laos (his native country)? How did this trip change him? What more facts did his son Cedric learn about his father’s past and his family history ?

d.    During his travels, Liachoua Lee encounters different people along the way.  Give one example of these encounter and describe how it unfolded and its significance for Liachoua.  What are the moments that you find emotionally powerful or interesting in the film and why ?

Question #B – Choose ONE discussion point from the list below to share your critical reflection on the main issues and themes explored in the film Growing up Hmong at the Crossroads (2017):

a.    Describe the highlights of the journey of Justin, Joshua and Bella to Laos, to their cultural roots, through their travel to the country of origin of their parents for the first time in their lives: who did they travel with? why? who are the people they meet there? what places do they visit? what is the focus of their conversations? how does this trip impact them?

b.    How do the stories of other young Hmong people interviewed in the film portray their relationship to French society? Discuss how they view their place in French society: do they feel completely integrated as French citizens, or do they feel invisible, and how/why? Give a specific example from the film and discuss.

c.    How do experts interviewed in the film explain the situation of Hmong people in American and French society? cite specific quotes that reflect their views on factors that contribute to their situation.

d.    How does Cedric Lee, the voiceover and key young Hmong participant in the film, describe his own journey and identity? how does he view his relationship to Detroit and to American society?  How does he view his relationship to France and Laos? how do they fit in his individual identity?  How is their memory work connected with their desire to fit and create a place for themselves in French society and American society? What moments in the film do you consider thematically significant and why? give very specific examples from the film to support your answer.

Extra Credit: Read Robert McMichael, “We-Insist-Freedom Now.” Offer at least a 700 word summary of the article. Include mention of at least 3 major artists and 3 songs. Also, additionally, address the following: much of this jazz music is instrumental; discuss what effect not having lyrics might have on the interpretation and reception of this music.