Hmong America Analysis

After researching the Hmong culture, I learned several interesting facts about their culture, ceremonial practices, and their views on death and dying of a loved one. Many people in the Hmong culture believe in multiple souls that reincarnate. Although for this to occur, these individuals believe that an honored deceased member must have a proper burial to enter the spirit world in a positive way. Funerals in the Hmong culture last for many days, and the more revered the deceased is the longer the funeral may be. Animal sacrifice is a common ritual performed at a Hmong funeral and the animal is used to provide food for the people attending the funeral (Purnell, 2014, p. 246).

3. Give specific examples of how health care professionals did not value or respond effectively to any of the Hmong values/beliefs you have listed in the questions above. What was the outcome of that cultural insensitivity. The Hmong traditions, beliefs and ways of life were often compromised at the hands of American society.

When people hear about elderly individuals most will assume that they are wise, filled with endless amounts of wisdom, and have stories to pass down. Well, if an individual is an elderly Hmong male, then this is accurate. It has been said “Within the family, the eldest man would traditionally hold the utmost power and control and would possess final say regarding all family decisions” (Tatman 2004). Also, the elder adults are typically seen as clan leaders. Clan leaders make many decisions and approve of any major decisions (Cobb 2010).

During the Vietnam War, another war broke out known as the Laotian Civil War. An organization and communist political movement called “Pathet Lao” from North Vietnam was trying to overthrow the Royal Lao Government. While this was happening the CIA recruited the Hmong led by general Vang Pao, (who were an ancient hill-tribe from the mountains of Laos) as a secret alliance, to help aid the Royal Lao Government. (Batson, 1991, “Birth of Pathet Lao” Para. 16) The United States and Hmongs involvement in this are now what is known as the Secret War, for it was kept a secret by the United States government.

My reaction was quite shocking and very open minded. For my own understanding I imagined if I were experiencing this situation. My reaction to all this would be more of an emotional feeling, such as vulnerable and lonely. Having to leave your small village and adapt to the United States is a huge difference of adaptation. A person has to adjust to the traditions here and the lifestyle a person lives by.

Ethnomedicine has been historically defined as any healthcare system not present in the West; now, ethnomedicine is defined as the any cultural beliefs which surround healing in a community. The Hmong—an ethnic group located within present day Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand—have a particular system of ethnomedicine which is described as personalistic. Within a personalistic system, an active agent is the underlying cause of a disease—or etiology. Humans can be the cause of the disease as well as a number of non-human and supernatural agents. When Lia Lee began seizing at three months of age, her parents understood that the active agent which caused her epilepsy was a door slamming which caused her soul to fly from her body, an illness called quag

Hmong Culture The Hmong primarily originated from the “mountainous areas of China, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos” (Purnell, 2014, pg. 236) and immigrated to the United States in 1975 after the Vietnam War. Primarily refugees from Laos, the Hmong people began immigrating to the United States in large numbers “after communist forces came to power in their native country.” (Bankston, 2014, pg. 332) Mainly settling in California, the Hmong began to be dispersed by American refugee settlement agencies across the country in the 1980s, also settling in Wisconsin and Michigan.

My ethnic group is Korean and American. My heritage in Korea is that I would eat spicy food. When there is a wedding the husband and the wife wear a hanbok. A hanbok is a tradition that is a simple dress without pockets and vibrant colors.

The culture of a country is defined by its own beliefs, its ways of life, its arts and other factors. Cultural differences are important because it distinguishes people living in a certain country from other countries. The differences between American and Vietnamese culture are striking, and they deserve rigorous examination. For example, marriage has the same meaning in both countries, which is the bonding of a man and a woman, but the wedding ceremonies are very unique.

American History Education Reforms The definition as well as the specific parts of accurate American history is a highly debated topic- especially in regards to educating children on American history. In “Let’s tell the Story of All America’s Cultures” by Yuh Ji-Yeon gives her point of view on the controversial topic of the success of American history education. As the author is a Korean immigrant she has a special connection to this topic, and is writing this article to giver her opinion in the debate of reforming education in America. Ji-Yeon successfully persuades the audience that American history education in the United States is discriminatory by using her personal experiences and emotions as she informs the audience of a possible solution

By 1975 the Vietnam war had claimed over 5 million lives, many of which were civilians. This has made it a war that Americans have been ashamed of and tried to forget. W. S. Merwin was outspoken on how he felt about war, which he shows in “The Asians Dying.” He makes a statement on the inhumane way the Vietnam war took human lives. ” The Asians Dying” will shock readers with its gruesome imagery and force them to look at what war does.

Each culture is so different from the next. Culture involves the beliefs, social rules, and material traits of a group of people. This includes the group’s shared values, goals, and practices. The differences between the American and Hmong cultures are displayed throughout Clint Eastwood’s production of Gran Torino. A key difference is the way both groups treat their elderly members.

In order to support these claims, I will discuss the characterisitcs of social moblity, while providing the necessary examples. Social Mobility On the topic of social classes, the question of social progression ought to rise: is it possible for people to move within a society 's stratification organization? In other words, is there some possibility of social mobility, or the improvement from one social level to another?

When a rural labourer comes to the city and becomes an industrial worker or a manager takes a position in another company there are no significant changes in their position in the hierarchy. Those are the examples of horizontal mobility. Horizontal mobility is a change in position without the change in statue. It indicates a change in position within the range of the same status. It is a movement from one status to its equivalent.

By contrast with today's UK, however, a social climber in Georgian England achieved his position by productivity, hard work and ability. He was not selected as a passive recipient of politically engineered quota-systems and affirmative action programmes. Therefore, since the basis of social advancement was economic and not political, the country grew rich. The evident truth of this basic economic relationship is one reason why the amount of social mobility in Georgian society is so seldom acknowledged in history books that are written today by campus liberals.