Archives par mot-clé : économie locale

Thuy Vo Dang, Linda Trinh Vo, Tram Le : Vietnamese in Orange County [parution]

[ndlr] Parution prévue pour le 9 mars prochain.

VietnameseInOrangeCountyVietnamese Americans have transformed the social, cultural, economic, and political life of Orange County, California. Previously, there were a small number of Vietnamese in the United States who were international students, international or war brides, or military personnel, but the majority arrived as refugees and immigrants since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Although they are lumped together as “refugees,” Vietnamese Americans are diverse in terms of their class, ethnic, regional, religious, linguistic, and ideological backgrounds. Their migration paths varied, and they often struggled with resettling in a new homeland and rebuilding their lives. They are dispersed throughout the county, but many are concentrated in central Orange County, where three cities—Westminster, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana— have “Welcome to Little Saigon” signs. They constitute the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam and have created flourishing residential neighborhoods and bustling commercial centers and have contributed to the political and cultural life of the region. This book captures snapshots of Vietnamese life in Orange County over the span of 40 years and shows a dynamic, vibrant community that is revitalizing the region.

LoanPhamThaiFamily_VAOHP
© 2015 UCI / VAOHP

Author Bio: Thuy Vo Dang has a doctorate in ethnic studies from the University of California, San Diego, and is the archivist for the Southeast Asian Archive and Regional History at the University of California, Irvine, Libraries; Linda Trinh Vo has a doctorate in sociology from the University of California, San Diego, and is an associate professor in the Department of Asian American Studies and director of the Vietnamese American Oral History Project; Tram Le has a master of arts in Asian American studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is the associate director of the Vietnamese American Oral History Project at UC Irvine. Images from the book came from University of California, Irvine, archival collections and authors’ personal collections, as well as from journalists, artists, students, and community leaders.

Source : Arcadia Publishing

Christophe Gironde : Acquisitions massives de terres, boom de l’hévéaculture et devenir des paysans autochtones au nord-est du Cambodge

[ndlr] Séminaire général du CASE : 22 janvier 2015. Christophe Gironde (The Graduate Institute, Genève) : Acquisitions massives de terres, boom de l’hévéaculture et devenir des paysans autochtones au nord-est du Cambodge.

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  • Christophe Gironde est chercheur à l’Institut universitaire d’ètudes du développement et Université de Genève depuis 2003 – Thèse de doctorat est intitulée “Réhabilitation et transformations de l’économie familiale au Nord-Vietnam – Systèmes d’activités villageois et réseaux de relations dans le delta du Fleuve Rouge” (2001). Ses recherches portent sur le développement agricole, l’économie rurale, l’économie familiale, les sociétés rurales, les migrations, la lutte contre la pauvreté, les inégalités dans les pays suivants : Viêt Nam, Cambodge, République du Congo, Burundi.

Richard Owens: Measuring smallholder land investments in Northwest Vietnam: A cross-cultural study of three highland villages… [PhD] – presented by Jean Michaud

[ndlr] Message de Jean Michaud paru initialement sur VSG et reproduit sur Mémoires d’Indochine avec son aimable autorisation.

Richard Owens with Hmong farmers during harvest season for dry rice in Thuan Chau district, Son La Province, Northwest Vietnam.
Richard Owens with Hmong farmers during harvest season for dry rice in Thuan Chau district, Son La Province, Northwest Vietnam.

This to congratulate Richard Owens who has recently defended successfully his PhD dissertation in social anthropology at University of Georgia (USA) titled “Measuring smallholder land investments in Northwest Vietnam: A cross-cultural study of three highland villages in Phỏng Lái commune, Sơn La province.”

His abstract states:

“In this dissertation, I investigate the connection between land tenure and the conservation of natural resources in the northwestern uplands of Vietnam (Son La province) through a focus on the political and economic forces that shape smallholder investment practices. Within a historically-informed context, I analyze and compare smallholder land use decisions among Kinh, Hmong, and Thai groups considering identity, cultural practices, and household economics.  Recently, Vietnam has banned swidden agriculture in favor of the intensification of upland agriculture. To that purpose, it has provided technology, subsidies, and extension services targeted to lowland majority development models.

During the course of this dissertation, I analyze soil conservation activities in three villages (between and within designs) and across the commune at the household level.  Results from investment activities (short-term, long-term and household rate categories) show that smallholders’ long-term investments are significantly smaller in relation to household investments. I contend that there are a number of social, economic, and environmental reasons for why Hmong, Thai and Kinh are not making significant soil conservation investments. State polices aimed at suppressing swidden agriculture have been replaced with intensive upland farming, leading to increased erosion and land degradation. Traditional swidden systems do not require inputs, hence they are not receiving long-term investments. Upland farming is possible through the use of inorganic fertilizers that are necessary for HYV maize production. Examining the failure of the property rights to conserve natural resources this research makes a significant contribution to the theory of property rights This study considers the socio-cultural and economics dynamics of land title and natural resource management. “

What I would also like to stress about Richard’s work is that he finds that ethnicity matters when locals get to assess economic opportunities and make strategic choices. The Hmông and Thái ways, he finds, are distinct from the Kinh’s and express different views on modernity, identity and aspirations. His research thus dovetails nicely with other recent dissertations based in rural communities of the northern highlands stressing that these non-Kinh societies show creativity and pro-activity in the course of their social and symbolic reproduction, such as (among others) Jennifer Sowerwine (Berkeley 2004), Bent Jørgensen (Göteborg 2006), Tran Hong Hanh (Freie U. Berlin 2006), Christine Bonnin (McGill 2011), Achariya Choowonglert (Chiang Mai 2012), Ho Ngoc Son (ANU 2012), and O’Briain (Sheffield 2012).

Jean Michaud
Département d’Anthropologie / Université Laval (Québec)