Laissez les bons temps rouler ! I had the most fabulous time in New Orleans for MLA 2025 for which I co-organized with members of ASERN (Asie du Sud-Est Research Network) a roundtable, “Legacies of 1975 in Southeast Asia and its Diasporas: Fifty Years Afterward.”
This innovative format brought together a mix of scholars from around the world, each offering points of reflection about 1975 as a watershed year in Southeast Asia and its diasporas, with a particular francophone bent. Throughout the discussion, the PowerPoint cycled through our slides to spark any thoughts or questions from the audience as the conversation progressed – we also invited audience’s textual and visual contributions in advance, but ultimately did not receive any! At the helm: Leslie Barnes (ANU) and Howie Tam (Brandeis), who facilitated an engaging discussion following our individual short but provocative contributions. For example, I spoke about French-Vietnamese photograph Nhu Xuan Hua’s collection Tropism, Consequences of a Displaced Memory (Area Books 2022) and the implications of digital alteration in her photography and the absent presences it leaves behind for the notions of commemoration, remembering, and revisiting.
Afterward, we all visited Dong Phuong Bakery – a New Orleans institution known for their Vietnamese baked goods, bánh mì, and award-winning king cake. We then continued our New Orleans food tour, courtesy of local guide and foodie Jack Yeager (LSU, emeritus), at Café Minh where the cocktails were strong and fusion flavors were punchy!
I am beyond grateful to ASERN for the revelry, community, and intellectual engagement. I have learned so much from these colleagues and benefited greatly from unofficial mentoring from the more senior scholars whenever we have gotten the chance to meet either in-person or virtually.
More on our MLA commons page. Follow ASERN’s endeavors here.
Pictured above (left to right): Alan T. Yeh (me!), Catherine Nguyen (Emerson), Howie Tam (Brandeis), Maika Nguyen (University College Dublin), Caroline Laurent (AUP), Jack A. Yeager (LSU), Karl A. Britto (UC Berkeley; my illustrious advisor). Front row: Karen Siu (Rice), Elizabeth Collins (Penn), Giang Huong Nguyen (BNF), Leslie Barnes (ANU)
