Assistant Professor
College of Letters & Science | Department of Anthropology
Hometown: Green Bay and Wrightstown, WI
Mai See Thao is a medical anthropologist whose research interests are the refugee body, biopolitics, ghosts, the dead, haunting, psychoanalysis, science, medicine, and empire. These kinds of inquiries have led Dr. Thao to think about the interconnections of violence and care, aging for refugees, and the intervention of public humanities.
A speaker fee applies. These talks can also be offered in Hmong.
Talks:
Hmong, Culture, and Medicine
This talk discusses the health disparities within the Hmong community, critically examines the role of culture (for Hmong and medicine), and highlights the social determinants of health that shape Hmong health disparities.
Hmong American History
Why does Wisconsin have the third largest Hmong population in the nation, and where is Hmong, one of the most spoken languages other than English in Wisconsin? This talk traces the Hmong American history all the way to Southeast Asia, where the United States recruited Hmong in Laos as proxy soldiers for the fight against communism in Southeast Asia. Revealing that Hmong American history is American history, this talk examines the lingering impacts of war for Hmong people and Americans.