THIEN-HUONG T. NINH
Gaius Charles Bolin Fellow, Department of Religion, Williams College
112 Schapiro Hall, 24 Hopkins Hall Drive, Williamstown, MA 01267
(408) 320-5301 / /
EDUCATION
2013Ph.D., University of Southern California, Sociology
Dissertation: “Religion of a Different Color: Vietnamese Catholic and Caodai U.S.-Cambodia Ties in Comparative Perspective.”
2009M.A., University of Southern California, Sociology
2004B.A., University of California at Los Angeles, History, Southeast Asian Studies,
and Asian American Studies
RESEARCH AREAS
ThematicDiaspora, Race, Ethnicity, Comparative Religion, International Migration and
Transnationalism, Gender, Visual Sociology
Specialty Vietnamese Refugees and Immigrants, Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos),
East Asian Indigenous Religions (Caodaism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hoa Hao Buddhism,
and the Way of the Mother Goddess or Dao Mau)
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2013“The Caodai Mother Goddess in a Globalizing World: Mediation Between
Religious Universalism and Homeland Orientation among Vietnamese Caodaists in the U.S.,” Asian Anthropology 12(1):51-65.
2012(with Norella M. Putney, Joy Y. Lam, Frances Nedjat-Haiem, Petrice S. Oyama, and
Susan C. Harris), “The Transmission of Religion across Generations: How Ethnicity Matters,” in From Generation to Generation: Continuity and Change in Aging Families, edited by Merrill Silverstein (Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press).
2011“‘God Needs a Passport’: Vietnamese Caodaists in Cambodia Struggle for Religious
and Ethnic Recognition across National Borders,” in Special Issue on “Religious
Networks in Asia and Beyond,” edited by Peter van der Veer, Encounters: An
International Journal for the Study of Culture and Society 4 (Fall):133-160.
NON-PEER REVIEWEDPUBLICATIONS
2014 (forthcoming)“Teaching the Religions of Asian Americans from a Transnational Perspective,”
Spotlight on TeachingPublication of the American Academy of Religion (invited
submission).
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES
2013 (forthcoming)“Vietnamese American Religion and Religions,” in Asian American and
Americans, edited by Jonathon X. Lee (Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing).
“Caodaism,” in Encyclopedia of Asian Pacific American Religious Cultures, edited by
Fumitaka Matsuoka and Jane Iwamura (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO Press).
“Hoa Hao Buddhism,” in Encyclopedia of Asian Pacific American Religious Cultures,
edited by Fumitaka Matsuoka and Jane Iwamura (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-
CLIO Press).
2013“Refugee Act (1980),” in Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia,
edited by Carlos E. Cortés (Thousands Oak, California: Sage Reference).
“Vietnamese Americans,” in Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia,
edited by Carlos E. Cortés (Thousands Oak, California: Sage Reference).
2012“Vietnam (Indochina):1900 to Present,” in Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia,
and Africa: An Encyclopedia, edited by Andrea L. Stanton, Edward Ramsamy, Peter J. Seybolt and Carolyn M. Elliott (Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publication).
2010“Indigenous Religious Traditions in Vietnamese American Communities,” in
Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore, edited by Jonathan H.X. Lee and Kathleen
Nadeau (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press).
BOOK REVIEWS
2013 Performing the Divine: Mediums, Markets, and Mediumship in Urban Vietnam, by
Kirsten Endres, Journal of Vietnamese Studies 7(4):154-156.
2011For Better or For Worse: Vietnamese International Marriages in the New Global
Economy, by Hung Cam Thai,Exploration: A Graduate Student Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 11(2):149-150.
2009Mothers without Citizenship: Asian Immigrant Families and the Consequences of
Welfare Reform, by Lynn Fujiwara, Contemporary Sociology 38(4):363-364.
WORKS UNDER REVIEW/ IN PROGRESS
“Mary, Our Beloved Vietnamese Mother: Reconciliation, Religion, and Reconnections among Vietnamese Catholics in Three Countries,” in Displacement, Reconciliation and Justice (tentative title), edited by Megan Bradley. Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
“Nodes and Contestations in a Religious Diaspora: Vietnamese Caodaists in the U.S., Cambodia, and Vietnam,” in Transnational Religion, Missionization, and Migrants in Comparative Perspective, edited by Alexander Horstmann and Jin-Heon Jung. New York, New, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
“‘Mother Looks Like Us!’: Gender and Ethnic Nationalism in Marianism among Vietnamese Catholics in the U.S. and Vietnam,”in Alternative Intimate Spheres for Women in Vietnam (tentative title), edited by Kato Atsufumi. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.
EXTERNAL (NON-USC) FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS AND AWARDS
2012-2014 Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowship, Williams College
2013 Field Research Scholarships, École Française d'Extrême-Orient
Gallagher Travel Grant, Association for the Sociology of Religion
2012Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for North American and European Researchers/Obei
Tanki, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science
International Summer Programme Travel and Tuition Award, International Institute for
Asian Studies
International Travel and Tuition Award for the Summer Research School, University of
Bergen
International Travel Award, École Française d’Extrême-Orient and the Center for
Khmer Studies
International Ph.D. School Travel and Tuition Award, Open University
International Travel and Tuition Award, Summer Institute on the Cultural Study of the
Law, Osnabrück University
Conference Travel Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
2011Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica
Foreign Language and Area Studies Award, Southeast Asian Languages University
Consortium
International Ph.D. Laboratory Travel Award, International Sociological Association
International Summer School Travel and Tuition Award, University of Antwerp
International Conference Travel Award, International Society for the Study of Religion
International Conference Travel Award, School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London
International Conference Travel Award, Kyoto University
International Conference Travel Award, Chinese University of Hong Kong
International Conference Travel Award, Association of Pacific Rim Research
Universities
International Conference Travel Award, Saint Paul University
Conference Travel Award, Vietnamese Studies Group, Association for Asian Studies
Ethel O. Gardner Scholarship, California State Chapter, Philanthropic Educational
Organization (PEO)
2010Ph.D. Research Fellowship, Council of American Overseas Research
Centers/Center for Khmer Studies
International Conference Travel Award, Japanese Sociological Society
International Conference Travel Award, Association of Pacific Rim Research
Universities
International Dissertation Workshop Travel Award, University of Toronto
Conference Travel Award, University of Washington
2008Ethel O. Gardner Scholarship, California State Chapter, PEO
Janet Griswald Scholarship, California State Chapter, PEO
Beverly Dye Anderson Scholarship, California State Chapter, PEO
Travel Award, Asian Pacific American Religious Research Initiative
2007Stella May Nau Scholarship, Scholarship Selection Committee, PEO
Ethel O. Gardner Scholarship, California State Chapter, PEO
INTERNAL (USC) GRANTS AND AWARDS
2012 Dean Joan M. Schaefer Merit Scholarship
International Conference Travel Award for Provost’s Ph.D. Fellows, Vice Provost for
Graduate Programs
2011Dean Joan M. Schaefer Merit Scholarship
Summer Doctoral Grant, Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Distinguished Scholar Award, Asian Pacific Alumni Association
Best Graduate Student Essay, Center for International Studies
International Conference Travel Award for Provost’s Ph.D. Fellows, Vice Provost
for Graduate Programs
International Conference Travel Award, Vice Provost’s Office for Globalization
2010Doctoral Research Grant, Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Dissertation Research and Development Award, Department of Sociology
Distinguished Scholar Award, Asian Pacific Alumni Association
International Conference Travel Award, Center for Religion and Civic Culture
International Conference Travel Award, Vice Provost’s Office for Globalization
Asia Pacific Business Outlook Conference Award, Center for International Studies
2009Distinguished Scholar Award, Asian Pacific Alumni Association
2008Kenjohn Wang Scholarship, Asian Pacific Alumni Association
International Conference Travel Award, Center for Religion and Civic Culture
2007Summer Research Award, Department of Sociology
2005-2007Provost’s Ph.D. Fellowship (two academic years), Provost’s Office
CONFERENCE PAPER PRESENTATIONS
2013 (accepted)“In Search of the Promised Land: The Institutionalization of the Vietnamese
Catholic Diaspora in the U.S. and Cambodia,” presented at the ReligiousNationalism as Concept and Practice Workshop, organized by the Center of Research on Religion and Seculairzation of the Higher School of Economics,The Center for Anthropology of Religion, Department of Anthropology,European University (St. Petersburg, Russia: October 25-26).
“The Cold War is Getting Hotter! The Inter-faith Anti-Communist Movement among
Vietnamese Catholic and Caodaists in the U.S.,” presented at the American Academy
of Religion Annual Meeting (Baltimore, Maryland: November 23-26).
“Re-Visualizing Our Blessed Mother in the Diaspora: Marianism among Vietnamese
Catholics in the U.S. and Cambodia,” presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting (Boston, Massachusetts: November 8-10).
2013“Sacralizing the Diasporas: Transnationalism among Vietnamese American Catholics
and Caodaists in Comparative Perspective,” presented at the Association for the Sociology of Religion Annual Meeting (New York City, New York: August 11-12).
“Our Lady of the Mekong River: The Holy Mother of Vietnamese Catholics
and Khmer Buddhists in Cambodia,” presented at the Chula Asian Heritage
Forum: Women Intellectual in Asia” (Bangkok, Thailand: September 9-12).
“Mary, Miracles, and Martyrdom: The Vietnamization of Our Blessed Virgin Mary in a
Globalizing World,” presented at the Fourth International Conference on Visualizing
Asia, Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut: May 10-11).
2012“Ethnic and Religious Crossings in the Diaspora: The Erasure of the Caodai Mother Goddess in the U.S. and Cambodia,” presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting (San Francisco, California: November 14-18).
“Bonds of Blood and Faith in the Diaspora: Religious Kinship among Vietnamese
Catholic Immigrants in Cambodia and the U.S.,” presented at the Society for the
Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting (Phoenix, Arizona: November 9-11).
“Asianizing Jesus: The Trajectory of Ethnic Identity Formation and Crossing among
Vietnamese Catholics in Cambodia, presented at the workshop on “Christianity and
Gender in Chaozhou, Southeast China,” organized by Shantou University (Shantou,
China: October 11).
“Ethnically Diasporic: Transnational Religious Institutionalization between
Vietnamese Catholic Immigrants in Cambodia and the U.S.,” presented at the New York Conference on Asian Studies, organized by State University of New York at New Paltz (New Paltz, New York: September 28-29).
“God in a Foreign Land: Religious Roots and Trajectories among Vietnamese
Catholics in Cambodia,” presented at the international conference on “World Wide
Asia: International Flows, Global Impacts,” organized by the International Institute of
Asian Studies (Leiden, The Netherlands: August 31-September 1).
“Human Rights Talk in Khmer since UNTAC: Protection for Religion but not
Ethnicity,” presented at the symposium on “Cultures, Right, Identity,” organized by Osnabrück University (Osnabrück, Germany: August 17-18).
“God as the Ethnic Defender: Vietnamese Catholics in Cambodia Traverse Ethnic
Dissolution through Religious Practices,” presented at the conference on “Religious
Studies in Cambodia: Understand the Old and Trace the New” (Siem Reap, Cambodia:
June 9-11).
“‘Mary in Our Ethnic Image’: Religious Reconstitution and Globalization among
Vietnamese Catholics in the Diaspora,” presented at the conference on “Relationships between Diasporas and Their 'Homelands' and Their Impact on the State, National Identities, and Peace and Conflict,” organized by the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University (Beirut, Lebanon: February 2-4).
2011 “How Mary Became Vietnamese: Marianism among Vietnamese Catholics in
Vietnam, Cambodia, and the U.S.,” presented at the workshop on “Alternative Intimate Spheres for Women in Vietnam,” organized by Kyoto University’s Global Center of Excellence Program “Reconstruction of the Intimate and Public Spheres in 21st Century Asia” (Kyoto, Japan: December 17-18).
“A Diasporic Community in Formation? Dispersion, Homeland Ties, and Local Integration among Vietnamese Caodaists in the U.S. and Cambodia,” presented at the conference on “Asian Anthropology: Materiality, Movement, and Change,” organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China: December 9-10).
“Our Lady of Lavang and Her Global Manifestations: Marianism across the Public and Private Spheres among Vietnamese Catholics in Three Countries,” presented at the Next Generation Global Workshop, organized by Seoul University and Kyoto University (Seoul, Korea: November 24-26).
“Refugee, Religion, and Race: Vietnamese Caodai Transnational Network and
Diasporic Formations,” presented at the workshop on “Transnational Religion, Missionization, and Refugee Migrantsin Comparative Perspective,” organized by the Max Planck Institute (Goettingen, Germany: October 6-7).
“Mary for the Vietnamese People: Ethnic Particularity and Transnationalism among
Vietnamese Catholics in Three Countries,” presented at the conference on “Communicating Civilisations and Global Order,” organized the by the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (London, United Kingdom: September 5-7).
“God has been Bordered: Vietnamese Caodaists in Cambodia Struggle for Ethnic and
Religious Integration across National Borders,” presented at the Society for the Studies of Social Problems Annual Meeting (Las Vegas, Nevada: August 19-21).
“Marian Devotion and Piety: Reconciliation and Ethnic Collectivity among
Vietnamese Catholics in Three Countries,” presented at the Association for the
Sociology of Religion Annual Meeting (Las Vegas, Nevada: August 18-20).
“Mary for the Vietnamese: Cross-border Network of Marian Exchanges among
Vietnamese Catholics in Vietnam, the U.S., and Cambodia,” presented at the Southeast
Asian Studies Summer Institute Student Conference (Madison, Wisconsin: July 16).
“Ethnicity Under God: Vietnamese Caodaists in Cambodia Struggle for Ethnic and
Religious Integration across National Borders,” poster presented at the Doctoral
Students Conference, organized by Tsinghua University and the Association of Pacific
Rim Universities (Beijing, China: July 4-7).
“Transnationalizing Religious Indigeneity: The Vietnamese Caodai Temple in
Cambodia and Its Cross-Border Ties,” presented at the International Society for the
Study of Religion Bi-Annual Meeting (Aix-en-Provence, France: June 30-July 3).
“‘Mary, Our Beloved Vietnamese Mother’: Reconciliation, Religion, and
Reconnections among Vietnamese Catholics in Three Countries,” presented at the “Conference on Displacement and Reconciliation,” organized by the St. Paul University’s Conflict Research Centre (Ottawa, Ontario: June 9-10).
“‘Under the Shadow of God’s House’: The Vietnamese Caodai Temple in Cambodia
and Its Transnational Struggles,” presented at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting (Honolulu, Hawaii: March 31-April 3).
“Ethnic Lineage and Religious Transmission: The Trajectories of Ethnic Boundary-Making among Vietnamese Caodaists in Cambodia,” presented at the American Academy of Religion/Western Region Annual Meeting (Whittier, California: March 26-28).
“Re-Centering the Religious Center: Caodai Temples Negotiate Homeland Ties and Transnational Networks in Cambodia and Vietnam,” presented at the conference on “Re-SEAing Southeast Asian American Studies: Memories and Vision: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow,” organized by San Francisco State University (San Francisco, California: March 10-11).
2010“Roots, Ruptures, and Renovations: Transnational and Homeland Ties Between Caodai Temples in Cambodia and Vietnam,” presented at the Inter-Asian Connections II Conference, co-organized by the Social Science Research Council, the Hong Kong Institute for Humanities, the University of Hong Kong, and the National University of Singapore (Singapore: December 8-10).
“Transnational Religious Communities: Cross-Border Ties among Young Vietnamese Caodaists in the U.S. and Vietnam,” presented at the Japanese Sociological Society 83rd Annual Meeting (Nagoya, Japan: November 6-7).
“Ethnicity Under the Shadow of Religion: A Comparison of Caodai Practices among Vietnamese in Vietnam and the U.S.,” presented at the “International Conference on Vietnamese and Taiwanese Studies,” organized by the National Cheng Kung University (Tainan, Taiwan: October 16-17).
“Following God and Ancestors: Religious and Ethnic Trajectories among Young Vietnamese Caodaists in Vietnam and the U.S.,” presented at the 11th Association of Pacific Rim Universities Doctoral Student Conference, organized by the University of Indonesia and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (Jakarta, Indonesia: July 12-16).
“(Re)Emplacing Ethnic Origins and Religious Homes: Vietnamese Catholics and Caodaists Negotiate Ethnicity and Religion across Transnational Ties Between the U.S. and Vietnam,” presented at the Association for Asian American Studies Annual Meeting (Austin, Texas: April 7-11).
“Following God and Ancestors: Religious Continuity and Circulation among Second-Generation Vietnamese American Catholics and Caodaists,” presented at the conference on “Beyond Borders: Alternative Voices and Histories of the Vietnamese Diaspora,” organized by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities, University of Washington (Seattle, Washington: March 4-7).
2009“Sacralizing ‘Home’: Trajectories of Belonging among Second-Generation
Vietnamese American Caodaists,” presented at the Ethnic Studies Conference (Los Angeles, California: March 6-8).
2008(with Lam, Joy, Frances Nedjat-Haiem, Petrice S. Oyama, Kara Lemma, Susan C.
Harris, Norella M. Putney, and Vern L. Bengtson) "Ethnicity and the Transmission of Religion across Generations," presented at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting (National Harbor, Maryland: November 21-25).
(with Petrice Oyama and Vern Bengtson) "The Influences of Ethnic Heritage and
Experiences on the Transmission of Values and Religious Practices: An Exploratory Investigation," presented at the Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting (Portland, Oregon: April 10-13).
"Religion and Ethnicity: Dimensions and Trajectories in the Lives of Second-
Generation Vietnamese American Caodaists in Southern California," presented at “Asia Pacific Week,” organized by the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia: January 29-February 1).
2007(with Joy Lam, Frances Nedjat-Haiem, Petrice Oyama, Susan Harris, Norella Putney, and Vern Bengtson) "Religious Continuity, Change, and Complexity in Multigenerational Families," presented at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting (San Francisco, California: November 19).
(with Susan Harris, Norela Putney, Joy Lam, Fran Nedjat-Haiem, Petrice Oyama, and Vern Bengtson) “Continuity, Change, and Complexity in Religious Affiliations across Generations," presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting (Tampa, Florida: November 2-4).
“Alternative Imagination: The Lives of Second-Generation Vietnamese American
Caodaists in Southern California,” presented at the Ethnic Studies Conference (San Diego, California: March 14).
INVITED PRESENTATIONS AND LECTURES
2013 Public Lecture, “The Catholic Church and Its People in Cambodia,” presented
at the Center for Khmer Studies (Siem Reap, Cambodia: September 3).