Colloquium: “Graphic Vietnam: Visualizing Memoirs, Memories, and Militarism” by Long T. Bui

Colloquium: “Graphic Vietnam: Visualizing Memoirs, Memories, and Militarism” by Long T. Bui

by Keith Miyake Events

Join the UCR Department of Ethnic Studies for our colloquium speaker series:

“Graphic Vietnam: Visualizing Memoirs, Memories, and Militarism”

By Long T. Bui

Monday, October 20, 2025
1:00-2:00 p.m.
CHASS INTS 1113

This talk presents my graphic memoir in progress. Using ethnic studies research and frameworks as the basis for art, I recognize the creative aspects of doing scholarly intellectual work (and vice versa). My book utilizes the power of comics and a powerful visual medium to draw out the many strands of the Vietnam War, previously considered America’s longest war, linking them with other protracted American conflicts such as race wars, drug wars, gang wars, the wars on poverty and terror. Although this year marks the 50th anniversary of the “end” of the Vietnam war, I illustrate, through my refugee family’s story, that no war is really over.

Long T. Bui is Professor of Global and International Studies at the University of California, Irvine.

He is the author of books such as Returns of War: South Vietnam and the Price of Refugee Memory (2018), Model Machines: A History of the Asian as Automaton (2022), and Viral World: Global Relations during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2024).

Bui earned a Ph.D. in Ethnic studies from UC San Diego and was a UC postdoctoral fellow in Ethnic Studies at UC Riverside.
Arts and Artist Activism in Times of Global Authoritarianism: A Book Launch for Performing Vulnerability

Arts and Artist Activism in Times of Global Authoritarianism: A Book Launch for Performing Vulnerability

by Keith Miyake Events

The Center for Ideas and Society Presents

A Book Launch for Performing Vulnerability

Featuring Emily Hue, Tamara Ho, and Chaw Ei Thein

Friday, November 7, 2025
2:00–5:30 p.m.
CHASS INTS 1111

Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora is a groundbreaking exploration of how diasporic Burmese artists navigate the intricate intersections of art, politics, and humanitarianism. It provides a critical examination of the economic and social value placed on representations of suffering of artists living in the aftermath of military rule. This event invites further dialogue on the ethical implications of this value within the global arts and humanitarian markets in the US and beyond.

We will open with a performance by Burmese feminist performance artist Chaw Ei Thein and follow with a discussion with the artist, alongside author Emily Hue, and critic Tamara Ho. Topics discussed include the current political moment in Myanmar post-coup as well as how immigrant and exiled artists work against “doubled” authoritarian afterlives in the United States. Reception to follow.

Tentative Event Schedule

2:00 – 2:45 Performance: Chaw Ei Thien
2:45 – 3 pm intermission
3 to 4:15 pm Roundtable Discussion: Emily Hue, Tammy Ho, Chaw Ei Thein
4:15- 5:30 Q&A and reception

Speakers

Chaw Ei Thein: “I was born in 1969 in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). I graduated with LL.B (Law) in 1994. I has started art at an early age through I had received numerous national and international art prizes and awards. My father is an artist and art teacher Pathein Maung Maung Thein. He is my art teacher and mentor. My artistic practices are diverse and I am working as a painter and a performance artist.”

Tamara C. Ho is an Associate Professor of Gender & Sexuality Studies. She earned her Ph.D., in Comparative Literature from University of California, Los Angeles.

Emily Hue is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and core faculty in Southeast Asian Text, Ritual, Performance (SEATRiP), at the University of California, Riverside. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University.