Learning Outcome #2: Hmong Culture
Students are expected to demonstrate skill in responsible and sensitive communication with
diverse others.
This informative speech on the Hmong Culture demonstrates my skill in responsible and
sensitive communication with diverse others in a number of ways; including: my informationgathering process, understanding my audience, and narrowing down the scope of my
presentation.
Learning about Hmong culture was the best part of the information-gathering process. I
immersed myself in the Hmong culture by visiting a household to conduct interviews for my
research. This was not required by class. I reasoned the most appropriate way to relay sensitive
information about diversity was to hear first person accounts of what is considered sensitive.
The words of a textbook are useful for supplementing this information, but cannot replace the
human element.
The audience for this speech was a group of my peers, and very few of them were
familiar with any details surrounding the Hmong culture. I felt a huge responsibility to
accurately depict an entire culture that had a history of being marginalized and misunderstood. I
knew I needed to be responsible and sensitive in which information I presented, and how I chose
to present it.
To accomplish this, I narrowed down the scope of my paper—how the Hmong people
have been able to keep their culture in America, even through trying periods. By selecting this as
my topic, I accomplished two things: 1) I was able to bring attention and awareness to the
suffering the Hmong people have encountered through their continued displacement, and 2) I
was able to shift the focus in the second half of the speech to a celebration of the Hmong culture
prevailing in spite of these circumstances. I thought this was the most responsible way to
communicate sensitive information. I was mindful to acknowledge the trials and tribulations of
the past, but did not want to dwell on it. Instead, I wanted to celebrate a diverse culture.
Overall, I am proud of this particular artifact. Even after I had presented the speech, I
have continued to learn about the Hmong people. I recall seeing a special on Hmong cultural
traditions while flipping through channels, several months after the presentation. I remember the
program because I vividly recall being shocked at how much “new” information the show
contained. There is a temptation after learning and researching a project to consider yourself a
quasi-expert on it, even if the only reason is because everyone else’s knowledge base on the
subject is non-existent. I felt embarrassed once I realized this is what I was doing. However, it
was beneficial in that it fueled my thirst for ongoing education.