The Making of Little Saigon: Narratives of Nostalgia, (Dis)Enchantments, and Aspirations

A collective memoir of community reimagining, The Making of Little Saigon orchestrates the voices of activists, writers, artists, entrepreneurs, and scholars who have inhabited and nurtured Little Saigon, Orange County, California, into a beloved sanctuary--a sumptuous enclave of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in the US. This constellation of narratives chronicles collective memories of settlement, nostalgia, (dis)enchantments, and aspirations as the community has evolved over time. From oceanic crossings to forging a new home, every story interweaves and reverberates with a history of pain and beauty, disunity and solidarity, failure, and resilience as the community careens forward into an uncertain future.

Tung Bui is Matson Navigation Co. Distinguished Professor of Global Business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Quynh H. Vo is a professorial lecturer of Asia, Pacific, and Diaspora Studies in the Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Cultural Studies at American University in Washington D.C.