Free Talk | Navigating urban and online spaces: The case of young Hmong rural migrants.

Development in Laos has induced the spread of Internet and mobile technology uses on a national level but especially in cities and among the younger generations. Social media are becoming part of the everyday life of urbanites as a central tool of communication. Among the various platforms the youths engage with, Facebook is strikingly popular. This talk will discuss how Facebook offers a space where the presentation of oneself is central and how the analysis of Facebook profiles and posts can provide insights into the questions of urbanity/modernity and rurality/traditions.

This is a special talk by visiting anthropologist, Clémentine Léonard.

Clémentine Léonard is a doctoral candidate and Belgian FNRS research fellow in the field of social anthropology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Prior to starting her PhD, she spent 2 years in Xiengkhouang province in Laos working for an international development NGO. Her current research focuses on rural-urban migration and the use of social media by young people with a specific interest in migrants from the Hmong ethnic group.