Hjorleifur Jonsson
Professor,
School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Other ASU affiliations
Center For Asian Research
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Phone: 480-965-7837
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MC 203P TEMPE, AZ 85287-2402
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Long Bio
Hjorleifur Jonsson is a professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. He has focused his research on hinterland farming populations in mainland Southeast Asia. His work has concerned the dynamics of identity, cultural practice and social life at the intersections of minority communities and state structures. The focus of his work has ranged among regional history and contemporary identity work and political protest. Most of his research has been among Mien people in Thailand (since 1990), but he has also done research in Cambodia and Vietnam, and (since 2005) among Iu Mien in the US who are refugee immigrants from Laos.
Jonsson's current work concerns political diversity, negotiation, and civil pluralism.
Jonsson has done a video documentary, Mien Sports & Heritage, Thailand 2001. His books are Mien Relations: Mountain People and State Control in Thailand (Cornell University Press 2005) and Slow Anthropology: Negotiating Difference with the Iu Mien (Cornell SEAP 2014).
Education
Ph.D. Cornell University
Research Interests
Ethnographic representation, identity, state-minority relations, sports, history, Southeast Asia, Iu Mien, the anthropology of anthropology
Publications
- 2018 States. In International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, Hilary Callan, general ed., vol. 9: Anthropology of Law, Power, and Identity, ed. Carol J. Greenhouse. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell (in press).
- 2017 Stexit? Southeast Asian pluralism, statelessness and exclusive identities. Anthropology Today 33, 6: 3-6.
- 2016 (Le Jiem Tsan, Richard D. Cushman, and Hjorleifur Jonsson) Highland Chiefs and Regional Networks in Mainland Southeast Asia: Mien Perspectives. Southeast Asian Studies 5, 3: 515-51.
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2016 Ancient Sound Imprints. In Global Modernities and the (Re-) Emergence of Ghosts, a special issue of Voices from Around the World, 16, 2. This is an on-line magazine from the Centre for the Study of the Global South, University of Cologne, Germany. www.voices.uni-koeln.de
2015 Thai Fiction and the Anthropologist. Cornell Southeast Asia Program Bulletin, Fall 2015: 26-28.
- 2015 Conversion and Community among Iu Mien Refugee Immigrants in the United States. Pp. 235-256 in Building Noah’s Ark for Refugees, Migrants, and Religious Communities. Jin-Heon Jung and Alexander Horstmann, eds. New York: Palgrave.
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Phantom Scandal: On the National Uses of the "Thailand Controversy.". Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia (2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Slow Anthropology:Negotiating Difference with the Iu Mien. (2014).
- . . Review of: Consoling Ghosts: Stories of Medicine and Mourning from Southeast Asians in Exile (2014).
- . . Review of: Moving Mountains: Ethnicity and Livelihood in Highland China, Vietnam, and Laos (2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson and Sudarat Musikawong. National diversity Cold War in Thai film: Revisiting Khunawut’s Khon Phu Khao [in Thai]. Thai Film Journal // Warasan Nang Thai (2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Cracking up an alligator: Ethnography, Juan Downey's video, and irony. Journal of Surrealism and the Americas (2012).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Manikin-ship: Value-added relatedness in Vietnamese museums, 1996-2005. The Australian Journal of Anthropology (2012).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Paths to Freedom: Political Prospecting in the Ethnographic Record. Critique of Anthropology (2012).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Ethnology and the Issue of Human Diversity in Mainland Southeast Asia. Pacific Linguistics (2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson and Jaime Holthuysen, eds. Contests in Contexts: Readings in the Anthropology of Sports. (2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Recording Tradition and Measuring Progress in the Ethnic Minority Highlands of Thailand. Everyday Life in Southeast Asia (2011).
- Jaime Holthuysen and Hjorleifur Jonsson. Anthropology in Sports: Introduction. Contests in Contexts: Readings in the Anthropology of Sports (2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. States lie, and stories are tools: Following up on Zomia. (2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Above and Beyond: Zomia and the Ethnographic Challenge of/for Regional History. History and Anthropology (2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Mimetic Minorities: National Identity and Desire on Thailand's Fringe. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power (2010).
- . . Review of: Bush Wives and Girl Soldiers: Women's Lives Through War and Peace in Sierra Leone (2010).
- . . Review of: Knowing How to Know: Fieldwork and the Ethnographic Present (2010).
- . . Review of: Museums in Postcolonial Europe (2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. War's Ontogeny: Militias and Ethnic Boundaries in Laos and Exile. Southeast Asian Studies (Kyoto) (2009).
- . . Review of: Living in a Globalized World: Ethnic Minorities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (2008).
- . . Review of: Multiculturalism in Asia (2007).
- . . Review of: Property and Politics in Sabah, Malaysia: Native Struggles over Land Rights (2007).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur Rafn. Mien Relations: Mountain People and State Control in Thailand. (2006).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Getur madur tekid jolasveina alvarlega?. www.hugsandi.is (2005).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Unplanned Encounters in Kyoto. Newsletter, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University (2005).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur Rafn. Mien Relations: Mountain People and State Control in Thailand. (2005).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur Rafn. Mien Relations: Mountain Peoples, Ethnography, and State Control. (2005).
- . . Review of: Ethnicity in Asia (2005).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur Rafn (Author) . Presentable Ethnicity: Constituting Mien in Contemporary Thailand. Dislocating Nation-States: Globalization in Asia and Africa (2005).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Mien Alter-Natives in Thai Modernity. Anthropological Quarterly (2004).
- . . The Society of Siam: Selected Articles for the Siam Society's Centenniary (2004).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Mien Through Sports and Culture: Mobilizing Minority Identity in Thailand. Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology (2003).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Rosy Cheeks in the Library. Suvannabhumi: Newsletter of the Program for S.E. Asian Studies, ASU (2003).
- . . Review of: Review of Redefining Nature (2003).
- . . Review of: Where China Meets Southeast Asia (2003).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur Rafn (Author) . Pedestrian Politics: The Social Focus of Founders, Migration, and Ritual. Founders' Cults in Southeast Asia (2003).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur Rafn (Author) ,Taylor, Nora A (Author) . National Colors: Ethnic Minorities in Vietnamese Public Imagery. Re-Orienting Fashion: The Globalization of Asian Dress (2003).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. A Regional Approach to Thailand: Reflections on the Writings of A. Thomas Kirsch. (2003).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Encyclopedic Yao in Thailand. (2003).
- Drake Bennett. The Mystery of Zomia. (0).
Research Activity
- Jonsson,Hjorleifur Rafn*. Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Expansion of Anthropological Research on Masculinity for Contemporary American Society. NSF-ENG-BCS(8/1/2009 - 5/31/2011).
Courses
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
2025 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 417 | Politics and Culture |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 494 | Special Topics |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
2024 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 494 | Special Topics |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 417 | Politics and Culture |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 541 | Theory in Sociocultural Anthro |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 592 | Research |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 584 | Internship |
| ASB 325 | Peoples of Southeast Asia |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 799 | Dissertation |
| ASB 792 | Research |
| ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ASB 592 | Research |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
| ASB 252 | Sports and Culture |
Presentations
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Does the ethnology of Southeast Asia have a purpose?. Brown Bag Lecture, Cornell University Southeast Asia Program (Sep 2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Southeast Asian highland peoples and the question of meta-politics. Seminar on Politics in Southeast Asia, University of Albany (Sep 2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Hill tribes in Thailand in historical perspective. Seminar on Ethnic Groups in Thailand, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand (Sep 2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Ethnology and Scholarship in Southeast Asia: Lessons from Studying the Iu Mien. Seminar, Research Center on Ethnicity and Development, Chiangmai University, Thailand (Sep 2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Slow anthropology: Negotiating difference in Southeast Asia. Thammasat University (Aug 2014).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Mistaking clouds for mountains in Asian Studies? Stretching the anthropological project from 20 to 20,000 years. Asian Studies lecture, University of Iceland (Nov 2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Ach Zo: The periodic table of the social elements, as seen from the trenches of long-term research in cultural anthropology. Frontier Frictions. Workshop at Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany (Nov 2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Community and Identity among Iu Mien Refugee Immigrants from Laos. Critical Ethnic Studies annual conference, Chicago IL (Sep 2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Revisiting the Objects of Ethnography. Seminar on Politics and Culture in Southeast Asia (Mar 2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Above and beyond the state? Anthropology, History, and the Asian hinterlands. Faculty seminar, Anthropology and Asian Studies, Brigham Young University (Feb 2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Revisiting the Peoples of Southeast Asia, or Scott vs. Scott. Lecture, Departments of Anthropology and Asian Studies, Brigham Young University (Feb 2013).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson and Sudarat Musikawong. Where are the Mountain Peoples? On ethnicity and difference in Thai fiction film and documentaries. Colloquia, Research Center on Ethnicity and Development, Chiangmai University, Thailand (Jun 2012).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson and Sudarat Musikawong. Reading Khon-phu-khao from an anthropological perspective: On ethnicity and difference in Thai film. Colloquia, Sirindhorn Anthropology Center, Bangkok, Thailand (Jun 2012).
- HJorleifur Jonsson. Ethnic minority sports and the making of the Thai, ca. 2005. Association for Asian Studies, annual conference (Mar 2012).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Is there Freedom in the Hills? A Critical Discussion of James C. Scott’s The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. Colloquium, Center for Asian Research, ASU (Dec 2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Cracking up an alligator: Anthropology, video, and irony. ASU Art Museum lecture (Nov 2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Transnational Lao Iu Mien from Laos, Scholarly Displacement, and the Ritual Fashioning of Home and Away. Workshop on Transnational Religion, Missionization, and Refugee Migrants in Comparative Perspective (Oct 2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Wartime Identities and National Scholarly Frameworks: Northern Laos and the Long 1970s. Lecture series, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Mar 2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Zomia as an historical Smartbomb. Conference on Hmong in Comparative Perspective, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Mar 2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Southeast Asian Ethnology and the Ethics of Representation. Workshop on Radically Envisioning a Different Southeast Asia From a Non-State Perspective (Jan 2011).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Post-Revolutionary Ethnic Militias, Genuine and Spurious. Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association (Nov 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Panel Introduction, Researching Gender in a Post-Feminist Era. Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans (Nov 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. panel on Ethno-nationalism in Post-Socialist Asia. Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans (Nov 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Ethnographic Prospecting in Upland Southeast Asia: Paths to Freedom. Workshop on A Critical Anthropology of Anarchy. Dept of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University (Sep 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. A View to a Hill: Animist Reactions to Modernity, Capitalism, and the State. Annual Meetings of the Association for Asian Studies, Philadelphia (Mar 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Zomia and the Ethnographic Challenge of/for Southeast Asian Diversity. Writing Radically Different Southeast Asian History, Kyoto University (Feb 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Ethnography, Mimesis, and the Peoples of Southeast Asia. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for SEAsian Studies Colloquium (Jan 2010).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Mimetic Minorities: National Identity and Desire on Thailand’s Fringe. Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association (Dec 2009).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. The Centers and Margins of Identity-Making. Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, Philadelphia, PA (Dec 2009).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Changing Configurations of Identity. Western Conference of Asian Studies, Tucson, AZ (Oct 2009).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. War’s Ontogeny: The Ethnic Fallout of Militias in and After the War in Laos. New York Conference on Asian Studies (Oct 2009).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Arts and Post-war Identity Work Among Iu Mien in America. Institute for Humanities Research, ASU, Colloquium (Feb 2009).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Ethnicity as the Telling of Time and Space in Mainland Southeast Asia. International, Interdisciplinary workshop Dynamics of Human Diversity in Mainland Southeast Asia, Si (Jan 2009).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. War’s Ethnic Fallout in Laos. Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association (Nov 2008).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Discussant, Panel on Community and Ethnic Identity. Graduate Student Asian Studies Conference, ASU (Oct 2008).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. On Collecting Yao Objects and Art. Workshop Icons of Complexity: Ritual Art Collections and the Sense of History (Jun 2008).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Looking Good in Thailand: Mien Spectacles of Identity,. Annual Meetings of the Association for Asian Studies, Atlanta, GA, April 6 (Mar 2008).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Spectacles of Identity: Public Marginality in Thailand. Annual Meetings of the Association for Asian Studies, (Mar 2008).
- Hjorleifur Jonsson. Turning Culture into Contest: Reworking Minority Identity at Ethnic Festivals. Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Play (Mar 2008).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Perspectives on the New Thai Countryside. SHESC Graduate Student colloquia (Sep 2006).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Minority Culture and the Limits to National Acceptance in Contemporary Thailand. Division of Social Science, International Christian University, Tokyo (May 2006).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Human Evolution and Social Change in the Museums of Thailand and Vietnam. A.T. Steele, Lecture, ASU Center for Asian Studies (Nov 2005).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Bad News from Thailand. Wagging the Dog: Media, Elections, and Times of War (Apr 2004).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Mien Alter-Native Modernity in Thailand. Association for Asian Studies, Annual Meetings (Mar 2004).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Voicing Identity in the Thai Countryside: Mien Culture, Protest, and Indigeneity. Faculty of Comparative Culture, Sophia University, Tokyo (Jun 2003).
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Global Futures in Local Pasts: Post-Cold-War Museum Prospecting. American Anthropological Association
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Mien on the Move: Ritual Connections to the State's Landscape. SSRC-sponsored conference on Transnational Religion, Migration, and Diversity in Southeast Asia
- Jonsson, Hjorleifur. Ethnographic film screening (my documentary) and discussion. Colloquia, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University
Service
- Center for Asian Research, Library Committee, Member, Southeast Asia representative (2013 - Present)
- Center for Asian Research, Library Committee, Member, Southeast Asia representative (2013 - Present)
- Southeast Asia Council, Center for Asian Research, Member (2012 - Present)
- Southeast Asian Studies, journal based at Kyoto University, Member, International advisory board of journal (2012 - Present)
- Southeast Asian Studies, journal based at Kyoto University, Member, International advisory board of journal (2012 - Present)
- Southeast Asian Studies, journal based at Kyoto University, Member, International advisory board of journal (2012 - Present)
- Southeast Asian Studies, journal based at Kyoto University, Member, International advisory board of journal (2012 - Present)
- Journal of Surrealism and the Americas, reviewer (2009 - Present)
- SHESC Undergraduate Teaching Award, Member (2009 - Present)
- Focaal: European Journal of Anthropology, peer reviewer (2008 - Present)
- Asian Ethnicity, peer reviewer (2008 - Present)
- Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, peer reviewer (2008 - Present)
- Journal of Surrealism and the Americas, Member of Advisory Board (2007 - Present)
- Journal of Surrealism and the Americas, Member of Advisory Board (2007 - Present)
- Journal of Surrealism and the Americas, Member of Advisory Board (2007 - Present)
- Journal of Surrealism and the Americas, Member of Advisory Board (2007 - Present)
- National University of Singapore, dissertation examiner (2007 - Present)
- Crossroads, referee (2006 - Present)
- Art Museum, Ohio University, expert ethnographic advise on a potential gift to museum and library (2005 - Present)
- Cornell University Press, reviewer, book proposal (2005 - Present)
- Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, referee (2005 - Present)
- American Ethnologist, referee (2005 - Present)
- Thailand, Laos, Cambodia Studies Group, of the Association for Asian Studies, board member (2013 - 2015)
- Palgrave Macmillan Publishers, book manuscript reviewer (2014 - 2014)
- University of Minnesota, Promotion and Tenure Reviewer (2014 - 2014)
- SHESC Undergraduate Committee, chair (2013 - 2014)
- University of Wisconsin Press, reviewer of a chapter for a book in process (2013 - 2013)
- Comparative Studies in Society and History, article referee (2013 - 2013)
- SHESC, Member, Personnel Committee (2011 - 2013)
- Asia Pacific Viewpoint, article referee (2013 - 2013)
- Asian Ethnicity, Reviewer (2012 - 2012)
- SHESC, Member, Personnel Committee (2011 - 2012)
- American Anthropologist, Reviewer (2012 - 2012)
- Ethnography, Reviewer (2012 - 2012)
- Anthropology of Work Review, Reviewer (2012 - 2012)
- SHESC, Member, Personnel Committee (2011 - 2012)
- California Watch. An Internet-based newspaper, Expert on Mien refugee immigrant culture (2011 - 2011)
- Comparative Studies in Society and History, article reviewer (2011 - 2011)
- Chronicle of Higher Education, Expert on Southeast Asian highland peoples (2011 - 2011)
- Journal of Asian Studies, article reviewer (2011 - 2011)
- European Research Council, reviewer of grant proposal (2011 - 2011)
- Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, article ms reviewer (2011 - 2011)
- Critical Asian Studies, referee (2011 - 2011)
- Cornell University Department of Anthropology, reviewer, Tenure and Promotion (2010 - 2010)
- Association for Asian Studies, SEAsia Council, Graduate Student Paper Prize Committee (2010 - 2010)
- SHESC, Member, Personnel Committee (2009 - 2010)
- Association for Asian Studies, 2007-2010 Board Member, Southeast Asia Council (2007 - 2010)
- University of Iceland Press, Book ms reviewer (2010 - 2010)
- American Anthropological Association, Board Member, Society for Humanistic Anthropology (2007 - 2009)
- The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- University of Hawaii Press, Manuscript reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- SHESC, Member, Personnel Committee (2008 - 2009)
- Northern Illinois University, Southeast Asia Program Publications, Reviewer of manuscript (2007)
- SHESC, Space Committee, Committee member (2006 - 2007)
- SHESC, Culture, Heritage, Identity Search, Committee member (2005 - 2006)
- Anthropological Quarterly, referee (2004)
- Australian National University, PhD advisory committee, Dept Geography, Outside examiner of dissertation (2004)
- Crossroads: Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Referee (2004)
- Ethnos, referee (2004)
- Anthropology Department/ Museum Studies Committee, member (2003)
- Anthropology Department/ Sociocultural Anthropology Sub-discipline, Head (2003)
- Anthropology Department/Executive Committee, member (2003)
- Anthropology Department/Graduate Committee, member (2003)
- Friends of Laos Studies, Board member (2003)
- Program for SEAsian Studies, Curriculum Committee, member (2003)
- Program for SEAsian Studies, editorial board, board member (2003)