Name Dia Cha | Role Author | |
Education Northern Arizona University, Metropolitan State University of Denver Books Dia's Story Cloth, Folk Stories of the Hmong, Teaching with Folk Stories of, Hmong American Concepts, Hmong American Concepts | ||
Dia Cha (1962? - ) was (in 2003-08?) Associate Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at St. Cloud State University, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she taught courses in cultural anthropology, ethnic studies, Southeast Asian communities, Asian American studies, and Hmong studies. A Hmong American and a prolific author, she has written books for children and adults.
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Early life
In 1975, Dia and the surviving members of her family, were forced to flee the advancing communist movement, Pathet Lao in their takeover of her home country of Laos. She soon found herself a refugee in Thailand.
She eventually settled in the United States in 1979, where she was able to begin formal studies in the ninth grade. In 1983, she graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, in Denver, Colorado, ranking thirtieth in a class of 251 students. In 1987, she joined the Institute of Foreign Studies and spent a semester studying at the University of London.
Academia
In December 1989, Dia received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colorado. In December, 1992, she was awarded a Master of Arts in applied anthropology from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. After additional studies, she received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado.
Publications
In addition to scholarly articles and reports, Dia has written Dia's Story Cloth " and, with Norma Livo, "Folk Stories of the Hmong" and "Teaching with Folk Stories of the Hmong: An Activity Book". Her poetry and short stories have appeared in "Bamboo Among the Oaks" as well as the "Paj Ntaub Voice" Hmong literary journal.