Celebrate Asia Pasifika: Speaker Event (Eric Becklin and Valeng Cha) @ Northfield Public Library

All are welcome to attend a talk titled “Broadening Vision: The Complexity of St. Olaf’s Early Chinese Students and Lutheran Missions, 1918-1948” by Eric Becklin, Visiting Instructor of Asian Studies and History. 

Valeng Cha, former Director of Government, Foundation, and Corporate Relations, will present “Hmong Oles: From Mountaintops to the Hilltops of St. Olaf”.

As part of St. Olaf’s 150th Anniversary Celebration and its commitment to highlighting lesser-known stories, Eric Becklin and Valeng Cha will share insights into St. Olaf’s long-standing connections to Asia. Their talk at the Northfield Public Library will focus on two key narratives: the early history of Chinese international students, which began in the 1910s, and the experiences of Hmong students at St. Olaf, particularly over the past few decades.

Becklin (class of ’12) teaches on the history and geography of East Asia at St. Olaf College. His research specializes in the Lutheran Church of China and questions of indigeneity and globality of Christianity as well as local and transnational social networks that come with belonging to a religious community. He is defending his doctoral dissertation later this year on the subject of the Lutheran Church in China, its formation as an institution, and its connection of Chinese Christians with the world via their Lutheran identity.

Cha (class of ’95) is the former Director of Government, Foundation, and Corporate Relations at St. Olaf. Coming from an immigrant family, he was a first-generation college student. 

Sponsored by Asian Studies Department, Academic Civic Engagement, Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion, and Northfield Public Library.