Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, please join! Discord could be really useful for the community

Maggie Greene @mcgreenesd.bsky.social · 4d

We have a new Sinologist community on Discord - membership has a brief application & isn't *totally* open (it's professional in nature), but if you've been looking for a China group outside of bsky/Facebook/Twitter, this might be the ticket. discord.gg/g6S8WbVW

Join the Sinologists Discord Server!

Sinologists is the Discord community for scholars and professionals working in Chinese studies (broadly defined). | 59 members

discord.gg

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Reposted by Brian Spivey

Mason L. Wong 王樂知 @masonlwong.bsky.social · 10d

I wrote for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social on Palantir, the chip industry, US-China competition, and what tech firms mean when they talk about "defending Western civilization."

Thanks to @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and the LARB team for the edits!

lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...

The Microchip Titans | Los Angeles Review of Books

Mason Wong reviews three books related to US-China tech industries and global competition.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · 10d

Here's my recent talk at CIW about how a Maoist approach to "environmental protection" emerged during the Cultural Revolution--an important period wherein many leaders and people began to seriously think about and grapple with the externalities of industrialization.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...

Maoist Environmental Protection in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

YouTube video by Australian Centre on China in the World

www.youtube.com

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Yangyang Cheng @yangyangcheng.bsky.social · Sep 8

So grateful to write for @dissentmag.bsky.social's Fall 2025 issue "Authoritarianism and Resistance." I drafted the piece in June with the new school year in mind, as an immigrant scholar severed from her homeland: What can we teach the young about how to exist and persist at this historic juncture?

To Outlive Tyranny - Dissent Magazine

Flesh and blood alone cannot halt the advance of iron and steel. To stop the tanks, we need people to place blocks on the road and throw sand into the gears.

www.dissentmagazine.org

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · Sep 7

Weekly Wanderings returns after a late-summer hiatus, with new book recommendations, lots of China links, interesting stories from around the world, and Tiya Miles on searching for the right words.

Weekly Wanderings: September 7, 2025

And we’re back! I, of course, thought that taking August “off” would enable me to get completely caught up on life. The books I would read! The closets I would organize! The freezer I would restock…

mauracunningham.org

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Made in China Journal @madeinchinajournal.com · Sep 4

From Sanmenxia and Three Gorges to the Yarlung Tsangpo Dam, China has long relied on monumental hydropower to prove state capacity. @zenel25.bsky.social and @pguer.bsky.social show how such projects, while promising development and security, often deepen the very insecurities they claim to resolve.

The Technopolitics of China’s Yarlung Tsangpo Dam Project and the Paradox of Hydropower | Made in China Journal

Three years after announcing their intent to construct a mega-dam along the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River as part of the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan, Chinese officials gave their approval to proce...

madeinchinajournal.com

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Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Sep 4

Sad news 😔

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/04/m...

Literary journal Meanjin to close after 85 years of publishing

Meanjin, a mainstay of Australia's cultural landscape and the nation's second-oldest literary publication, is shuttering after Melbourne University Publishing decided to cease financial support.

www.crikey.com.au

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David Fedman @dfeds.bsky.social · Sep 2

A new essay from me synthesizing the rich body of media criticism in Japanese focused on the practice of "August journalism" (八月ジャーナリズム): the tendency for rehearsed, compressed, and hollowed-out coverage of war memory each August.

apjjf.org/2025/9/fedman

“August Journalism” Studies: Lessons in World War II Reporting from Japan’s Season of Remembrance - Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

[…]

apjjf.org

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Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · Sep 2

I've given talks about my new @columbiagr.bsky.social book at various places (including in Culver City at @wendemuseum.bsky.social), but this October 20 dual book launch with Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow at @ucirvine.bsky.social will be my first in Orange County www.humanities.uci.edu/events/art-i...

The Art of the Interview and the Craft of the Profile: A UCI Forum for the Academy and the Public Book Launch

An in-person event, open to the public, no rsvp needed

www.humanities.uci.edu

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Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Sep 1

lareviewofbooks.org/article/one-...

One Island, Many Histories | Los Angeles Review of Books

Michelle T. King reviews Catherine Lila Chou and Mark Harrison’s “Revolutionary Taiwan” and Anna Beth Keim’s “Heaven Does Not Block All Roads.”

lareviewofbooks.org

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Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · Aug 29

Looking forward to giving my first talks ever in the Netherlands October 22-24, first link up is for one I'll give in The Hague (sponsored by the University of Leiden's Asia Centre) on the 23rd: leidenasiacentre.nl/event/jeffre... cc @hvistendahl.bsky.social @krishraghav.bsky.social

Jeffrey Wasserstrom on China, Protest and Asia’s Struggle against Autocracy - Leiden Asia Centre

China is changing the world—and the world is responding. In just a few decades, China has gone from isolated state to global powerhouse, reshaping politics, culture, and the fight for democracy across...

leidenasiacentre.nl

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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · Aug 29

🥹 Can't ask for a better review by @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: "A stunning tale of government violence, organized protest, and radical hope... In its depiction of commitment, cowardice, and change, You Must Take Part in Revolution proves both heartbreaking and heartening." 🔗 bit.ly/larb-revolution

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Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Aug 22

What did "environmental protection" 环境保护 mean in the Cultural Revolution? How did revolutionary Maoists approach pollution and other environmental problems caused by industrialization? 🇨🇳 🏭 ♻️

Talking about this on Thu 18 Sept, 4–5:30pm @ CIW (Canberra) (in person, recording later)

shorturl.at/MIDTs

Brian Spivey - "Maoist Environmental Protection in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" | AUSTRALIAN CENTRE ON CHINA IN THE WORLD

This talk examines the emergence of Maoist environmentalism in the People's Republic of China during the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and amid the worldwide awakening to enviro...

ciw.anu.edu.au

Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Aug 20

lareviewofbooks.org/article/emer...

Emergency Unending | Los Angeles Review of Books

Darren Wan reviews Hai Fan’s “Delicious Hunger,” translated by Jeremy Tiang, as well as Tiang’s own novel, “State of Emergency.”

lareviewofbooks.org

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Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Aug 12

Great to see this, well deserved!

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Benno Weiner @bennoweiner.bsky.social · Aug 12

Happy to be recognized as a finalist for the @washingtonmonthly.com's Kukula Ward for my review of @ewong.bsky.social's At the Edge of Empire. Sincere thanks @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social
Read the Review 👇
lareviewofbooks.org/article/stra...

Straining Nation or Expansionist Empire? | Los Angeles Review of Books

Benno Weiner reviews Edward Wong’s “At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China.”

lareviewofbooks.org

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Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · Jul 31

Love the look of the @cwclub.bsky.social Bookstore, my talk here begins in 20 minutes

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Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Jul 16

CIW is hiring two more multiyear postdocs. I'm loving it here and highly recommend for those interested to apply. Great place with great people and lots of support for research. Deadline is July 30 🦘

jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/postdoc...

Postdoctoral Fellow - Canberra / ACT, ACT, Australia

Classification: Academic Level ASalary package: $87,135 – $109,369 per annum plus 17% superannuationTerms: 2x Full time, Fixed term (up to 3 years) Position overview Based in the nation’s capital, the...

jobs.anu.edu.au

Reposted by Brian Spivey

David Stroup @davidstroup.bsky.social · Jul 12

Was pleased to write this review of the second edition of @jwassers.bsky.social’s “Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong,” published in January. It’s a great book that’s only gained importance since its first publication in 2020. Read the review online here:

chajournal.blog/2025/07/11/v...

[REVIEW] “Memory, Resistance, and Repression: The Enduring Relevance of Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s 𝑉𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙” by David R. Stroup

📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Vigil. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Vigil: The Struggle for Ho…

chajournal.blog

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Jane Hayward @drjanehayward.bsky.social · Jul 7

On the contingency of history - writing in LA Review of Books.

Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Jul 7

lareviewofbooks.org/article/ther... @drjanehayward.bsky.social "Finally, at a time when China’s rise must seem, to many, to have been inevitable, both books serve well to remind us of the contingency of history and the opaqueness of the future when viewed from the present."

There Isn’t Going to Be Any Trouble | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jane Hayward reads two recent books on China’s post-Mao reform period.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Brian Spivey @bspivey.bsky.social · Jul 7

lareviewofbooks.org/article/ther... @drjanehayward.bsky.social "Finally, at a time when China’s rise must seem, to many, to have been inevitable, both books serve well to remind us of the contingency of history and the opaqueness of the future when viewed from the present."

There Isn’t Going to Be Any Trouble | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jane Hayward reads two recent books on China’s post-Mao reform period.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Reposted by Brian Spivey

China Digital Times @chinadigitaltimes.net · Jul 1

In recent months, we have lost a significant portion of our funding. Yet we remain committed to helping the world better understand China at this critical juncture in global politics. We are asking for your help to keep our websites up and running.
giving.chinadigitaltimes.net/page/serverc...

Keep CDT Online: Donate for Server Expenses

China Digital Times (CDT) is a non-profit organization that relies on institutional and individual donations to sustain our operations. In recent months, we have lost a significant portion of our inst...

giving.chinadigitaltimes.net

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Eleanor Courtemanche @ecourtem.bsky.social · Jun 24

What I got ✨

The Pacific Circuit, The Milk Tea Alliance, Fake Work

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Reposted by Brian Spivey

Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · Jul 1

Very excited that I just saw a 50% leap after Saturday’s West Coast launch in the number of people the Good Reads site lists reading The Milk Tea Alliance www.goodreads.com/book/show/22... /okay, it went from 2 on Saturday to 3 on Monday but phrasing it in terms of percentages sounds more impressive

The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia's Struggle Against A…

Why are activists in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Burma wil…

www.goodreads.com

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