Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

John P. DiMoia @jdimoia.bsky.social · 4d

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · 9d

Needed some happy news, so I was thrilled to see that both of my panels had been accepted for next year's @asianstudies.org conference! Look forward to seeing Asian Studies friends and colleagues in Vancouver!

2 14

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

David Fedman @dfeds.bsky.social · 12d

job alert:

My department is now running a search to fill a newly inaugurated endowed chair in the History of Technology. Please consider applying/share widely. I'm not on the committee, but happy to answer questions or connect you with those who are.

Details here: recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09897

18 21

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · 15d

Excited to be returning to my PhD alma mater (first time since graduation) for a book talk in a few weeks!

ceas.stanford.edu/events/borde...

8

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · 26d

An important topic! It's fully possible to critique US massacres in Korea while also not romanticizing Soviet influence. If you read Moon's piece, she is very critical of both big powers' role in Korean history.

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · 26d

An influential Koreanist once described Soviet-occupied North Korea as an "isle of tranquility," but the stories of those who fled South after Korea's 1945 division suggest otherwise. Yumi Moon’s chapter in this great new volume helpfully elucidates this refugee experience.

1 1 8

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

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

1 20 34

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

Modern Japan History Association @modernjapanhist.bsky.social · Sep 1

On Monday!

Angus Lockyer (Rhode Island School of Design) on his new book “Exhibitionist Japan: The Spectacle of Modern Development”, in conversation with Jordan Sand (Georgetown University) and Joseph Seeley (University of Virginia).

Register for Zoom here: mjha.org/event-6239996

A screenshot of the event and related details featuring a brightly colored red and green book cover.

2 4

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · Aug 28

My review of BREAKNECK, by Dan Wang, an insightful and balanced look at the Chinese engineering state—both its strengths and shortcomings—that offers a much-needed contrast to fear-mongering China books.

Bookshelf: Breakneck

The first copy of Breakneck I received looked like the quintessential fear-mongering China book. Against an inky black background a red graphic appeared—somewhat difficult to identify, but it seeme…

mauracunningham.org

5 14

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

Andrew McTominey @mctom.bsky.social · Aug 28

So I've written a book! Waterscapes is about how impactful our need for water is on the environment and people. It's also about the ways in which infrastructure projects can impact place for good or bad.

Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · Aug 28

Published today: 'Waterscapes: Reservoirs, Environment and Identity in Modern England and Wales', by Andrew McTominey bit.ly/4n4LkxB

'Waterscapes' is the 23rd title in the Society's New Historical perspectives book series, published @uolpress.bsky.social. Available free Open Access and in print 1/2

Cover for: Waterscapes: Reservoirs, Environment and Identity in Modern England and Wales, by Andrew McTominey

4 18 40

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Aug 26

As the Osaka Expo remains ongoing, for those interested in the deeper history of exhibitions in Japan, please check out this online book talk event I am moderating in less than two weeks!

mjha.org/event-6239996

2 5

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Aug 19

Excited to be presenting at this conference as well! I will be sharing new work on North Korean animal history for those interested.

3 11

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · Aug 18

I have gotten our @greenhouseuis.net #envhum book talks for September & October posted!

Always on Mondays at 16:00 (4pm) Central European time.

For details see: newnatures.org/greenhouse/

2 33 64

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

David Fedman @dfeds.bsky.social · Aug 18

Looking forward to participating (virtually, alas) in this event at SNU later this week, for anyone interested:

www.snu.ac.kr/snunow/event...

I'll be sharing a new essay that uses the life and letters of Conrad Totman, pioneer of East Asian environmental history, to map out the state of the field

6 10

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · Aug 15

The last known Rodrigues parakeet died exactly 150 years ago. This story ticks a lot of natural history museum bingo boxes:
✔️Sex bias in natural history
✔️Colonial legacies
✔️Dodos
But also, how museum specimens act as irreplaceable records of lost biodiversity:
theconversation.com/the-rodrigue...

The Rodrigues parakeet’s last day: what one extinct bird tells us about the role of museums

Two specimens at a museum in Cambridge are the only physical evidence this bird ever existed.

theconversation.com

1 19 34

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

David Fedman @dfeds.bsky.social · Aug 16

Herewith a thread of some of the more interesting reactions to the Emperor's August 15 surrender announcement I've collected over the years:

First up, a personal favorite (and teaser for an essay I have forthcoming on gardening in the ashes of Japan's urban wastelands in 1945):

1 11 33

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

The Japan Times @japantimes.co.jp · Aug 15

In a dusty box, a Nagano man finds proof his father served in Nanjing, China, with Unit 1644, part of Japan’s covert biological weapons network during World War II. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...

16 30

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

Micah Muscolino @mmuscolino.bsky.social · Aug 8

Advance copy of my book _Remaking the Earth, Exhausting the People_ arrived this morning!

What's with the ducks on the first page? You can find out when the book is released later this month.

@uwapress.bsky.social has been a pleasure to work with and did a great job with design and production.

1 5 12

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Jul 22

Stories like this reminds me why I love being a historian. You can feel @tsmullaney.bsky.social 's passion for what is far more than just machines and technology, but human struggles, aspirations, and dreams. Feel so lucky to have studied with him at Stanford. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/n...

A Professor’s Hunt for the Rarest Chinese Typewriter

www.nytimes.com

1

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Jul 21

Historians of Bluesky! I am putting together a syllabus for a graduate/upper undergraduate seminar this fall on "Animal Histories," and would love your help putting together a chronologically/geographically/thematically diverse set of readings. Self-promotion is also very welcome!

2 1 3

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Jul 19

And since no one has time to read an article, here's a Youtube video! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz-B...

Korean Tigers, myth and reality

YouTube video by 우물 밖의 개구리The Frog Outside the Well

www.youtube.com

1 1

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Jul 19

As my work discusses, Korea's tigers could be whimsical folklore figures tormented by clever rabbits or magpies, but they were also exterminated by the 20th century. And this even as they started becoming national symbols of anti-colonial resistance. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...

Tigers—Real and Imagined—in Korea’s Physical and Cultural Landscape | Environmental History: Vol 20, No 3

Abstract Historically, people in Korea have valued tigers more as symbols than actual living beings. Premodern Koreans gave various cultural meanings to the tiger—including trickster, divine messenger...

www.journals.uchicago.edu

4 3 7

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Jul 18

I have yet to see the global pop-culture phenomenon that is "Kpop Demon Hunters," but as someone who has written about Korean tiger history, I love seeing images of the Korean folk art-inspired "Derpy Tiger."

4 2 14

Reposted by Joseph Seeley

永原宣 Hiromu Nagahara @hiromunagahara.bsky.social · Jun 26

Cool story of an important historical artifact being returned to South Korea from Japan. This article doesn't mention it but the main force behind this move seems to have been the head priest of Kōtokuin (the Kamakura daibutsu temple), Satō Takao...

www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Cu...

Joseon royal shrine returned from Japan after 100 years : Korea.net : The official website of the Republic of Korea

Gwanwoldang Shrine, which is believed to be a royal artifact from the Joseon Dynasty, has been returned to Korea about 100 years after being taken to Japan during Japanese colonial rule (1910-45) of t...

www.korea.net

1 6 33

Joseph Seeley @josephaseeley.bsky.social · Jun 24

Thanks! And yes, delicious Chinese food was had while I was in Incheon!

1