Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Lin Zhang

James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 8h

This is fascinating although I must admit is not a beach read. It makes me think that one of the big trends we’re seeing in government/public policy is the spread of third wave systems theory (into theories of statecraft, PSR, leadership training, etc). 1/2

2 1 6

Lin Zhang @linzhang.bsky.social · 2d

Here's our introduction: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Whither China?: Chinese communication research at the new conjuncture

Published in Chinese Journal of Communication (Vol. 18, No. 3, 2025)

www.tandfonline.com

Lin Zhang @linzhang.bsky.social · 2d

In our intro, we revisit and reimagine Chinese communication studies through three analytical lenses: China in plural, Global China from above and below, and the digital platform as a contested infrastructural space. We hope this issue will inspire new conversations and directions in the field.

1

Lin Zhang @linzhang.bsky.social · 2d

This collection features six excellent articles—ranging from rural fintech & e-commerce, the political economy of TikTok, the overseas Chinese fashion industry, to new theoretical approaches for studying platforms/infrastructures, and the platformization of China’s music industry.

1

Lin Zhang @linzhang.bsky.social · 2d

New Special Issue Alert:
Our special issue “Whither China? Chinese Communication Research at the New Conjuncture” has finally been published in the Chinese Journal of Communication!
www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcjc20/1...

Chinese Journal of Communication

Whither China?: Chinese Communication Research at the New Conjuncture. Volume 18, Issue 3 of Chinese Journal of Communication

www.tandfonline.com

1 2 3

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Leif Hancox-Li, PhD @struthious.bsky.social · 9d

I like this analogy: the computer interface as the 'theatre of the screen', with an understanding of theatre (like all art) as 'a lie that tells the truth'. www.clunyjournal.com/p/history-of...

The History of the Personal Computer by Sheila Heti

Sheila Heti on the birth, rise, and decline of the personal computer.

www.clunyjournal.com

1 5 7

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Ben Tarnoff @bentarnoff.com · Aug 6

Coming March 2026

2 17 95

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 18d

www.cnet.com/home/interne...

Alternative Broadband Networks: Affordable Internet for the People, One Rooftop at a Time

Volunteer-based organizations like NYC Mesh aim to close the digital divide and build real-life connections.

www.cnet.com

21 37

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Rest of World @restofworld.org · 24d

In the midst of the AI boom, countries are scrambling to meet rising energy demands from data centers. In Mexico, Microsoft has had to rely on gas generators in at least one of its data centers

Countries are struggling to meet the rising energy demands of data centers

Mexico's lagging energy grid is forcing companies, including Microsoft, to use generators.

restofworld.org

6 19 30

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Victor Seow @eastasiascitech.bsky.social · Sep 4

The Harvard S&T in Asia online seminar series is back!

This fall features talks from affect and control in Chinese AI to American forestry in Cold War Taiwan.

We meet on Zoom on the Tuesdays listed, 10:30–11:45 am ET.

Registration: seow.scholars.harvard.edu/STinAsia

#histstm #envhist #sts 🧪

5 14

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Ben Gross @bhgross144.bsky.social · Sep 8

Exciting news from my colleagues @sciencehistory.org! This archive documents the early history of #MolecularBiology & efforts to determine the structure of #DNA.

@matthewcobb.bsky.social provides an overview of its contents & significance in the thread below.

#histSTM #histsci #histbio #Molbio 🗃️📜🧬

Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · Sep 8

News in the history of molecular biology. The Science History Institute in Philadelphia has acquired a huge archive of correspondence and other scientific material from the pioneers of molecular biology (Franklin, Klug, Perutz, Delbrück etc, with items from Crick and Watson, too). 1/n

History of Molecular Biology Collection

This unparalleled collection includes Rosalind Franklin's historic 'Photo 51,' which revealed the double-helix structure of DNA.

www.sciencehistory.org

1 15 25

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Rafael Grohmann @grohmannrafael.bsky.social · 24d

Other Tech Worlds Are Possible. Comic book is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese! Partnership with the Tech Sector of the Homeless Workers’ Movement in Brazil (MTST), @germana-fazgibi.bsky.social

English: digilabour.com.br/comic-book-o...
Portuguese: www.nucleodetecnologia.com.br/hq

41 89

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Lilly Irani @gleemie.bsky.social · 25d

Signatures needed!

Uber and Lyft drivers are on the precipice of a wage theft settlement and need to push CA AG Bonta to represent what Uber/Lyft really stole, not just a token amount.

Please sign and share this petition.
www.drivers-united.org/wage-theft-s...

Wage Theft Settlement Petition - Rideshare Drivers United

www.drivers-united.org

1 24 40

Reposted by Lin Zhang

The China-Global South Project @chinagsproject.bsky.social · Sep 7

Xi Jinping launched the Global Governance Initiative, adding to China’s suite of global proposals. Centered on sovereignty, multilateralism, and UN reform, the GGI positions Beijing as a champion of the Global South in global affairs.

Xi Launches Global Governance Initiative

In addition to China’s President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic blitz at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and this week’s upcoming military parade, he also launched the Global Governance in...

chinaglobalsouth.com

4 4

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Jeffrey Yost @justcode.bsky.social · Aug 27

Just Code, just published!!! Open Access of full book is now freely available, see link below, made possible by @sloanfoundation.bsky.social grant to CBI! Am so honored to partner w Con & work alongside 19 stellar, fellow interdisciplinary authors on this book! #histtech

cse.umn.edu/cbi/just-cod...

Front cover of Just Code: Power, Inequality and the Political Economy of IT. Black lettering in bold with trailing pastel colors.

2 22 45

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · Aug 25

Some are embracing the fantasy that the cuts to #NIH funding will only have an impact here in the USA. As Nature reports, the NIH is the largest global funder by far and dwarfs the rest of the world’s funders of biomedical research.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How the NIH dominates the world’s health research — in charts

Abrupt cuts by the Trump administration to the US National Institutes of Health threaten progress in medical research globally.

www.nature.com

5 100 200

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Made in China Journal @madeinchinajournal.com · Aug 5

What is Sinopessimism? From lying flat to runology, Dino Ge Zhang explores a grassroots lexicon of disillusionment in China. Not just youth disengagement but a low theory of coping, refusing, and imagining alternatives amid economic and social pressures.

On Sinopessimism, or Junkies of Futility | Made in China Journal

This essay is written precisely so that it could be dismissed. —Paul Mann (1991: 141) Gary Gexi Zhang (2021) first coined the term ‘Sinopessimism’ as a speculative counterpart to Afropessimism, imag...

madeinchinajournal.com

14 41

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Sandeep Mertia @sandeepmertia.bsky.social · Jul 21

A short essay on the state of global digital capitalism(s) and futures in/from India and China, based on @linzhang.bsky.social 'The Labor of Reinvention' (2023)

1 1 1

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · Jul 12

"As the trade union Solidarity established itself as the nerve center of Polish resistance, Minden’s longstanding book-running efforts morphed into an operation code-named QRHELPFUL... [It] sneaked in radios + printing equipment... Illicit text might be concealed in Tampax boxes or diapers..." 😈

Winning the Cold War With le Carré and Cosmopolitan Magazine

www.nytimes.com

1 2 8

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Paul Roquet @inqualia.bsky.social · Jul 10

Building on the great papers from our Global Mediations workshop this past April, we're launching a CFP for additional contributions to an anthology on the global contestation of computational imaging. Details below; proposals due 9/13

Cultural Politics of the Computational Image: CFP – Global Mediations Lab

globalmediations.mit.edu

3 4

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · Jul 3

I read this, and then I despaired even more deeply. They're universities, not collections of 'under-managed cluster risks'! And yet this is where we're going, because MBA Brain. (1/2) www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile....

Higher education: How (not) to cope with a deficit

Many universities are struggling financially. Budget deficits are spiralling, triggering staff redundancy programmes, department shutdowns and the mot...

www.universityworldnews.com

7 9 30

Reposted by Lin Zhang

American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · Jul 2

More summer reading! ASA member Alex Hanna ‪@dairinstitute.bsky.social‬ explores AI's pitfalls & the importance of recognizing how AI hype covers for a small set of power-hungry actors in her book The AI Con ‪@harpercollins.bsky.social‬ written w/ Emily M. Bender, U Wash.

The AI Con

A smart, incisive look at the technologies sold as artificial intelligence, the drawbacks and pitfalls of technology sold under this banner, and why it’s cr...

bit.ly

7 10

Reposted by Lin Zhang

Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · Jun 24

Watch: Last week D&S Exec Director @janethaven.bsky.social took part in the @cfr.org‬ national conference, discussing power, politics & the tech industry on a panel w @chinmayiarun.bsky.social, @noupside.bsky.social, & Adam Segal, moderated by Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. www.cfr.org/event/2025-n...

2025 National Conference On-the-Record Livestreams

www.cfr.org

1 1

Lin Zhang @linzhang.bsky.social · Jun 23

Also special thanks to fellow thinkers in this space, whose works are instrumental to refining my thinking. @lizhiliu.bsky.social @angela zhang

Lin Zhang @linzhang.bsky.social · Jun 23

I draw inspiration from many other authors, including @msteinbrg.bsky.social @rahmuk.bsky.social @nielsvdoorn.bsky.social @grohmannrafael.bsky.social @jackqiu.bsky.social Steve Rolf& Seth Schindler, Anu Bradford, just to name a few

1 3