East Asian Studies

East Asian Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of East Asia about their new books.

Niki J. P. Alsford, "Taiwan Lives: A Social and Political History" (U Washington Press, 2024)

March 19, 2024

Taiwan Lives

Niki J. P. Alsford
Hosted by Anthony Kao

As Taiwan gains prominence on international headlines, often framed in terms of conflict with China, it’s easy to neglect the island nation’s human st…

Thomas D. Conlan, "Kings in All But Name: The Lost History of Ouchi Rule in Japan, 1350-1569" (Oxford UP, 2024)

March 17, 2024

Kings in All But Name

Thomas D. Conlan
Hosted by Jingyi Li

In the sixteenth century, members of the Ouchi family were kings in all but name in much of Japan. Immensely wealthy, they controlled sea lanes stretc…

Angie Chau, "Paris and the Art of Transposition: Early Twentieth Century Sino-French Encounters" (U Michigan Press, 2023)

March 6, 2024

Paris and the Art of Transposition

Angie Chau
Hosted by Victoria Lupascu

A brief stay in France was, for many Chinese workers and Chinese Communist Party leaders, a vital stepping stone for their careers during the cultura…

Diego Javier Luis, "The First Asians in the Americas: A Transpacific History" (Harvard UP, 2024)

March 5, 2024

The First Asians in the Americas

Diego Javier Luis
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Between 1565 and 1815, the so-called Manila galleons enjoyed a near-complete monopoly on transpacific trade between Spain’s Asian and American colonie…

Bryan Mark Rigg, "Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II" (Knox Press, 2024)

March 5, 2024

Japan's Holocaust

Bryan Mark Rigg
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II (Knox Press, 2024) combines research conducted in over eightee…

Zhongping Chen, "Transpacific Reform and Revolution: The Chinese in North America, 1898-1918" (Stanford UP, 2023)

March 4, 2024

Transpacific Reform and Revolution

Zhongping Chen
Hosted by Li-Ping Chen

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the turbulent end of China’s imperial system, violent revolutionary movements, and the fraught …

Jinying Li, "Anime's Knowledge Cultures: Geek, Otaku, Zhai" (U Minnesota Press, 2024)

March 3, 2024

Anime's Knowledge Cultures

Jinying Li
Hosted by Anthony Kao

With comics franchises getting turned into multi-billion dollar revenue opportunities and consumer technology companies dominating daily headlines — t…

Fynn Holm, "The Gods of the Sea: Whales and Coastal Communities in Northeast Japan, c.1600-2019" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

February 29, 2024

The Gods of the Sea

Fynn Holm
Hosted by Nathan Hopson

Japan is often imagined as a nation with a long history of whaling. In The Gods of the Sea: Whales and Coastal Communities in Northeast Japan, c.1600-…

Peter Harmsen, "Bernhard Sindberg: The Schindler of Nanjing" (Casemate, 2024)

February 28, 2024

Bernhard Sindberg

Peter Harmsen
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

In December 1937, the Chinese capital, Nanjing, falls and the Japanese army unleash an orgy of torture, murder, and rape. Over the course of six weeks…

Peter Harmsen, "Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze" (Casemate, 2015)

February 26, 2024

Shanghai 1937

Peter Harmsen
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Peter Harmsen's book Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze (Casemate, 2015) describes one of the great forgotten battles of the 20th century. At it…

Charles B. Jones, "Chinese Pure Land Buddhism: Understanding a Tradition of Practice" (U Hawaii Press, 2019)

February 26, 2024

Chinese Pure Land Buddhism

Charles B. Jones
Hosted by Lina Verchery

Today’s guest is Charles B. Jones, Associate Professor and Director of the Religion and Culture graduate program in the School of Theology and Religio…

Mai Corlin, "The Bishan Commune and the Practice of Socially Engaged Art in Rural China" (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020)

February 26, 2024

The Bishan Commune and the Practice of Socially Engaged Art in Rural China

Mai Corlin
Hosted by Suvi Rautio

On the podcast today, I am joined by Mai Corlin, who is external researcher at the department of cross-cultural and regional studies in the University…

Sandra Fahy, "Dying for Rights: Putting North Korea’s Human Rights Abuses on the Record" (Columbia UP, 2019)

February 24, 2024

Dying for Rights

Sandra Fahy
Hosted by Sarah Patterson

“The things that are happening to North Korea are happening to all of us…they are part of the human community. To say that this is just a problem for …

The Future of the Chinese Military

February 23, 2024

The Future of the Chinese Military

James A. Siebens

For all the talk of China being a peaceful country with no aggressive intentions, it has behaved like most other rising powers – spending lots of mone…

Simon Partner, "Koume's World: The Life and Work of a Samurai Woman Before and After the Meiji Restoration" (Columbia UP, 2023)

February 22, 2024

Koume's World

Simon Partner
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 1864, on a midsummer’s day, Kawai Koume, a 60-year old matriarch of a samurai family in Wakayama, makes a note in her diary, which she had dutifull…

Max Ward, "Thought Crime: Ideology and State Power in Interwar Japan" (Duke UP, 2019)

February 21, 2024

Thought Crime

Max Ward
Hosted by Nathan Hopson

Max Ward’s Thought Crime: Ideology and State Power in Interwar Japan (Duke University Press, 2019) analyzes the trajectory and transformations of the …

Ricky W. Law, "Transnational Nazism: Ideology and Culture in German-Japanese Relations, 1919-1936" (Cambridge UP, 2019)

February 20, 2024

Transnational Nazism

Ricky W. Law
Hosted by Craig Sorvillo

In his new book, Transnational Nazism: Ideology and Culture in German-Japanese Relations, 1919-1936 (Cambridge University Press, 2019), associate prof…

Gwyn McClelland, "Dangerous Memory in Nagasaki: Prayers, Protests and Catholic Survivor Narratives" (Routledge, 2019)

February 19, 2024

Dangerous Memory in Nagasaki

Gwyn McClelland
Hosted by Takeshi Morisato

On 9th August 1945, the US dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Of the dead, approximately 8500 were Catholic Christians, representing over six…

Lu Xun. ,"Wild Grass and Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk" (Harvard UP, 2022)

February 13, 2024

Wild Grass and Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk

Lu Xun

In this captivating translation of the imaginative prose essay collection Wild Grass (1927) and experimental memoir Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk …

Xuelei Huang, "Scents of China: A Modern History of Smell" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

February 10, 2024

Scents of China

Xuelei Huang
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In this vivid and highly original reading of recent Chinese history, Scents of China: A Modern History of Smell (Cambridge University Press, 2023) Dr.…