New Books Network
East Asian Studies
History November 30, 2020

All Against All

The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War

Paul Jankowski

Hosted by Steven Rodriguez
In his latest monograph, All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and The Origins of the Second World War (Harper, 2020), Professor Paul Jankowski (Brandeis University) provides a wide-angled …

Subscribe to

East Asian Studies

on the NBN

RSS Spotify Stitcher Apple
Asian Review of Books November 25, 2020

Blockchain Chicken Farm

And Other Stories of Tech in China's Countryside

Xiaowei Wang

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Most of our discussions about how “technology will change the world” focus on the global cities that drive the world economy. Even when we talk about China, we focus on …
Gender Studies November 25, 2020

Embodied Reckonings

“Comfort Women,” Performance, and Transpacific Redress

Elizabeth Son

Hosted by Ann Choi
In a bustling city-center of Seoul, women in yellow vests protesting over the “final” resettlement between the Japanese and Korean governments every Wednesday is an iconic sight, testifying to the …
History November 23, 2020

In the Dragon's Shadow

Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century

Sebastian Strangio

Hosted by Michael Vann
For centuries Southeast Asia has enjoyed a relatively pleasant relationship with China, its massive neighbor to the north. While Chinese merchants and laborers were common throughout the region, with exception …
Chinese Studies November 20, 2020

Zhuangzi and the Becoming of Nothingness

David Chai

Hosted by Alexus McLeod
Zhuangzi and the Becoming of Nothingness (SUNY Press, 2018) offers a radical rereading of the Daoist classic Zhuangzi by bringing to light the role of nothingness in grounding the cosmological …
East Asian Studies November 20, 2020

Securing China's Northwest Frontier

Identity and Insecurity in Xinjiang

David Tobin

Hosted by Ed Pulford
Greater interest in what is happening in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang in recent years has generated a proportional need for context, and especially insights into the politics and …
Asian Review of Books November 19, 2020

Young Mongols

Forging Democracy in the Wild, Wild East

Aubrey Menard

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Mongolia is sometimes seen as one of the few examples of a successful youth-led revolution, where a 1990 movement forced the Soviet-appointed Politburo to resign. In Young Mongols: Forging Democracy …
Law November 19, 2020

Making Hong Kong China

The Rollback of Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Michael Davis

Hosted by Jane Richards
“Imagine you live in a freewheeling city like New York or London – one of the world’s leading financial, educational, and cultural centres. Then imagine that one of the …
East Asian Studies November 16, 2020

The Art of Persistence

Akamatsu Toshiko and the Visual Cultures of Transwar Japan

Charlotte Eubanks

Hosted by Victoria Lupascu
The Art of Persistence: Akamatsu Toshiko and the Visual Cultures of Transwar Japan (U Hawaii Press, 2019) examines the relations between art and politics in transwar Japan, exploring these via …
SSEAC Stories November 12, 2020

Southeast Asian Performance, Ethnic Identity and China’s Soft Power

A Discussion with Dr Josh Stenberg

Josh Stenberg

Hosted by Natali Pearson
From glove puppets of Chinese origin and Hakka religious processions, to wartime political theatre and contemporary choirs and dance groups, the diverse performance practices of ethnic Chinese communities throughout Southeast …
Asian Review of Books November 12, 2020

Stranger in the Shogun's City

A Japanese Woman and Her World

Amy Stanley

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
“To mother, from Tsuneno (confidential). I’m writing with spring greetings. I went to Kanda Minagawa-chō in Edo—quite unexpectedly—and I ended up in so much trouble!” This letter, hidden in an …
East Asian Studies November 12, 2020

The City of Blue and White

Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern World

Anne Gerritsen

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos
We think of blue and white porcelain as the ultimate global commodity: throughout East and Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean including the African coasts, the Americas and Europe, consumers desired …
East Asian Studies November 11, 2020

Where Dragon Veins Meet

The Kangxi Emperor and His Estate at Rehe

Stephen H. Whiteman

Hosted by Suvi Rautio
In 1702, the second emperor of the Qing dynasty ordered construction of a new summer palace in Rehe (now Chengde, Hebei) to support his annual tours north among the court’s …
Japanese Studies November 10, 2020

The Iconoclast

Shinzo Abe and the New Japan

Tobias Harris

Hosted by Steven Wills
Abe Shinzō is seen today through many lenses: as the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan; as a pragmatic leader with a consistent policy vision and a commitment …
Buddhist Studies November 3, 2020

Shinra Myojin and Buddhist Networks of the East Asian 'Mediterranean'

Sujung Kim

Hosted by Trevor McManis
Shinra Myojin and Buddhist Networks of the East Asian “Mediterranean” (University of Hawaii Press, 2020) is a fascinating study of the transcultural underpinnings of Medieval East Asian Buddhist traditions with …
East Asian Studies October 28, 2020

Jesus Loves Japan

Return Migration and Global Pentecostalism in a Brazilian Diaspora

Suma Ikeuchi

Hosted by Daigengna Duoer
In 1990, the Japanese government introduced the Nikkei-jin (Japanese descendant) visa and since then it has attracted more than 190,000 Nikkei Brazilian nationals to Japan. In Jesus Loves Japan: Return …
Chinese Studies October 28, 2020

Has China Won?

The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy

Kishore Mahbubani

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
As China grows into a major regional and global power, there are many questions about what this means for the international system. Does China threaten the United States? Does Washington …
Chinese Studies October 23, 2020

The Chinese Deathscape

Grave Reform in Modern China

Thomas S. Mullaney

Hosted by Luca Scholz
In the past decade alone, more than ten million corpses have been exhumed and reburied across the Chinese landscape. The campaign has transformed China's graveyards into sites of acute personal …
East Asian Studies October 23, 2020

Elusive Belonging

Marriage Immigrants and 'Multiculturalism' in Rural South Korea

Minjeong Kim

Hosted by Ann Choi
Studies on marriage migration often portray marriage migrants as victims of globalization and patriarchy. Although there are intersecting oppressions among female migrant workers, the tendency to conflate marriage migration with …
Chinese Studies October 22, 2020

Anxious China

Inner Revolution and Politics of Psychotherapy

Li Zhang

Hosted by Suvi Rautio
The breathless pace of China’s economic reform has brought about deep ruptures in socioeconomic structures and people’s inner landscape. Faced with increasing market-driven competition and profound social changes, more and …