Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 3h

"The world today has come to depend utterly on these cables – and in tandem, these cables have grown more and more exposed to the whims of rogue corporate and national actors. The future of the internet, in part, will entail the weaponisation of its submarine cable systems."

Extremely offline: what happened when a Pacific island was cut off from the internet | Samanth Subramanian

A colossal volcanic eruption in January 2022 ripped apart the underwater cables that connect Tonga to the world – and exposed the fragility of 21st-century life

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Clint Smith @clintsmithiii.bsky.social · 3d

Thirty-one years ago, there was a slave auction reenacted at Colonial Williamsburg.

Some thought it powerful, many thought it insulting.

This summer, I traveled to Williamsburg myself to see how the country’s largest living history museum today tells the story of Black life at America’s founding.

What Is Colonial Williamsburg For?

Telling the full story of the town’s past is an easy way to make a lot of people mad.

www.theatlantic.com

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Audra Wolfe @audrajwolfe.bsky.social · 22h

My best advice to aspiring authors of scholarly books is to read other scholarly books recently published by your target press. This may seem obvious and yet is not!

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Dr. Raymond Kuo | 郭泓均 @kuorum.bsky.social · 1d

This just seems like an incredibly cool job: www.spymuseum.org/about/career...

For PhDs in history, poli sci, IR, or related fields!

Historian

Job Opportunity: The International Spy Museum is searching for a Historian & Curator to join our Exhibitions and Collections team. Our new museum is located at L’Enfant Plaza.

www.spymuseum.org

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 1d

If it's a Tuesday, some great books are being published. Buy or borrow a good book today.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 1d

At @thewirechina.bsky.social, @eliotchen.bsky.social talks with @lauratmurphy.bsky.social about her research on supply chains and forced labor in Xinjiang, and how the Entity List can be a collaboration between academics and the US government.

Laura Murphy on Enforcing America’s Ban on Uyghur Forced Labor - The Wire China

The academic talks about why governments need to redouble their efforts to keep products made using forced labor in Xinjiang off store shelves.

www.thewirechina.com

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 1d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Arunabh Ghosh @arunabhghosh.bsky.social · 2d

Now OPEN ACCESS!

@cfmeyskens.bsky.social and I wrote about "The Contradictions of Dam Building in the People's Republic of China." With thanks to @slorenzini.bsky.social for inviting us to a fun workshop in Trento and to being open to a co-authored article!

doi.org/10.3828/whpe...

The Contradictions of Dam Building in the People’s Republic of China | Environment and History

Scholars often characterise dam building as an instance of high modernism par excellence. Such characterisations typically imagine dams as gargantuan projects that involve government elites drawing on technoscientific expertise to re-engineer the ...

doi.org

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 2d

A @chinafile.bsky.social Conversation that showcases the many contributions Jerry Cohen made to the study of Chinese law, and the innumerable lives he touched during his 95 years with us.

Remembering Jerome A. Cohen

Jerome Alan Cohen (July 1, 1930 – September 22, 2025) was a renowned American lawyer who was one of the foremost foreign scholars of Chinese law. After studying law at Yale, Cohen embarked on a…

www.chinafile.com

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 2d

Another week of wandering—to China, as is customary, as well as to the marshes of wild rice farming, the ships providing passage to escaped enslaved peoples, and the streets of Chicago in the age of ICE.

Weekly Wanderings: October 12, 2025

The Phillies season has ended; the Flyers season has begun. Time marches on. Thanks for joining me this week. Recommendations China Stories Emma Belmonte, “A Surrogacy Silk Road: Chinese Parents He…

mauracunningham.org

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Mike Cormack @bucketoftongues.bsky.social · 2d

PERFECT

Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 2d

This bloke has down perfectly the train ticket sales staff in #China. It’s hilariously accurate. His name is Paul Mike Ashton.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 3d

Very engaging and informative talk by @mcgreenesd.bsky.social on "Socialism at Altitude: Chinese Mountaineering, Mountaineering in China" —so glad that UCI's Long Institute has shared the video, because the visuals are amazing.

Socialism at Altitude: Chinese Mountaineering, Mountaineering in China

This talk examines historical attempts to climb the highest mountains in the People's Republic of China. Much has been written about mountaineering from a Western perspective - but what does this…

youtu.be

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 3d

I made two batches today: one to eat, one to freeze.

Frankie Huang 黄碧赤 @ourobororoboruo.bsky.social · 3d

I made those pizza beans ppl keep talking about

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Dr. Bucky Isotope, PhD, BOFA @buckyisotope.bsky.social · 3d

I have busted
the ghost
that was in
your hood

and which
you were probably
scared of
and screaming

Forgive me
busting
makes me
feel good

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Cameron D. Campbell 康文林 @camerondcampbell.blog · 4d

Sweeping piece on women in science in 20th century China by @yangyangcheng.bsky.social

Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 4d

And, at @madeinchinajournal.com, Yangyang has "Beyond Representation: On Being a Woman in Science in China."

Beyond Representation: On Being a Woman in Science in China | Made in China Journal

In the autumn of 1995, Ye Shuhua made a speech. During the NGO Forum at the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, the 68-year-old astronomer took to the microphone and…

madeinchinajournal.com

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 4d

And, at @madeinchinajournal.com, Yangyang has "Beyond Representation: On Being a Woman in Science in China."

Beyond Representation: On Being a Woman in Science in China | Made in China Journal

In the autumn of 1995, Ye Shuhua made a speech. During the NGO Forum at the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, the 68-year-old astronomer took to the microphone and…

madeinchinajournal.com

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 4d

Two big new essays for fans of @yangyangcheng.bsky.social this week! At @chinabooksreview.com, she writes about new @bairuiwen.bsky.social translations of two novels by Fang Fang ...

No Country for a Woman | China Books Review

Women in China have suffered abuse, silencing and erasure — despite the Communist Party’s slogans about women’s liberation. Two novels by the Wuhan writer Fang Fang show how gendered oppression…

chinabooksreview.com

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 5d

For @chinafile.bsky.social, @emma-belmonte.bsky.social looks into the surrogacy industry in Georgia and other ex-Soviet states, where an increasing number of Chinese clients seek to start their families.

A Surrogacy Silk Road: Chinese Parents Head West for Babies

Georgia has become an increasingly popular destination for Chinese visitors. The number of visits nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024, with more than 88,500 visits last year. Yet leisure tourism…

www.chinafile.com

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 5d

I have both my laptop and tv in front of me, so I got to watch both the Flyers and Phillies lose, by the same 2-1 score, almost simultaneously.

a philadelphia phillies mascot stands in the stands during a game

Alt: a philadelphia phillies mascot stands in the stands during a game, turning away despondently

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Yangyang Cheng @yangyangcheng.bsky.social · 6d

"Countless Yingzhis live among us, while the Zitaos of China are fading away with time. The tears of Chinese women, if unleashed, could drown a nation."
For @chinabooksreview.com, I write about gendered violence and illusions of liberation through two novels by Fang Fang (tr @bairuiwen.bsky.social):

No Country for a Woman | China Books Review

Women in China have suffered abuse, silencing and erasure — despite the Communist Party’s slogans about women’s liberation. Two novels by the Wuhan writer Fang Fang show how gendered oppression persis...

chinabooksreview.com

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Jen Calleja @jencalleja.bsky.social · 6d

Annual reminder that without literary translators, most Nobel Prize-winning authors couldn’t be read by the committee/readers, so celebrate them too. Congrats @ottiliemulzet.bsky.social et al! This isn’t taking away from the author, it’s adding recognition of the miracle/labour/skill of translation.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 6d

Nobel prize in literature 2025 live: Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai wins

Nobel prize in literature 2025 live: László Krasznahorkai wins

Follow along as the next winner of the world’s most prestigious literature prize is announced in Stockholm

www.theguardian.com

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 6d

Me, 7pm today:

a man wearing sunglasses is taking a picture of a mascot in the crowd

Alt: Gritty the Philadelphia Flyers mascot is dancing in the stands

media.tenor.com

Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 6d

Me, 6pm today:

a green monster mascot is sitting in the stands at a sports game

Alt: a green monster mascot is sitting in the stands at a sports game

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Craig Getting @mcgetting.bsky.social · 6d

HELL YES YOU GOT BECKETTED

Lux "Nightmare" Alptraum @luxalptraum.com · 6d

TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it

One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.

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Reposted by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

The Digital Orientalist @digitalorientalist.bsky.social · 6d

We are always looking for submissions, all year around!

Are you working on #DH in the fields of Asian, N. African and Middle Eastern studies? Send us your notes, intro pieces and more. All info on our website, digitalorientalist.com.

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