Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Szonyi

@michaelszonyi.bsky.social

1.2K followers 350 following 14 posts

宋怡明 Frank Wen-hsiung Wu Prof. of Chinese History; former Director, @FairbankCenter for Chinese Studies, Harvard Univ.; #PIPFellow @NCUSCR; Chair @WCFIA_Canada; mostly tweeting @MichaelSzonyi

Videos

Political science 43%

Sociology 35%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · 1d

5/ Oh, and did I forget to mention: this week the author won the Nobel Prize.

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · 1d

4/ Well, the book is forthcoming, and last week I ordered an exam copy (legit, because I will assign it to my seminar next year).

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · 1d

3/ Or it might be interesting to write a review of the book when it came out, if only to discuss how a China historian could never get away with similar claims about the historiography of Europe.

1 1

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · 1d

2/ I thought it was amusing that he cited the work of several colleagues to make an argument that seemed to be diametrically opposed to what they were arguing.

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · 1d

1/ About a year ago I went to an interesting talk about Europe-China comparisons. I was disappointed that the speaker talked a lot about kinship in China without, apparently, having read my work.

1 2 4

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Jun 28

mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4bYXqBvk5w...

情系母院，爱心捐赠 | 历史与文化遗产学院举行傅衣凌史学发展基金捐赠仪式

历史与文化遗产学院举行傅衣凌史学发展基金捐赠仪式

mp.weixin.qq.com

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Apr 10

www.csis.org/events/repor...

Reporting on Identity in Today's China: A Conversation with Emily Feng | CSIS Events

Scott Kennedy hosts a virtual event with Emily Feng and expert panelists to discuss her new book, "Let Only Red Flowers Bloom," on identity and free expression in modern China.

www.csis.org

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Apr 4

"For me, she became the model of an ethical engaged scholar-activist, devoted to getting to the root of problems that continue to make women’s lives difficult, but also delighted by the variety and creativity that she found among women in the villages." positionspolitics.org/gail-hershat...

Gail Hershatter, Gao Xiaoxian: A Short Remembrance - positions politics

I first met Gao Xiaoxian in 1992 at a conference at Peking University, but even before that I had heard about her extraordinary work with the Women’s Federation and her deep knowledge of life in the S...

positionspolitics.org

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Jim Millward @jimmillward.bsky.social · Feb 2

Obeying in advance — this is how the anaconda in the ceiling works in America. Cancel anything non-western, non-white
statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU college abruptly cancels Lunar New Year event, citing Trump DEI orders - The State News

MSU cancelled an annual Lunar New Year celebration following new executive orders targeting DEI and concerns from students.

statenews.com

2 8

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Jan 6

and an interview on why I think it is important: x.com/i/status/187...

x.com

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Jan 6

A cool honor - "keys to the village" x.com/HolaFujian/s...

1 1

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · Dec 22

I’m always glad to be asked to name China books of the year by @fivebooks.com (as challenging as the selecting is—I see it as just picking 5 of the many recent worthy books on the topic broadly defined that I’d like more readers to know about). Here are my 2024 choices fivebooks.com/best-books/t...

The Best China Books of 2024

From an issue of a literary magazine that brings together contemporary writing from across mainland China to history books focusing on different periods of its 20th-century history, it's been another ...

fivebooks.com

2 11 29

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Dec 5

Congratulations! Look forward to reading this

1 2

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Nov 26

Comgratulations!

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Micah Muscolino @mmuscolino.bsky.social · Nov 26

The design department at @uwapress.bsky.social created a great cover. Forthcoming spring 2025.
uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...

Remaking the Earth, Exhausting the People

State-led conservation transformed Gansu's landscape—rural communities bore the costsFrom the 1940s to the 1960s, soil and water conservation measures tran...

uwapress.uw.edu

3 6 24

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · Nov 24

Book news, my short one that moves between Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Burma via profiles of activists and exiles, is in copy editing now, has a release date (June 10) & has a cover ( @columbiagr.bsky.social keeping up its tradition of eye catching covers here) indiepubs.com/products/the...

The Milk Tea Alliance

Why are activists in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Burma willing to court danger to help one another? The political situations in Burma, Thailand, and Hong Kong are radically different. Only Burma is in a ...

indiepubs.com

2 15 39

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Nov 22

I'll be speaking tomorrow about Kinmen/Quemoy with Oscar-nominated director Leo Chiang at the Freedom Crossing Film Festival. Details/online reg here: freedomcrossing.org

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Michael Szonyi @michaelszonyi.bsky.social · Jan 26

Some personal reflections about the Taiwan elections, and very thoughtful analysis by my brilliant
@FairbankCenter
colleagues: fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/research/blo...

Reposted by Michael Szönyi

Bathsheba Demuth @brdemuth.bsky.social · Dec 11

A while back the great people at the Journal of Social History asked me to write a piece about agency and environmental history as part of a retrospective on Walter Johnson’s tremendous article. It’s now live in the world in case you need a nerd-read
#envhist #envhum
academic.oup.com/jsh/advance-...

On the Agency of Environmental History

Abstract. Twenty years ago, Walter Johnson warned historians not to rely on a concept that let both user and audience alike feel better without doing better. Th

academic.oup.com

1 44 95