James A. Benn

@jamesabenn.bsky.social

1.7K followers 2.4K following 710 posts

Medieval Chinese Religions. McMaster Uni. Burning for the Buddha (Hawai'i 2007) pback 2016; Tea in China (Hawai'i, 2015), Chinese trans. 2019. Canadian, obvs.

Videos

Political science 34%

Sociology 34%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by James A. Benn

Ian Petrie @icpetrie.bsky.social · 16h

Thanks to @jwassers.bsky.social for putting this on my radar!

It's one of his five best books on China for 2025:
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...

Also note that this & everything else from Harvard UP is currently 30% off!

Islamic China — Harvard University Press

A deeply learned reassessment of the history of Chinese Muslims, who since the fourteenth century have been subject to a constant program of minoritization.For more than a millennium, Islam has been a...

www.hup.harvard.edu

Reposted by James A. Benn

American Council of Learned Societies @acls1919.bsky.social · 16h

How do we design doctoral programs that truly support students’ success?

As part of our Doctoral Futures initiative, research consultant Katina Rogers is surfacing insights from pre-existing research and focus groups with faculty, graduate students, and recent PhDs: https://bit.ly/4q7glCt

An Interview with Katina Rogers, Doctoral Futures Research Consultant

Katina Rogers, research consultant for Doctoral Futures, talks with Stacy Hartman about the research she has already concluded for the committees.

bit.ly

Reposted by James A. Benn

Tim Howles @timhowles.bsky.social · 16h

Reminder: applications open for a funded doctoral position (2026-2929) with me at Campion Hall, University of Oxford.

For those working in the field of ECOTHEOLOGY via systematic, political or applied theology approaches.

See here:
lsri.campion.ox.ac.uk/news/applica...

Reposted by Michael Jones‐Correa, James A. Benn

Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · 17h

My latest list of China books of the year up at @fivebooks.com —along with an interview (key to read for a sense of the books AND at the end has a note explaining some of the rules I set myself embarking on an impossible task given how many good works keep coming out) fivebooks.com/best-books/t...

The Best China Books of 2025

American professor and modern Chinese history specialist Jeffrey Wasserstrom recommends favourite books about China published in 2025.

fivebooks.com

Reposted by James A. Benn

K. Alexander 亞天恩 @thianun.bsky.social · 19h

It's the most wonderful time of the year, when tomorrow we get to join Taiwanese in counting down to the new year with an extravaganza of pop music and wild costumes on hosts and performers alike

Annual tradition for @sudasana.bsky.social and myself, so I'll share some links for you all too below!

2026跨年宅家轉台攻略！卡司陣容、演出順序、直播平台一次看

2025年步入尾聲，全台跨年晚會、活動、演唱會都已經準備好與民眾一起迎接新年！除了到現場感受跨年氣氛外，相信有不少人選擇宅在家裡，看著電視轉播或線上直播迎接2026，因此小編特地為大家準備了全台各地大型跨年晚會的轉播資訊，包括電視轉播和免費線上直播平台，以及跨年晚會卡司演出順序，讓你的跨年夜只要握緊遙控器或滑鼠，就能輕鬆追到想看的歌手演出，在家度過溫暖充實的新年！

tw.news.yahoo.com

Reposted by James A. Benn

Kelly Hammond @kellyahammond.bsky.social · 20h

Thinking broadly about a panel for AAH 2027 in New Orleans about something along the lines of "Masculinity and the Military in a Global Perspective."

Please connect if you are interested in participating. Or connect me with anyone who you know who might be interested.

Reposted by James A. Benn

Retro Tech Dreams @retrotechdreams.bsky.social · 21h

Windows 98: Flying Windows

Reposted by James A. Benn

Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History @bcricciinstitute.bsky.social · 21h

A few more scans of contact prints of Frederick Foley's photographs from Taiwan in the 1950s. These three street snaps were all taken on 35mm film.

A black and white photo of urban stairs.

Reposted by James A. Benn

Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Podcast @shipwreckspod.bsky.social · 23h

As I am in my final week of a self-imposed holiday break, I re-released a Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs classic today. Episode 9 from November of 2022, "Empress of Ireland: Canada's Titanic." (1/2)🧵

#history #maritimehistory #Canada #shipwreck
www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/empress-irel...

Rewind: The Empress of Ireland - Canada's Titanic

Rewind: The Empress of Ireland - Canada's Titanic page for Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Podcast

www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com

Reposted by James A. Benn

Year Progress Bot @yearprogress.bsky.social · 1d

▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░ 99.45%

Reposted by James A. Benn

Footnotes in History @footnotesinhistory.bsky.social · 1d

#OTD in 1943, the Seattle Times publishes an article describing Gordon Hirabayashi's journey to the Catalina Federal Honor Camp in Arizona. After the Supreme Court upheld the conviction, Hirabayashi hitchhiked over 1,600 miles from Spokane to Tucson to serve his sentence.
🗃 #skystorians

Reposted by James A. Benn

Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1d

I occasionally like to share these "Mercator vs Real Country Size" animations to encourage you to buy a globe. Nothing fancy - just a basic globe. It does wonders in helping you (and your kids) to understand the world. Source: buff.ly/EGdKGR3

Reposted by James A. Benn

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 1d

Wu Zetian proved that 上 can be a gender-neutral third-person pronoun if you’re determined enough

Reposted by James A. Benn

Lucy Betteridge-Dyson @lmbd1418.bsky.social · 1d

In January 1942, the sick rate of mules and horses in the field with the British Army was just 2.8 and 7.8% respectively. Remarkably low considering the info drain that occurred in the interwar period.

📸 IWM H 16067, horse receiving treatment in a sling, 1941-12-11

Reposted by James A. Benn

2000AD Randomizer @2000adrandom.bsky.social · 1d

David Roach

Reposted by James A. Benn

Jason Li @jasonli.bsky.social · 1d

No thanks to CNN for marginalizing Cantonese in this article about Chinese gender pronouns:

🙄 Set in Hong Kong but first mention of Cantonese is 25 paragraphs in
🙄 Dismisses it as "an informal and colloquial language"
🙄 Writes 他 five times but refuses to write 佢 (Canto)

www.cnn.com/2025/12/25/c...

Soon you may be able to type a new Chinese character: the gender-neutral pronoun | CNN

Chinese pronouns are largely split between female and male – prompting LGBTQ activists to invent their own gender-neutral pronoun. That movement just took a big step forward.

www.cnn.com

Reposted by James A. Benn

XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 1d

A Ming painter casts the Imperial Palace in a cloud-borne, perfectly symmetrical bird’s-eye view, an otherworldly stage for Kuai Xiang(蒯祥), the Suzhou master who designed the Forbidden City and earned the name “Kuai Lu Ban.”
1/2
🎨 明朱邦明代宮城圖絹本設色 170×110.8cm 大英博物館藏
#art #painting

Reposted by James A. Benn

1945 News @80yearsago.bsky.social · 1d

[December 29th, 1945] President Truman allowed up to 3,900 refugees per month from Europe, but strict U.S. quotas mean only about 20,000 can enter. Admissions favor perceived U.S. benefit over humanitarian need, leaving most Jewish refugees excluded.

$President Truman ordered that up to 3,900 refugees from Germany and Central Europe could be admitted monthly, but due to strict U.S. immigration quotas and regulations, only about 20,000 refugees would benefit. The U.S. remains largely closed to Jewish refugees, with visas granted based on how much the U.S. would benefit, not on humanitarian grounds. Despite Truman’s efforts to ease restrictions, only a fraction of eligible refugees—mainly those with relatives in the U.S.—can enter. The U.S. has not fully utilized its immigration quotas, and while some minor changes may help, the system remains restrictive.$

Reposted by James A. Benn

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 1d

Across the U.S., more people — religious and non-religious — seem to be showing interest in meditation. Increasingly, houses of worship are encouraging a variety of contemplative practices.

Ancient meditation practices find new life in modern religious communities across America

Meditation has been a common feature for eons in religious traditions from Buddhism to yoga, which originated as an ancient spiritual practice in India rooted in Hindu philosophy.

bit.ly

Reposted by James A. Benn

H-Net @h-net-humanities.bsky.social · 1d

FEATURED JOB: Maritime and Naval Studies Program Postdoctoral Associate, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs - Yale University

networks.h-net.org/jobs/69668/y...

#edusky #education #academicsky #academia #highered #job #academicjob #diplomacy #fellowship

Reposted by Mark D. White, Thomas D. Carroll, James A. Benn

Peter Adamson @histphilosophy.bsky.social · 1d

Semiotic paradox alert!

Reposted by Elizabeth Pisani, James A. Benn

Paul French @chinarhyming.bsky.social · 1d

Time for a long listen in the dead zone between Christmas and New Year? here’s my BBC drama-doc The Defectors - inspired by the defection of North Korea's Deputy Ambassador to the UK, interwoven with accounts of people who made the journey from DPRK to the UK.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, The Defectors

Drama-documentary inspired by the defection of North Korea's Deputy Ambassador to the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk

James A. Benn @jamesabenn.bsky.social · 1d

Fluid milk refers to milk processed specifically for direct consumption as a beverage, rather than for manufacturing into products like cheese or butter. But I think “lait” already implies that. Full answer is probably in here somewhere: inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labe...

Labelling requirements for dairy products - inspection.canada.ca

inspection.canada.ca

Reposted by James A. Benn

JJRS + NIRC @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social · 1d

Buy the book here:

uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-ne...

Reposted by James A. Benn

XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 1d

In Chinese thought, what we now call mental illness was once seen as zhongxie(中邪), a moment when an unsettled yin-yang let spirits slip into the human realm. When herbs and pulse readings offered no relief, families turned to Daoist priests, whose chants, talismans, and 1/2
#folklore

Reposted by James A. Benn

Matthew McMullen @mcmullen.bsky.social · 1d

I recorded a podcast with @jolyonbt.bsky.social a couple weeks ago for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social hosted by @radityanuradi.bsky.social about The New Nanzan Guide. Listen here:

Jolyon Baraka Thomas and Matthew D. McMullen, "The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions" (U Hawaii Press, 2024) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

Reposted by James A. Benn

Surgeons' Hall Museums @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 1d

This year we launched a two-year project aimed celebrate women in surgery. The project launched with an exhibition exploring the history of women in surgery and a commissioned artwork representing eleven remarkable surgeons.
You can read more here: surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com/2025/04/04/a...

A painting of seven female surgeons sitting around the anatomy theatre in Surgeons' Hall Museums. Some are wearing their RCSEd gowns and some are wearing their scrubs. In the background is two framed images which show Alice Mabel Headwards-Hunter and Caroline Doig.

Reposted by James A. Benn

De Gruyter Brill Asian Studies @dgb-asianstudies.bsky.social · 2d

The latest issue of T'oung Pao: International Journal of Chinese Studies (TPAO) is out now!

More details here: brill.com/view/journal...

@degruyterbrill.bsky.social

Reposted by James A. Benn

dave @daveliepmann.com · 2d

Urban living in pre-Song China is straight out of a right-wing 15 minute cities conspiracy theory

(Johan Norberg, Peak Human: What we can learn from the rise and fall of golden ages)

Reposted by Kathleen Kennedy, James A. Benn

Roopika Risam @roopikarisam.bsky.social · 2d

While attempting to buy winter boots, I am reminded of the weirdest job search ever. Buckle up: it’s a wild ride. It was my last year of grad school, and I had an interview for what I thought was my dream job. It was an open rank search where they were hoping to hire two people. +

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