James A. Benn
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jamesabenn.bsky.social
James A. Benn
@jamesabenn.bsky.social

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.

Political science 34%
Sociology 34%
Stanford is doing this because it wants to

Reposted by James A. Benn

Rhonda Head is a multi-award-winning singer, songwriter and author from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba.

Trained in classical opera music and performing since the 1980s, she mixes classical music with her Cree-hymns and traditions.
Multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, author mixes Cree-hymns with classical music | APTN News
YouTube video by APTN News
youtu.be
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: “.. In our in-progress research, we discovered that AI tools didn’t reduce work, they consistently intensified it.”

hbr.org/2026/02/ai-d...

Reposted by James A. Benn

New open-access book: 𝘙𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢: 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, edited by Ariell Ahearn, Gantulga Munkherdene, and Takahiro Ozaki. Download it as PDF or Epub on our Environment & Society Portal. #EnvHum
Rural Transitions in Mongolia and Central Asia: Pastoralism, Wellbeing and Economic Relations
Full open-access volume Rural Transitions in Mongolia and Central Asia: Pastoralism, Wellbeing and Economic Relations (2026), edited by Ariell Ahearn, Gantulga Munkherdene, and Takahiro Ozaki.
www.environmentandsociety.org

Reposted by James A. Benn

#OTD 589 CE: Yang Jian 楊堅 (541–604), Emperor Wen of Sui #隋 文帝 (r. 581–604) vanquishes Chen #陳 (557–89) in the South, the only state in #ChineseHistory with the same name as its rulers. The Last Ruler of the Chen, Chen Shubao #陳後主 陳叔寶 (553–604) outlived his vanquisher.

Reposted by James A. Benn

#OTD in 1897: Xia Ruifang 夏瑞芳 and others found #TheCommercialPress #商務印書館 in #Shanghai #上海, the oldest #publishinghouse in #ModernChina and still one of the main #publishers of scholarly and other #literature (e.g. #dictionaries) in #China, #Taiwan, and #Hongkong today.

Reposted by James A. Benn

"It could not be opium."

- The Duke of Wellington, on the causes of The Opium War
Tue. May 12th, 1840, The House of Lords, Parliament

If I absolutely need a soft boiled egg I use my Instant Pot. For soft-boiled eggs with set whites and runny/jammy yolks in an Instant Pot, use 1 cup water, cook on High Pressure for 2–3 minutes, then quick release and ice bath. 2 minutes for a runny yolk 3 for something jammier.

Reposted by James A. Benn

Watch an interview with Meir Shahar, author of KINGS OF OXEN AND HORSES, on The Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford podcast. buff.ly/CT4IYDa #buddhiststudies
Book Notes: Meir Shahar, "Kings of Oxen and Horses"
Meir Shahar talks about the cult worship of the “Ox King” and the “Horse King” in China. Working at the intersection of scriptural studies and field research, Shahar connects the two animal gods back…
buff.ly

Reposted by James A. Benn

Our friends at Princeton EAS are hosting Jianqing Chen Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. for "Love as/in Game, or Chinese Streaming Media in the Age of Involution." Looks interesting!

Details here: eap.princeton.edu/events/love-...
Love as/in Game, or Chinese Streaming Media in the Age of Involution
Around 2021, involution (in Chinese: neijuan) emerged as a widely used term in everyday discourse to critique the culture of overwork in contemporary China, which pushes younger generations into relen...
eap.princeton.edu

Reposted by James A. Benn

Sir Edmund Backhouse sends a telegram from Peking to @bodleian.ox.ac.uk , February 1926. Says it all, really.

I’m so proud of our students

Reposted by James A. Benn

TMU Library is hosting the 6th annual Black Histories Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. Theme: Toronto music scene.

Date: Thurs., 26 Feb.
Time: 12-3 pm
Location: TMU Libraries Collaboratory (LIB 387)

Free + free lunch.

Register here: calendar.library.torontomu.ca/event/3977359

(no affiliation)

Reposted by James A. Benn

[February 9th, 1946] Operation "Daddy" began as the liner Mauretania quietly arrived in Halifax with 943 dependents of Canadian servicemen. The lack of crowds was noted, as over 48,000 dependents are expected in the coming months.

Reposted by James A. Benn

ACLS celebrates #BlackHistoryMonth with updates to our Black Histories, Black Futures scholarly resource list: https://bit.ly/49DwBCV

Thanks to all the awardees who contributed new and additional works! #BHM
Black History, Black Futures Resource List
For Black History Month, ACLS highlights scholarly resources on the hidden and lesser known histories of the Black American experience.
bit.ly

Reposted by James A. Benn

Check out Dr. Katharine Fitzgerald’s (McMaster PhD 2023) recent article, “Threatened bodies: Gender and trauma in the narratives of Judith and Susanna,” in the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha!

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Reposted by James A. Benn

With a plethora of restaurants, shops, and cultural attractions like the Chinese Canadian Museum and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver's Chinatown offers something for every #AAS2026 visitor!

https://www.vancouver-chinatown.com/

Reposted by James A. Benn

Over the years, Miyagawa So (University of Tsukuba), one of DO’s most prolific contributors, has written extensively on digital initiatives related to various ancient African languages and scripts, including Demotic, Egyptian Hieratic, Coptic, and Nubian.

Read more on our blog ⬇️

Reposted by James A. Benn

Worn #onthisday in 1918 by Virginia Bradfield at her #wedding to Harold Ward in Detroit, MI. Per the @freep.com, she wore "a Lucile model of white tulle and silver, the skirt modeled on rather short lines, the tulle veil which enveloped the girlish figure forming the train." #OTD 📷 The Henry Ford
Mortality rates were so high on sugar plantations during slavery that slaveholders used to coerce enslaved people working other crops like cotton with threats to sell them or their loved ones to sugar plantations.

That’s where the term “sold down the river” came from.

Reposted by James A. Benn

Vic is a good professor who would always do the right thing.

Reposted by James A. Benn

One last update (maybe) in the Maddie Schizas and professor story

This is from Maddie’s instagram story late this evening. Her prof’s first and only instagram post — watching Maddie compete in the team event for Canada tonight.

Caption: “I’m so proud of you Maddie!”

Reposted by James A. Benn

Reposted by James A. Benn

I want to explore the ultra dimensions of being. We must move beyond life and death considering they are not essential in the universe.
(Sun Ra)
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
VC, founder, dumbass

Reposted by James A. Benn

I know my heart, I have gained power over my heart, I have gained power over my two hands and arms, I have gained power over my feet, I have gained the power to do what pleaseth my Ka. (BDB)

Important news for all @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social olympians

Reposted by James A. Benn

EXTENSION GRANTED

Just a short time ago Canadian figure skater Maddie Schizas with the updated we were all waiting for.

Her prof has granted her an extension on her assignment. I’ll ask about the exact response tonight after she skates.

Reposted by James A. Benn

On March 6, we’re delighted to be hosting @levimclaughlin.bsky.social at Harvard for his Japan Forum talk, sharing his expertise and insights as Japan’s political landscape rearranges post-elections. If you’re in the area, please join us!

More info in the link
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/events/relig...
Religion and Politics in Japan Today: How Nippon Kaigi and Soka Gakkai Inform Elections and Policymaking | Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies
Faced with political upheaval, aging support bases, rising regional security concerns, and harsh economic realities, how are influential religion-linked activists now seeking to shape Japan? What are ...
rijs.fas.harvard.edu