New Books in East Asian Studies

Stevan Harrell, professor emeritus of anthropology and environmental and forest sciences, brings decades of research on China’s environmental transformations. He contrasts ecological history with environmental history. Conversations cover land, water, food, cities and industry. Topics include the Great Leap Forward’s ecological collapse, modern agribusiness and migration, dikes and rigidity traps, ecological civilization rhetoric, and persistent water and soil risks.

Natasha Heller, associate professor and cultural historian of Chinese Buddhism, discusses Buddhist picturebooks and family Buddhism in modern Taiwan. She explores picturebooks as a new Buddhist genre. She traces how homes and caregivers shape children as religious subjects. She highlights cute bodhisattva imagery, moral stories recast for kids, and books that make children agents in health and environmental action.

Jenny Banh, scholar of Asian American studies and anthropology and professor at Cal State Fresno, explores how Disney tried to localize Hong Kong Disneyland. She traces 15 years of fieldwork on space, labor, and consumption. Short takes cover feng shui and food controversies, queuing and social tensions, comparisons with Ocean Park, and ideas for more sustainable local adaptation.

Lara Momesso, an Honorary Research Fellow and expert in migration and gender studies, delves into her extensive research on marriage migration between Taiwan and China. She explores how geopolitics influences personal intimacies, revealing the complex emotional landscapes of cross-strait marriages. Lara discusses the evolution of migrant motivations since the late 1980s and contrasts open fieldwork in Taiwan with the challenges in China. She also plans future research on the experiences of second-generation migrants and the aging population in these communities.

Anne Sokolsky, a Professor of Japanese literature and editor of a compelling new anthology, dives into the intricate world of divorce in Japanese literature. She discusses the nuanced meanings of various Japanese terms for divorce and traces its literary history from the ancient Kojiki myth to modern narratives. Sokolsky highlights the contributions of notable female authors, showcasing how their stories empower women to embrace new beginnings. The conversation also touches on evolving marriage practices and upcoming legal changes regarding child custody in Japan.

Min Joo Lee, an Assistant Professor at Occidental College and author of *Finding Mr. Perfect*, dives into the fascinating world of K-drama fandom and romance tourism. She reveals how K-drama depictions of Korean masculinity shape foreign tourists' romantic expectations and desires. Lee contrasts past and present representations of masculinity, discusses the complexities of interracial dynamics, and shares insights on how tourists navigate real-life versus fictional encounters. Surprising persistence in seeking 'Mr. Perfect' sheds light on deeper societal issues.

Di Wu, an anthropologist at Zhejiang University, and Ed Pulford, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Manchester, delve into their collaborative work, China as Context. They discuss how the Russia-Ukraine war has reignited interest in China as a significant context for understanding global issues. Di shares his unexpected journey into anthropology through China-Africa fieldwork, while Ed emphasizes the importance of bridging linguistic and scholarly traditions. They argue against the neglect of Chinese perspectives in academia, highlighting the need for a nuanced understanding of China's global role.

Sweet potatoes were among the American crops Christopher Columbus brought back to Europe—where they were thought to be an aphrodisiac. In China, this versatile root became a staple that fueled rapid population growth. Introduced to Japan to stave off famine, sweet potatoes later sustained the country’s imperial expansion. Because this hardy plant can thrive in almost any soil, it has long been cultivated as a subsistence crop in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Oceania. In recent years, Western health experts have begun touting the humble sweet potato as a “superfood” with numerous nutritional benefits. Considering these events and many others, Staple to Superfood: A Global History of the Sweet Potato (Columbia UP, 2025) explores the sweet potato’s rich history and remarkable global influence. Dr. Q. Edward Wang demonstrates how this resilient root has not only nourished communities but also defined their identities. Tracing its journeys through the intricate networks of global trade and cultural exchange, he shows how the sweet potato transformed agricultural practices, culinary traditions, and social structures worldwide. From the Americas to Europe to Asia and the Pacific, the spread of this crop illuminates the varied paths that global development has taken. Dr. Wang also contrasts the sweet potato with its botanically unrelated namesake, the white potato. Blending agricultural, cultural, and historical perspectives, Staple to Superfood offers a fresh look at the power of food to transform societies. It is a compelling exploration of how the sweet potato shaped the modern world and continues to influence global food systems today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

How do we compare across languages, media, and histories, all without flattening differences? And what might Hong Kong teach us about doing comparison differently? Alvin K. Wong examines these and other questions in Unruly Comparison: Queerness, Hong Kong, and the Sinophone (Duke UP, 2025), a wide-ranging and thought-provoking study of queerness in Hong Kong. Bringing together Sinophone literature, independent and commercial cinema, documentary films, and visual art, the book asks how Hong Kong’s queer productions might help us rethink the work of comparison itself. Rather than treating Hong Kong as a marginal or derivative space — a space defined by British colonialism, China-centrism, or global capitalism — this book approaches the city as a site of methodological possibilities. The key concept the book advances, “unruly comparison,” replacing neat equivalences and stable categories with incommensurability and transnational connections and linking Hong Kong to other places, times, and queer spaces across the Sinophone. Theoretically deft, the book is filled with a wide range of fascinating material, including work by filmmakers including Wong Kar-wai, Scud, and Fruit Chan; transnational and transgender visual cultures; documentaries about Southeast Asian domestic workers and queer intimacies; and poetry about language and precarity. This book will appeal to those interested in queer theory, Hong Kong studies, Sinophone studies, and comparative approaches. Listeners should also check out Alvin Wong's co-edited volume Keywords in Queer Sinophone Studies(Routledge, 2020) and the Society of Sinophone Studies webpage (of which Alvin is currently chair!).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Scott W. Gregory, an Associate Professor and co-director of the Center for East Asian Studies, delves into the transformations of the classic Chinese novel, The Water Margin. He reveals how this beloved tale of bandits was reshaped by various editors, showing the text's malleability in the context of Ming print culture. Scott discusses the novel's episodic style, the impact of commercial publishers, and the voices of influential commentators like Jin Shangtan. His insights illuminate the dynamic interplay between print and narrative in early modern China.