Mandarin Idioms, Ouyang Xiu and Medieval and Modern China
Sloganeering and some literary history in China – real sightseeing stuff today.
Coming Late to McPherson’s “Battle Cry of Freedom”
Review of James McPherson’s excellent Civil War tome.
Local Notes No. 8 – The Prehistory of Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena
Now home to the NHL’s Kraken, the Climate Pledge Arena has a long history as a modernist icon. How can we tell the story of Seattle since mid-century through it?
Local Notes No. 7 – ‘Iolani Palace, the US’ Only Royal Residence
Hawaii is justly famous for its modern architecture. But what can this symbol of an independent Kingdom of Hawai’i teach us about the history of American empire in the Pacific?
Review: Niall Ferguson, “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe”
Doom ultimately fails for lack of substance. Though it attempts a history of catastrophes, it ends up more like a literature review of intellectual traditions which might be applied to understanding catastrophe. He swings from big name to big name, one field to the other, summarizing their findings and asking the reader to go “Hmm!” but never brings the juice of historical evidence to bear on his broad theory.
A Visitor’s Guide to A Coruña, Spain
My attempt at a proper travel guide for Spain’s Portland, a town that shouldn’t be missed!
Local Notes No. 5 – Fort Ross, the Frontier Outpost of Russian America
For thirty years, boatfuls of unlucky Russian serfs were ported thousands of miles away from their homes to grow crops on the California coast. How did they stay Russian in what would become NorCal?
Review: Daniel Immerwahr, “How to Hide an Empire”
Daniel Immerwahr’s 2019 history deserves more excavation than it’s already got – what nuggets of novel historical arguments can we take from this popular success?
Local Zoning and Hukou – Systems of Mobility Management in the US and China
I want to compare the restrictions on mobility imposed by local control of zoning in the US with the top-down system used in China – rather remarkably, the natural whims of homeowners in Marin County and the Upper West Side have come to align with the technocrats at the CCP.
Misreading Malthus – The Life and Death of Family Planning Policy in China
Why did the Chinese government seek to grow rich by shrinking its population?
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