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Wanderings: Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone isn’t a place conducive to following a strict itinerary. Parking lots fill, traffic stops unexpectedly to wait out animals crossing the road, and geysers don’t always erupt on schedule. It’s possible, I learned, to make a general plan, but there’s a good chance it will be altered in response to circumstances. I realized after…
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Wanderings: Bozeman and Livingston, Montana
One of the guidebooks to Yellowstone National Park that I consulted recommended flying into Bozeman, Montana and then getting out of town as quickly as possible. “Our opinion,” the guide writers wrote, “is that it’s not worth spending a lot of time in Bozeman.” I’m glad that I ignored this advice, as I found a…
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Bookshelf: Yellowstone and the West
I am (a) a huge nerd and (b) attempting to be more intentional with my reading. Rather than grabbing whatever looks most appealing on any given day, I’m picking through my shelves and library loans to select the volumes that fit in with what’s going on in my life: travel, author talks in Ann Arbor,…
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Weekly Wanderings: September 29, 2024
September 28, 2014 marked the start of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. While these protests were by no means the first mass activism in Hong Kong agains Beijing’s rule, they captured worldwide attention in a way that previous demonstrations had not. Student movement leaders like Joshua Wong and Nathan Law became media celebrities; photographers and journalists…
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Weekly Wanderings: September 22, 2024
Happy Sunday and happy fall—allegedly, as I am writing this with a fan trained on my face and a glass of ice water at hand. Despite the continuing summer temperatures, there are hints of the season’s impending change: a touch of red and gold on the trees, pumpkin spice everything in stores, the beginning of…
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Weekly Wanderings: September 16, 2024
Keeping it short and simple as I continue catching up after my trip west. Thanks for joining me this week. Recommendations China Stories Laurie Chen, “China wants academic exchange but historians say increased censorship makes research hard” Dalia Parete, “A New Shade of Chinese Feminism” — interview with Ohio University scholar Eva Liu about the…
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Weekly Wanderings: September 11, 2024
I’m heading home from Montana today after more than a week of vacation in the Gallatin Valley and Yellowstone National Park. I’ve posted some photos on Instagram and am working on a write-up of my trip to share here at some point. For the moment, here’s a snippet that I wrote while taking a rest…
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Weekly Wanderings: September 1, 2024
The final train departed Detroit’s Michigan Central Station on January 5, 1988. The Beaux Arts building had been an architectural marvel when it opened 75 years prior—designed by the same firms that had collaborated on Grand Central Terminal and, at 18 stories, the tallest train station in the world at the time. At its peak…
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Weekly Wanderings: August 25, 2024
At 4:00pm this past Friday, I shut down the computer in my office at the Association for Asian Studies and officially started a month-long sabbatical. I like my job very much—I’m fortunate to have found a position that keeps me tied in to academia while also devoting my days to reading, writing, and editing. After…
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Weekly Wanderings: August 18, 2024
Recommendations China Stories Jude Blanchette, “China Is in Denial About the War in Ukraine” Keith Bradsher, “How China Built Tech Prowess: Chemistry Classes and Research Labs” Tang spent eight years in Taiwan’s government (the last two as the world’s first minister of digital affairs), putting her theory into practice – and it has worked, from…
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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 