iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Association for Asian Studies @asianstudies.org · 8h

Experience all of #AASinAsia2026 in under 2 minutes! We're pleased to share this recap video prepared by the team at LUMS—it really captures the energy and vibrancy of the conference in Lahore. Thanks to everyone who joined us for three days of conversations, performances, and great food 😋

youtu.be

AAS-in-Asia 2026 | Conference Roundup

YouTube video by MGSHSS LUMS

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Three whirlwind days later, #AASinAsia2026 has concluded! Many thanks to everyone in the LUMS community, which welcomed us with open arms, as well as the Lahore U.S. Consulate for hosting a very special dinner on Saturday evening.

A photo of a large red picture frame for social media shots that reads "Welcome to Pakistan," standing in front of a brick-and-ivy covered building.

Two women and three men perform a bhangra dance in front of a screen that reads "AAS-in-Asia 2026 Closing Ceremony."

A woman wearing a jade-green salwar kameez stands next to a man dressed in a suit and tie.

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Association for Asian Studies @asianstudies.org · 27/09/2026

It's a pleasure to co-host #AASinAsia2026 with LUMS—and wonderful to see that Dawn has shared news of the event with its readers. Thank you to everyone who is making this weekend possible! www.dawn.com/news/2032712/lums-conf…

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

New post by @wjhurst.bsky.social, in which he further develops previous work (written with Christian Sorace in 2016) to dig into the term "ghost cities" and consider their various permutations in the Chinese context.

cfg.cam.ac.uk

Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics

Analysis Wednesday 23rd September, 2026

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

New piece at @newyorker.com by @afrawang.bsky.social on a visit to Liangzhu, which seems to be the Dali (c. 2008) of the vibe-coding world: "The town is hip, idyllic, contrarian, and increasingly known as an escape for workers burnt out by the grind of China’s booming tech industry."

newyorker.com

What China’s Vibe-Coding Capital Can Tell Us About the A.I. Boom

Liangzhu, a small town near the tech hub Hangzhou, has become a haven for tech workers burnt out by the grind of China’s booming tech industry.

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Association for Asian Studies @asianstudies.org · 24/09/2026

Sleep well, everyone ... #AASinAsia2026 starts in the morning! AAS and LUMS are excited to welcome you all to this year's conference in Lahore and online. We'll see you soon!

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The world's most adorable traffic signs are on the campus of Lahore University of Management Sciences. 🐈️

A road warning sign that reads "Drive Slowly - Watch for Cats"

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"We’ve been reduced to casting directors for a grand narrative." Translation at @chinamediaproject.bsky.social of a Tian Jian story on how Chinese broadcasters are stage-managing interviews long before the cameras start rolling.

linguasinica.substack.com

Scripting the Source

In a clear sign of tightening media control, state broadcasters in China now manage the risk of live interviews even before the camera begins to roll.

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

good explanatory thread but I know in my heart there's going to be some airport self-help bestseller called THE SECOND BRAIN: WHY YOU'RE ONLY USING HALF OF YOUR POTENTIAL in the next two years

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Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

We are squarely in the Pets dot com/Webvan stage of the AI bubble. bsky.app/profile/hype...

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Hadas Weiss @hadas.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

the museum sounds great i hope they also build one for women

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

all of this is exactly correct, and what i would add is: no person has ever spent 100 hours writing a scientific paper hoping, hoping with all their heart, that potential readers will skip that step to go straight to some mangled summary you didn't even write

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China Law Translate / Jeremy Daum @chinalawtranslate.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The numbness is the most mind boggling part. We seem so resigned to the not-slow destruction of our country. I know many people putting in the good fight, but I really would never have believed it would be so uphill when confronted with... this.. constant barrage of belligerent insanity.

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Shirley Wajda @stwajda.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Friday, #NCPH/#AASLH meeting, Providence, RI. Grad student asked what I thought was the best session, paper, or poster. My answer? "All. The overwhelming sense of resolve & rededication to our craft. Energized by the optimism in that resolve." Historians united in & for the public trust. 🗃️

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oh-jane.bsky.social @oh-jane.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

"The weather is very cool and I am afraid you must feel the change too." Mary Dallas to Jane, 9/16/1882, SFP 33:6

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Linda Holmes @lindaholmes.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I hope folks understand that this is a reaction to the Ellipse, the Reflecting Pool, the East Wing, the fences, the barriers, the National Guard, and the general state of the city, as well as the Kennedy Center.

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Patrick Andelic @pkandelic.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The Muppets have to put on a show to save the Kennedy Center. There you go, Disney, that's your premise.

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Association for Asian Studies @asianstudies.org · 18/09/2026

AAS and Sunway University are pleased to announce that the 12th AAS-in-Asia conference will take place at Sunway’s campus in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 1-3, 2027. Submit a proposal by October 30, 2026! bit.ly/aia2027

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Noah Shusterman @ncshusterman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

FWIW, this is at most a departmental decision and more likely a (poor) decision by an individual prof. Not only has no one asked me to use wechat to take attendance for my courses, no one has asked me to use wechat at all, nor have I been asked to take attendance. (I do neither).

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Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

PSA: you know what scholars love? Talking about their books! You know what you can do? Invite them to your class to do so. It’s great! You absolutely do not have to use AI or tell students to use AI to understand their books. You can get the actual real life person to help with that! For free!

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weeder @weeder.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Ok that's 3 minutes, keep moving, got a lot of sad teens here.

Just 3 minutes with a mini horse or donkey improves teens' moods, study says

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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Logging off the zoom meeting

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Bathsheba Demuth @brdemuth.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Coming in February! An edited collection on rivers past and present and how they move. The code E27RIVER gets you 30% off a preorder from Duke. #envhist #rivers #envhum

Cover of the book Rivers on the Move, edited by Bathsheba Demuth, by Mark Healey, anyone Giacomo Pareinello & Laurence Smith. Cover shows white swirls of a river channel on a blue background

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Association for Asian Studies @asianstudies.org · 16/09/2026

Call for Applications: Carnegie China Fellowship, a one-year, non-residential fellowship focused on supporting rising American scholars. Apply by January 4, 2027 for consideration.

spp.umd.edu

Carnegie China Fellowship Guidelines and Application | UMD School of Public Policy

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Amy Stanley @astanley711.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Excited to be giving a talk at a joint Berkeley/Stanford conference on microhistory next week! It’s called “The Cheese and the Dragons: Microhistory and the Problem of Fiction,” and it’s inspired by all the readers who thought my book was a novel. cmems.stanford.edu/events/after...

cmems.stanford.edu

After Menocchio: The Pasts and Futures of Microhistory (CMEMS Symposium 2026) | Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Please join us for After Menocchio: the Pasts and Futures of Microhistory, a symposium jointly organized by Stanford's Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies and UC Berkeley's DE in Renaissance ...

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Drew McKevitt @drewmckevitt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Hey Philadelphia friends! I will be at St. Joe's (my alma mater, The Hawk Will Never Die, etc, etc) next week for the Francis X. Gerrity Annual Lecture. Join us!

A flier for the lecture on Sept 24 at 2 pm in the Campion Student Center

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Laura Ansley @lmansley.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Those outside the DC region may not realize what a cultural gem the Kennedy Center is. I've seen musicals, ballet, and orchestral concerts there. It's been devastating to see this longstanding institution become a political football and be dismantled due to one person's narcissism.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

WSJ on the case of Min Zin, whose detention "highlights how China’s all-powerful state security system enforces opaque laws in unpredictable ways that raise risks for U.S. passport holders, all while Beijing works to court foreign investors, academics and tourists." www.wsj.com/world/china/...

wsj.com

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/a-u-s-scholar-was-invited-to-china-then-he-vanished-88c720af

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Victor Seow @eastasiascitech.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I am delighted to share our fall 2026 lineup for the #Harvard Science and Technology in Asia online seminar series! Join us over Zoom for six terrific talks from October through December. All are welcome. Details and registration: seow.scholars.harvard.edu/STinAsia #histstm #sts 🧪

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Seth Rockman @sethrockman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This is a big one: Brown University is searching for the next director of the Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice. Please help us identify excellent candidates to lead this signature program into the future. Please write me with ideas; please share in your networks; please apply.

networks.h-net.org

Brown University - Professor and Director of the Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice | H-Net

1. Academic Accomplishment. We seek a scholar with a strong scholarly record, including excellence in both research and teaching, appropriate for appointment at the level of full professor in a social science, humanities, or arts department at Brown.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

“Abdul El-Sayed will TAKE AWAY YOUR FOOTBALL, Michigan” is a pretty pathetic attempt at fear-mongering.

youtu.be

GRIDIRON

YouTube video by MikeRogers

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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm a professional book reviewer who gets a ton of PR emails from publicists. Do you know where I first hear about 80% of the books I end up reviewing? From authors and readers on bsky.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I just woke up after a solid 12 hours of sleep. My arm is sore and I’m going to take it easy today, but that’s all 100% worth it in exchange for being protected against Covid and flu.

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Lauren Lassabe Shepherd @llassabe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Two types of academic correspondence are “apologies for the delay but I’ll need more time” and “hey do you wanna do this thing with me three years from now”

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I was in the same class as @drewmckevitt.bsky.social when the towers fell. After it finally ended, I headed up the hill to the library, where the staff had set up a TV in the lobby for everyone to watch the news. I sat there for hours, trying to understand what was going on.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Analysis by @chinamediaproject.bsky.social of how the Party-state controlled sources of information on the China-Nepal border flood: "this story should be read as yet another unmistakable sign that Xi Jinping has completely rewritten the script for China’s domestic media."

linguasinica.substack.com

Taming News of a Border Tragedy

The catastrophe that struck the China-Nepal border last month is a case study in information control — and the clearest sign yet that Xi Jinping has rewritten the script for domestic media.

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Amanda Kennell, Ph.D. @akennell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Wrote a little something comparing Yayoi Kusama and Dolly Parton's approaches to making art. The nearness of their deaths in time may be a coincidence, but it is fascinating to think about them together.

amandakennell.net

On losing Yayoi Kusama and Dolly Parton - Amanda Kennell

A comparison of Dolly Parton and Yayoi Kusama's approaches to making art.

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

THE LAST FREE WOMEN is definitely worth reading, but for a more balanced look at life as a refugee in the U.S., I highly recommend AFTER THE LAST BORDER, by Jessica Goudeau. One of the best 2020 books that got lost in the pandemic publishing black hole.

mauracunningham.org

Bookshelf: After the Last Border

Books published in 2020 often didn’t get the attention they deserved. Kept at home by Covid-19 restrictions, authors weren’t able to tour and promote their new books in person; instead, they tried …

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Out this week: THE LAST FREE WOMEN, a compelling account by Rebecca Blumenstein and Diana Kapp that follows four young Afghan women as they embark on new lives in the United States (with notable support from the NYT).

app.thestorygraph.com

Review by mauracunningham - The Last Free Women: A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America

Amid the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the New York Times manag...

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 09/09/2026

Not to brag, but our product has been foldable since 1828.

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David Fedman @dfeds.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Hi friends, happy to share a labor of love: an essay in the latest issue of Environmental History on Tokyo's war-damaged trees (戦災樹木), the more than 200 hundreds trees scattered across the city that carry scars of wartime bombing in their morphology www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/eh/0/0

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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

app.thestorygraph.com

Review by mauracunningham - The Last Free Women: A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America

Amid the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the New York Times manag...

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