July 31st, 2007 by JJW
I got a letter in late July from the editor of the new four-volume Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender announcing its publication. I wrote three contributions in Fall of 2006 on Chinese sexual history. I’m excited because these are my first published encyclopedia entries.
I have yet to see a copy of the set, as I am based in China while the books are hitting North American library shelves. If anyone runs across the set, could you take photos of my entries and mail them to me?
I wrote the first entry, on modern Chinese sexuality and gender, with the head librarian at the Kinsey Institute, Liana Zhou. This opportunity presented itself during a visit to the Kinsey Institute and a meeting with Dr. Zhou. She suggested I contribute to the modern Chinese section because of my longstanding interest with HIV/AIDS prevention and gay life in China. I also wrote the pre-modern Chinese sex and gender entry (pre-1911), which I describe as “5,000 years in 4,000 words”. Finally, I wrote an entry on the famous republic-era sexologist Zhang Jingsheng.
The encyclopedia set is cited as: Malti-Douglas, Fedwa, ed. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007.
Here’s the blurb from the Thomson Gale website:
Gender studies have become a major academic field in the past 25 years, providing a lens through which to reexamine and reevaluate knowledge in every area of human interaction and activity. The Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender encompasses the various concepts of sex and gender that have arisen from the critical study of those subjects worldwide, as well as the emerging reimagination of the more traditional humanities and social sciences. Broad theoretical essays address issues of sex and gender at the personal and the social level; others examine issues of identity, status, class, ethnicity, race, and nation; of sexuality and the body; of social institutions and the structures of representation – all through the lens of gender. With a truly global perspective, topics of individual entries include changing conceptions of “the feminine,” the family and masculinity, religion, morality, cultural images, medical practice, public health, economy and society and many more. In addition, the work discusses the influences of gender studies on various academic disciplines, examining how it has transformed and utilized methods and theories that have evolved.
July 24th, 2007 by JJW
On a rainy London night in a room of 150 people interested in China, I found myself the only person–in the audience member or on the panel,with any optimism about China improving its natural environment. The event, “Media Talk: Has western coverage of the China story become stale and cliched?” was hosted by the Frontline Club and featured Rob Gifford (NPR), Duncan Hewitt (former BBC, Newsweek), Catherine Sampson (formerly The Times) and Lifen Zhang (FTChinese.com). It was moderated by Carrie Gracie (BBC).
At about minute 55 in this hour and a half long vidcast, Carrie Gracie asks if there are any people optimistic about the Chinese environment. I raised my hand. The microphone zoomed across the room to me. I don’t present my opinion halfway as articulately as I would have liked, but I think my main points came through, namely that:
- Central government environmental policy is stringent, but enforcement is mixed
- Allowing open media coverage by Western journalists is a soft power means of enforcing Chinese laws that would otherwise go unenforced at the local level
- Environment as sustainable developing is becoming a prerequisite for economic growth because of the socially and economically destabilizing nature of environmental degradation
- Awareness of environmental issues is reaching a critical mass
Watch the video here:
I don’t think top-tier western media coverage of China has become cliched, but much of it has become stale. A bit of fresh air is just what China and the world need right now.
July 16th, 2007 by JJW
From the introduction to my essay:
This issue of the Journal of International Policy Solutions marks the second annual publication of the Ruth S. Adams Graduate Student Essay Competition Winner. The Ruth Adams Competition is a graduate student essay competition on the topic of international civil society. It asks students to explore the role of global civil society in impacting any national or international issue.
The competition honors Ruth S. Adams (1923-2005), a former visiting scholar at UCSD and the editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for more than a decade. Charismatic, deeply principled, and compassionate, Adams devoted her life to a wide array of nongovernmental organizations. She was the only woman in attendance at the very first Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs in 1957, which was sponsored by Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, and other preeminent scientists. She organized cooperative international scientific efforts on Third World development, arranged for the training and financing of international security scholars, and actively supported enhanced roles for women in international relations research. To further the goals to which she devoted her life, her friends, colleagues, and organizations who share in Ruth’s vision have created this essay competition.
This year’s winner, Joshua Wickerham, analyzes the response of Chinese civil society to environmental threats and the implications for political actors.
ABSTRACT
The goal of this paper is to determine how willing the principal actors in China’s economy are to bear the potential social and economic costs of sustainable development as a proxy for understanding the depth of the development of civil response to China’s environmental threats. The conclusions are based on trends, opinions, and actions of three main groups: the government, consumers, and corporate managers.
Click here to read the essay. (pdf format)
