POPULARITY
Shellen Wu's new book, Birth of the Geopolitical Age: Global Frontiers and the Making of Modern China traces the global history of the frontier in the twentieth century, particularly in China. The global history approach offers a new perspective on the continuities and evolution of the construction of Chinese territoriality from the late nineteenth century through to the People's Republic of China after 1949. She weaves a narrative that moves through time and space, the lives of individuals, and empires' rise, fall and rebirth, to show how the reshaping of Chinese geopolitical ambitions in the twentieth century, and the global transformation of frontiers, continues to reorder global power dynamics in East Asia and beyond to this day. In an interview conducted on November 9, 2023, Shellen Wu, in conversation with James Carter, discusses how China, despite political turmoil and war, navigated the twentieth century with its imperial territory basically intact. About the speakers: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/Global-Frontiers-modern-China/ Read the transcript: https://www.ncuscr.org/podcast/Global-Frontiers-modern-China/ Follow James Carter on Twitter: @jayjamescarter Subscribe to the National Committee on YouTube for video of this interview. Follow us on Twitter (@ncuscr) and Instagram (@ncuscr).
Dr. Wu discusses her first book, Empires of Coal: Fueling China's Entry into the Modern World Order.
Shellen Wu‘s new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China, science, technology, and the modern world. Empires of Coal: Fueling China’s Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920 (Stanford University Press, 2015) brings readers into the nineteenth century industrialization of China, when coal became the “fuel of a ‘new’ imperialism.” Wu’s book asks how China came to matter in a new modern world order of the nineteenth century that was built on a perception that coal was a measure of a country’s standing in the world. In answering that question, Empires of Coal looks carefully at the importance of mining (including state management and legal regulation thereof) to the political economy of late imperial China. As geology developed into an independent discipline separate from geography, it help colonizers cement their power by aiding efforts to extract valuable mineral deposits from the colonies. Wu traces the archive produced in this context as coal became crucial not just to foreign interest in China, but also to China’s interest in mineral resources, exploring a wide range of maps, translations, letters, essays, journals, textbooks, and other materials. The book also situates this story within a history of mineral sciences, scientists, and engineers in China. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the entanglement of science, technology, and modernity in global history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shellen Wu‘s new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China, science, technology, and the modern world. Empires of Coal: Fueling China’s Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920 (Stanford University Press, 2015) brings readers into the nineteenth century industrialization of China, when coal became the “fuel of a ‘new’ imperialism.” Wu’s book asks how China came to matter in a new modern world order of the nineteenth century that was built on a perception that coal was a measure of a country’s standing in the world. In answering that question, Empires of Coal looks carefully at the importance of mining (including state management and legal regulation thereof) to the political economy of late imperial China. As geology developed into an independent discipline separate from geography, it help colonizers cement their power by aiding efforts to extract valuable mineral deposits from the colonies. Wu traces the archive produced in this context as coal became crucial not just to foreign interest in China, but also to China’s interest in mineral resources, exploring a wide range of maps, translations, letters, essays, journals, textbooks, and other materials. The book also situates this story within a history of mineral sciences, scientists, and engineers in China. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the entanglement of science, technology, and modernity in global history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shellen Wu‘s new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China, science, technology, and the modern world. Empires of Coal: Fueling China’s Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920 (Stanford University Press, 2015) brings readers into the nineteenth century industrialization of China, when coal became the “fuel of a ‘new’ imperialism.” Wu’s book asks how China came to matter in a new modern world order of the nineteenth century that was built on a perception that coal was a measure of a country’s standing in the world. In answering that question, Empires of Coal looks carefully at the importance of mining (including state management and legal regulation thereof) to the political economy of late imperial China. As geology developed into an independent discipline separate from geography, it help colonizers cement their power by aiding efforts to extract valuable mineral deposits from the colonies. Wu traces the archive produced in this context as coal became crucial not just to foreign interest in China, but also to China’s interest in mineral resources, exploring a wide range of maps, translations, letters, essays, journals, textbooks, and other materials. The book also situates this story within a history of mineral sciences, scientists, and engineers in China. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the entanglement of science, technology, and modernity in global history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shellen Wu‘s new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China, science, technology, and the modern world. Empires of Coal: Fueling China’s Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920 (Stanford University Press, 2015) brings readers into the nineteenth century industrialization of China, when coal became the... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shellen Wu‘s new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China, science, technology, and the modern world. Empires of Coal: Fueling China’s Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920 (Stanford University Press, 2015) brings readers into the nineteenth century industrialization of China, when coal became the “fuel of a ‘new’ imperialism.” Wu’s book asks how China came to matter in a new modern world order of the nineteenth century that was built on a perception that coal was a measure of a country’s standing in the world. In answering that question, Empires of Coal looks carefully at the importance of mining (including state management and legal regulation thereof) to the political economy of late imperial China. As geology developed into an independent discipline separate from geography, it help colonizers cement their power by aiding efforts to extract valuable mineral deposits from the colonies. Wu traces the archive produced in this context as coal became crucial not just to foreign interest in China, but also to China’s interest in mineral resources, exploring a wide range of maps, translations, letters, essays, journals, textbooks, and other materials. The book also situates this story within a history of mineral sciences, scientists, and engineers in China. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the entanglement of science, technology, and modernity in global history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shellen Wu‘s new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China, science, technology, and the modern world. Empires of Coal: Fueling China’s Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920 (Stanford University Press, 2015) brings readers into the nineteenth century industrialization of China, when coal became the... Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies