History Commons^™

Interview No. 1423, Ben Zapata

Combined Interviews

Benjamin Zapata was born in 1935 in the Yucatán. In the village that Benjamin lived, they worked in in making hats and head gear. Benjamin had friends who came into the Bracero Program and convinced him to join as well. In 1958, Benjamin decided to join the Bracero Program and he went to Empalme Sonora, México to register for the Bracero Program. From there Benjamin went to Mexicali, México and then he crossed the border and traveled to San Joaquin and Tracy, California. His first job had Benjamin picking tomatoes, that contract lasted for forty-five days. At the end of …

China In 2008: Cover Art

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One of the themes in our forthcoming book, China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance, is how the year 2008 came to symbolize more than just the hosting of the Olympics in China. “2008” came to mean China’s emergence on the world stage with the respect and admiration of people around the globe. When we saw this picture, taken by Shanghai-based photographer Iain Harral, it seemed to represent that fervent hope–so fervent that it was, in this case, literally written on the body. We’re grateful to Iain for allowing us to use this photo on the cover of our …

State Of Siege

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The past few days in Taiwan have been marked by a mixture of joy and trepidation: joy at Obama’s unprecedented electoral triumph and what it means for the achievement of justice and racial harmony (dare we hope that one day a Hakka or Aborigine may become President of Taiwan?), but also trepidation over the state of Taiwan’s democratic system. Violent street protests accompanying the visit of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin 陳雲林 have shocked and dismayed the nation, prompting the normally mild-mannered President Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 to pound the podium in rage while issuing …

Ashes Of Time Redux, Matthew David Johnson

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Six years before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo long cang hu, 2000), Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai was a pioneer in the genre of stylish, star-loaded, and festival-ready wuxia filmmaking. His Ashes of Time (Dung che sai duk / Dong xie xi du, 1994) reinterpreted martial arts fiction for a generation more accustomed to motion pictures and television serials than novels, at a time when Hong Kong’s economy was riding a crest of growth triggered by the opening of adjacent Guangdong to direct investment. Ashes represented a major investment for its producers, with a reputed budget of HK$40 million. Despite …

Simmons, James M., 1851-1935 (Sc 1809), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1809. Notes for a political speech delivered by James M. Simmons in Plum Springs, Warren County, Kentucky, 1 November 1884. Also a check from the P.J. Potter Bank written by Simmons and a typescript of his obituary.

China Beatniks In Beijing

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A group of China Beat contributors will be in Beijing this weekend for the Beijing Forum and other events. Jeff Wasserstrom, Ken Pomeranz, Susan Brownell, and Yong Chen will all be speaking at the Forum, which is an annual event that brings together scholars from around the world.

In addition, Jeff Wasserstrom will be making a presentation to the Foreign Correspondents Club of China on “Tales of Two Cities: Public Participation in Urban Politics in Beijing and Shanghai” at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 10. Admission for non-members is 50 RMB. More details are available here (look on the right-hand …

Lanthorn, Vol. 43, No. 23, November 6, 2018, Grand Valley State University

Volume 43, July 10, 2008 - June 7, 2009

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Dream Of Mlk, Jr. 'Alive And Well' At New Umaine Plaza, Laila Sholtz-Ames

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Article from the University of Maine student newspaper The Maine Campus by Lalia Sholtz-Ames, the former president of the Black Students Association, regarding the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument erected in a new plaza at the University of Maine.

The Last General Of The Red Army, Ed Jocelyn

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

General Xiao Ke, who died last month in Beijing at aged 101, was the last surviving commander of the Chinese Red Army that made the legendary Long March. Only 27 when he led his troops out of their Communist base in south China, Xiao never reached the career heights promised by his youth and ability. Instead, his later life became notable for a commitment to principle that put him at odds with political reality.

Xiao Ke was born in Hunan Province to a scholarly family that had fallen on hard times. Three of his eight brothers and sisters died in …

Obama Elected, China Reacts

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Chinese reactions to Obama’s election range broadly, as exemplified in this morning’s news coverage. Dominant themes include racial equality, financial security, a changing international profile for the U.S., and trade implications. [Please let us know if you find outstanding coverage elsewhere that you feel should be flagged–either by submitting a comment or by sending an email tothechinabeat@gmail.com.]

From Jim Yardley’s piece (it is the last piece before the comments section begins) on Chinese reaction to Obama’s election, at The New York Times:

…Mr. Tang, 23, admitted that the American election had been a serious distraction during his Wednesday morning classes. …

Literature Prizes: Chinese Writers Make The List

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The short list for the Man Asian Literary Prize was announced last week. The Man Prize is awarded to a work that isn’t available in English (the award partly covers translation of the work), but an excerpt translated into English is read by the judges. The award, which debuted last year when it was awarded to Wolf Totemby Jiang Rong, has named another Chinese writer to its short list this year: Yu Hua. For those interested in learning more about Yu Hua and his writing, an excerpt from his nominated work, Brothers, has been posted at the Man Prize website. …

"Our Woman In China": Louisa Lim, Angilee Shah

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Louisa Lim’s life as National Public Radio’s Shanghai correspondent is characterized by extreme variety. Much like China itself, Lim takes on many roles: hard-hitting investigative reporter, insightful trend spotter, art connoisseur, mother and even restaurateur. It turns out, she’s an excellent email-writer as well.

In a wide-ranging Web 2.0 interview, in between covering the Beijing Olympics and the ever-growing melamine disaster, she described her experiences in her three years as the Beijing correspondent for the BBC and then two with National Public Radio. She talked about the challenges of breaking news but still providing depth of coverage, the West’s growing …

Yes We Did, Photograph

Textual material from the Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers

MoveOn.org print.

Diplomacy Meets Conflict: Darfur, Sudan And The Limits Of International Diplomacy, Tinacho Chitongo

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Despite claims that the world is generally more developed and stable than previous times in man's history there are places on earth where war is still the name of the game. Tactics such as rape, murder, vandalism and ethnic cleansing are still prevalent. The paper studies the complex issues confronting Africa's largest country, Sudan. The country stands on a fragile ceasefire that ended a 2 decade civil war in 2002. The main focus is on the Darfur region which is in Western Sudan. Rebels there began fighting in 2003 and the region has been something of a conundrum of violence. …

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 033, Number 11, November 3, 2008, Grand Valley State University

2008-2009, Volume 33

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 43, No. 22, November 3, 2018, Grand Valley State University

Volume 43, July 10, 2008 - June 7, 2009

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

A Better Life In New Shanghai?, Maura Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

During the two years I recently spent in Nanjing as a student at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, Shanghai became an increasingly frequent choice when I needed to get away and wander the streets of China for a bit. With the introduction of CRH express train service in 2007, travel time between Nanjing and Shanghai fell to only two hours, and I rejoiced in the improved accessibility of Shanghai’s malls, restaurants, bookstores, and cultural events. However, I often found that I ended my Shanghai sojourns as eager to return to Nanjing as I had been to leave it only a day or …

China In 2008: What’S Inside

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

While our forthcoming blog-to-book, China in 2008, contains some content that regular China Beat readers will find familiar because versions of the pieces have either run or been linked to at China Beat (though many of these have been expanded or revised also), about one-third of the book is brand-new. Below, find the table of contents listing the essays included in the book’s fifteen chapters. Each chapter also includes additional, brief excerpts from the blog which are not listed here. China in 2008 will be published in early 2009.

Remapping A Nation Without States: Personalized Full Representation For California’S 21st Century, Mark Paul, Micah Weinberg

Mark Paul

California is a state of many distinct regions. To give citizens a voice on regional issues and to reinvigorate California’s Legislature, the state’s central institution of self-government, we propose Personalized Full Representation for the 21st Century (PFR21), a system of representation by means of regionally based legislative elections that will allow the state’s citizens to set the agenda for their regions and for the state as a whole. By reshaping the stage on which legisla- tive politics is played out, California can make state govern- ment more attentive to regional issues and give its citizens a means of holding elected …

Now He Belong To The Ages: Memorializing Abraham Lincoln, Jonathan Jeffrey

SCL Faculty and Staff Publications

Reviled by many of his fellow Kentuckians while he was president, Abraham Lincoln became Kentucky’s, and America’s, idol during the 20th century. The Commonwealth is home to a growing list of notable Lincoln memorials. This article examines the history and folklore surrounding a number of these monuments.

Memorial Hall Museum Online: American Centuries., Tom D. Sommer

Library Faculty Publications

If you are researching the history of New England online, the Memorial Hall Museum’s American Centuries site is a valuable place to start. It is geared toward educators and elementary through high school students, providing users access to primary sources and interactive activities from the Memorial Hall Museum in Old Deerfield, Massachusetts.

Blogging China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One week ago, China Beat founders Jeff Wasserstrom and Ken Pomeranz participated in a conference at the University of California, Irvine called “Public Spheres, Blogospheres.” The day-long event mixed academics with bloggers (and a few people who could claim both titles) for a discussion about the past and future of blogging. You can download each of the day’s sessions here, and a full list of participants here.

The clip below is very lengthy. If you’d like to speed through to the parts about China, jump to 25:00 (to about 51:00). The session was a comparative one on blogging and the …

World Series Recap, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Now that the rain that lasted for forty hours and forty minutes has ended, a World Series winner has been determined, and Commissioner Selig has disembarked from his Ark, I want to say a few things about the series itself, as well as take a look at some of the “solutions” to the problems raised by the circumstances of Game Five.

Russellville Gun Club - Russellville, Kentucky (Sc 1788), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 1788. Ledger for the Russellville Gun Club containing the constitution and bylaws; membership list and list of honorary members; lists of scores, April-May 1886, April 27, 1887; and accounts Feb. 1886-June 1887. Also includes typescript of constitution and membership list (Click on "Additional Files" below).

China On My Mind: Last Days Of Old Beijing

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few weeks ago, those of us based at UCI had the pleasure of hearing author Michael Meyer talk about his new book, The Last Days of OldBeijing. Accompanied by the evocative photos of Mark Leong, Meyer described his experience living in the ancient hutongs of central Beijing and how he tried to convey that experience–threatened by Beijing’s rapid development–in his recent book. Here, Tom Mullaney, who teaches history at Stanford, chats with Meyer about his book. Scroll down to enjoy Leong’s photos while you listen.

The character “chai” (to demolish) is painted on houses marked for demolition.

If you’d …

Lanthorn, Vol. 43, No. 21, October 30, 2008, Grand Valley State University

Volume 43, July 10, 2008 - June 7, 2009

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

The University Of Maine News Article On "Umaine Plaza To Honor Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King", University Of Maine

University of Maine Racial Justice Collection

This University of Maine News article on the "UMaine Plaza to Honor Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King," posted on October 29, 2008, includes the grand opening of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Memorial Plaza. The Plaza is located next to the Memorial Union on the university campus. The article includes a statement from Robert Dana, UMaine's dean of students.

Wednesday Reading

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The tainted milk scandal has stayed on the front pages, particularly in recent days as the type of tainted products expanded yet again (to include eggs, see below). Here are a few readings on the subject, in case you missed them:

1. Anna Greenspan wrote this piece on the milk scandal for our forthcoming book,China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance, but we’re delighted that its up for reading right now at The Nation. Check it out here.

2.Though most stories on the tainted baby formula have emphasized that its devastating impacts are the result of falling rates of …

Program: Jacksonville Urban League 35th Anniversary Equal Opportunity Luncheon.

Textual material from the Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers

An Equal Opportunity Luncheon on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.

Swingin' In The Rain, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Everybody talks about the weather but no one ever does anything about it.