#AAS2020 Happy Hour Reads: Asian Politics and History
Well, it’s 4:00 PM EDT and normally you’d be taking advantage of your break between sessions at the AAS 2020 conference to browse our booth, and who are we to take that experience away from you? Or, maybe you just finished reading Caelyn’s post and are itching to read more from our Asian politics and history book lists. We’ve got you covered either way. Grab a drink and settle in to peruse these book excerpts.
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After Eunuchs: Science, Medicine, and the Transformation of Sex in Modern China
For much of Chinese history, the eunuch stood out as an exceptional figure at the margins of gender categories. Amid the disintegration of the Qing Empire, men and women in China began to understand their differences in the language of modern science, marking the emergence of transsexuality. Howard Chiang introduces this idea in this excerpt from After Eunuchs: Science, Medicine, and the Transformation of Sex in Modern China.
Extraordinary Justice: Law, Politics, and the Khmer Rouge Tribunals
Craig Etcheson, author of Extraordinary Justice: Law, Politics, and the Khmer Rouge Tribunals, is one of the world’s foremost experts on the Cambodian genocide and its aftermath. This work offers a definitive account of of the quest for justice in Cambodia against the Khmer Rouge. In this excerpt, Etcheson explains what sparked his “quest to bring the Khmer Rouge to justice” and considers when “politics trumps the law.”
Amboina, 1623: Fear and Conspiracy on the Edge of Empire
In 1623, Dutch authorities executed twenty-one alleged conspirators over a plot to seize a castle on a remote set of islands in what is now eastern Indonesia, which sparked immediate outrage and controversy that would endure for centuries to come. In Amboina, 1623: Fear and Conspiracy on the Edge of Empire, Adam Clulow presents a new perspective on the trial that aims to move beyond the debate over guilt or innocence. Clulow introduces this controversial case of torture and conspiracy and provides the historical background in this excerpt.