job alert: My department is now running a search to fill a newly inaugurated endowed chair in the History of Technology. Please consider applying/share widely. I'm not on the committee, but happy to answer questions or connect you with those who are. Details here: recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09897

Excited to be returning to my PhD alma mater (first time since graduation) for a book talk in a few weeks! ceas.stanford.edu/events/borde...

An influential Koreanist once described Soviet-occupied North Korea as an "isle of tranquility," but the stories of those who fled South after Korea's 1945 division suggest otherwise. Yumi Moon’s chapter in this great new volume helpfully elucidates this refugee experience.

A new essay from me synthesizing the rich body of media criticism in Japanese focused on the practice of "August journalism" (八月ジャーナリズム): the tendency for rehearsed, compressed, and hollowed-out coverage of war memory each August. apjjf.org/2025/9/fedman

On Monday! Angus Lockyer (Rhode Island School of Design) on his new book “Exhibitionist Japan: The Spectacle of Modern Development”, in conversation with Jordan Sand (Georgetown University) and Joseph Seeley (University of Virginia). Register for Zoom here: mjha.org/event-6239996

My review of BREAKNECK, by Dan Wang, an insightful and balanced look at the Chinese engineering state—both its strengths and shortcomings—that offers a much-needed contrast to fear-mongering China books.

So I've written a book! Waterscapes is about how impactful our need for water is on the environment and people. It's also about the ways in which infrastructure projects can impact place for good or bad.

As the Osaka Expo remains ongoing, for those interested in the deeper history of exhibitions in Japan, please check out this online book talk event I am moderating in less than two weeks! mjha.org/event-6239996

Excited to be presenting at this conference as well! I will be sharing new work on North Korean animal history for those interested.

I have gotten our @greenhouseuis.net #envhum book talks for September & October posted! Always on Mondays at 16:00 (4pm) Central European time. For details see: newnatures.org/greenhouse/

Looking forward to participating (virtually, alas) in this event at SNU later this week, for anyone interested: www.snu.ac.kr/snunow/event... I'll be sharing a new essay that uses the life and letters of Conrad Totman, pioneer of East Asian environmental history, to map out the state of the field

The last known Rodrigues parakeet died exactly 150 years ago. This story ticks a lot of natural history museum bingo boxes: ✔️Sex bias in natural history ✔️Colonial legacies ✔️Dodos But also, how museum specimens act as irreplaceable records of lost biodiversity: theconversation.com/the-rodrigue...

Herewith a thread of some of the more interesting reactions to the Emperor's August 15 surrender announcement I've collected over the years: First up, a personal favorite (and teaser for an essay I have forthcoming on gardening in the ashes of Japan's urban wastelands in 1945):

In a dusty box, a Nagano man finds proof his father served in Nanjing, China, with Unit 1644, part of Japan’s covert biological weapons network during World War II. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...

Advance copy of my book _Remaking the Earth, Exhausting the People_ arrived this morning! What's with the ducks on the first page? You can find out when the book is released later this month. @uwapress.bsky.social has been a pleasure to work with and did a great job with design and production.

Stories like this reminds me why I love being a historian. You can feel @tsmullaney.bsky.social 's passion for what is far more than just machines and technology, but human struggles, aspirations, and dreams. Feel so lucky to have studied with him at Stanford. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/n...

Historians of Bluesky! I am putting together a syllabus for a graduate/upper undergraduate seminar this fall on "Animal Histories," and would love your help putting together a chronologically/geographically/thematically diverse set of readings. Self-promotion is also very welcome!

I have yet to see the global pop-culture phenomenon that is "Kpop Demon Hunters," but as someone who has written about Korean tiger history, I love seeing images of the Korean folk art-inspired "Derpy Tiger."

Cool story of an important historical artifact being returned to South Korea from Japan. This article doesn't mention it but the main force behind this move seems to have been the head priest of Kōtokuin (the Kamakura daibutsu temple), Satō Takao... www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Cu...

@cornellupress.bsky.social has thousands of books for 50% off until midnight this Friday, June 27. Use discount code 095000 to get my first book or other books by authors like @josephaseeley.bsky.social here: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

More than just an airport stop before Seoul, Incheon is such a fascinating place architecturally and historically, especially around the old treaty port area. As a historian of modern Korea I've talked about this port so many times, but embarrassingly this was my first time coming here!

JOB: Assistant Professor of Environmental History with a Focus on Water in Human History, Texas State University #envhist jobs.hr.txstate.edu/postings/53213

Out soon! It's been such a rewarding experience. Thanks to co-editors and contributors! www.routledge.com/9781032744582

First time in mainland China since the pandemic. Last week friends at Tsinghua University kindly invited me to present about my book. Audience was great and asked sharp questions. Tsinghua is also a lovely campus with a main quad that reminds me a lot of UVA.

By far my favorite part of South Korean elections: election night graphics. SBS television station kills it EVERY. TIME. They play these clips all night and they get more and more unhinged and creative as the night goes on.

First time ever at UCLA! Look forward to presenting about my book tomorrow at the Center for Korean Studies: www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17...

Border-patrolling biplanes were also a thing for the Japanese along their imperial border between Korea and Manchuria, as my book discusses.

"Border of Water and Ice is a fascinating, richly researched, and accessibly recounted history that will appeal to a wide range of scholars variously interested in empires, environments, borderlands, and area studies" Thank you @waymarks.bsky.social for the close reading!

Check out @waymarks.bsky.social's review of @josephaseeley.bsky.social's "Border of Water and Ice: The Yalu River and Japan's Empire in Korea and Manchuria," published in 2024 by @cornellupress.bsky.social; review now available @hnetreviews.bsky.social networks.h-net.org/group/review...

Really looking forward to participating in this amazing event tomorrow at UCI with other authors of new Korean Studies books! Many thanks to @dfeds.bsky.social for the invite! www.humanities.uci.edu/events/2025-...

New timeline by @csis.org @victordcha.bsky.social & me documenting the growth of North Korea-Russia cooperation since September 2022, when the USG first publicized Russia buying shells & rockets from North Korea. Over 100+ entries and growing. Access here: beyondparallel.csis.org/timeline-of-...

I am guilty of suggesting that we write together about the 1955 moment for Asian diasporas to my colleagues, Chien Wen and Taomo. It took us more than 2 years writing, rewriting, and another year of getting through peer reviews, but voila!

In a new article, Joseph Seeley explores North Korea's West Sea Barrage, a 1980s project that was part of a broader effort to "remake" nature in a triumph of human will and engineering. liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...

Read Jonathan Chatwin's review-essay on Thomas S. Mullaney's books "The Chinese Computer" and "The Chinese Typewriter": buff.ly/Se4gP5B

Excited to share my new article on the West Sea Barrage, considered by North Korea as one of its signature engineering achievements. The article looks at the history and consequences of the project as part of a broader NK campaign to "remake nature." doi.org/10.3828/whpe...

Great to start off NextGen Los Angeles with an amazing meal tonight! Nice to have the group back together in K-Town as we caught up on updates since we last met in snowy DC in January. CC @victordcha.bsky.social @josephaseeley.bsky.social @kristigovella.bsky.social @thisishannahkim.bsky.social

Just discovered this very kind and beautifully written (also open-access!) review of Border of Water and Ice. "Seeley’s book serves as a biography of the Yalu in the modern era and offers a masterclass in political geography" www.cia.gov/resources/cs...

Open access publication! My book is now available open access for everyone to read and download free on the @ucpress.bsky.social website: www.ucpress.edu/books/in-the... A brief thread about the book /1

Our minds are elsewhere and for good reason, but I'd remiss not to plug a new book by my brilliant colleague Jung Lee. Curious to know why many Korean flora carry the name of a Japanese botanist (Nakai) in their taxonomic signature? This is the book for you! www.routledge.com/Renaming-Pla...

Grateful to have Border of Water and Ice featured on the New Books Network podcast. Many thanks especially to Sarah Bramao-Ramos, who asked wonderful questions and kindly took the time to deeply engage with the book. newbooksnetwork.com/border-of-wa...

My conversation with Michiko Suzuki about her terrific new book, Humanitarian Internationalism Under Empire, is now available on the Modern Japan History Assoc website: www.youtube.com/watch?v=abU-... #internationalism #empire #humanitarianism @columbiaup.bsky.social @modernjapanhist.bsky.social

In addition to meeting friends old and new, a highlight of @aasasianstudies.bsky.social 's #AAS2025 conference has definitely been Seiji Shirane helping me take the obligatory author book pic. If you're here in Columbus, be sure to check out the @cornellupress.bsky.social both!

Really appreciated the opportunity to talk about my book at Harvard's Korea Institute yesterday and for all the delightful questions and discussion.

Coming up this Thursday 6/3/25 in the #ScottishCentreforKoreanStudies Distinguished Lecture Series: Britain and The #DPRK with James Hoare OBE. 5-6:30pm, Lecture Theatre B, 40 George Sq. #allwelcome #inpersonseminar

Please repost: I've had a couple of inquiries about this search, and I'd like to be clear that we have several areas of need, so the ad's text refers to keywords "Asia/Global History/Technology/Politics/Society." This could include media and technology studies, transnational history, etc. 1/3

A (since long-gone) relic of Japan's pre-WWII spiritual imperialism. This was a Shinto shrine built on the northern edge of Japanese-occupied Korea, dedicated to housing the "Guardian God of the Border."

Excited to be talking about my new book at Harvard University in two weeks! Many thanks to the Korea Institute for the invitation, and @eastasiascitech.bsky.social for being discussant.

My friend Jacob Reidhead--one of the few North Korean observers to have experience living in the country (as a NGO worker in the border city of Sinŭiju)--shares some astute observations about where US-DPRK relations may go from here: www.dailynk.com/english/pyon...

Congrats to UVA colleague @neetinair.bsky.social and Stanford kōhai Narusa Yamato on their well-deserved AAS prizes! Big congratulations as well to @sixwang.bsky.social for writing the seminal text on Ming-Chosŏn relations! www.asianstudies.org/aas-2025-pri...

We are pleased to announce the honorees whose work will be recognized at the #AAS2025 Awards Ceremony on March 14. Congratulations to all! https://buff.ly/3EMeKiV