In addition to my current dissertation project, I publish academic articles, policy papers, book reviews, blog posts, and Chinese-to-English translations. If you would like to read a paper that is not publicly available, please email me.
Published Articles
“Global Maoism and the Decolonization of China’s History,” The Historical Journal, Vol 67, Issue 1, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X23000353.
To what extent can we consider participants in Maoist praxis outside the borders of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as part of a decolonized ‘Chinese’ history? This article explores how Chinese history might be expanded in terms of who ‘counts’ by looking beyond the inclusion of non-Han or diasporic subjects. Taking the example of how Mao Zedong Thought or Maoism became a global phenomenon beginning in the mid-twentieth century, this article argues that the networks and connectivities of Maoist solidarities around the world serve as an example of a decolonized approach that pushes the limits of what can be defined as Chinese history.
Translated and published as 全球毛主義與中國史的解殖 in 《解殖中國史》, published by 解殖中國史 , 2025.
“Maoism, Anti-Imperialism, and the Third World: The Case of China and the Black Panthers” Made in China Journal, special issue on “Archaeologies of the Belt-Road Initiative,” The Australian National University Press, Vol 6, Issue 2, May – Dec 2021.
At the height of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Maoist China became a symbol for anti-imperialist movements throughout an imagined ‘Third World.’ While scholarly attention has been paid to Third World Maoism in countries of the Global South, fewer scholars have considered how Maoism was received by organizations within the ‘First World’ who considered themselves part of the global Third World struggle against oppression. This essay helps to address this gap by examining how the Black Panther Party in the United States were inspired by Mao Zedong’s writings and formed connections with the Chinese Communist Party. Understanding how Maoism attracted diverse actors across an imagined ‘Third World’ shows not only how ideas are transmitted and adapted between states and non-state actors; it also presents a new approach to US-China relations that contrasts with what is largely considered to be a period of isolation.
Select Working Papers
“Navigating Agency in China and Taiwan’s Cold War Medical Diplomacy,” book chapter for After Bandung: Africa and China in a New Era, University of Michigan Press, forthcoming.
“Learning Anticorruption by Going Out: Bureaucratic Politics and Subnational Diplomacy in Reform China,” working paper with Michael Thompson-Brusstar (University of Michigan).
“Megaphone Diplomacy and Competitive Coalition-Building: Public Statements as an Alternate Arena for US-China Competition,” working paper.
“Liberalism in Taiwan: The Case of Same-Sex Marriage,” book chapter for Taiwan Sourcebook: Island Inquiries, Cambria Press, forthcoming.
Public Writing
Infographic: China’s New Leaders after the 20th Party Congress, Fairbank Center Blog, Nov 6, 2022 (updated Mar 1, 2023 – download infographic )
Infographic: China’s Leadership before the 20th Party Congress, Fairbank Center Blog, Oct 17, 2022
“Studying Foreign Relations by Moving Away from MOFA: Official Source Linking and Chinese Bureaucratic Learning,” Memo for “Getting China Right” conference, co-authored with Michael Thompson-Brusstar (University of Michigan), 2022.
“Cold War Bedfellows: The Forging of the Sino-Albania Alliance in the 1960s,” Wilson Center, History and Public Policy Program and Cold War International History Project, Feb 2, 2021.
“Ezra Vogel, leading expert on East Asia, dead at 90,” The Harvard Gazette, Jan 5, 2021
“Taiwan’s Pink Vote,” An analysis of Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election, Fairbank Center Blog, Jan 13, 2020
“Teaching China Through Black History,” A reading and teaching guide to the history of Black and African American connections with China, with Keisha A. Brown and Ruodi Duan, Fairbank Center Blog, Jan 30, 2019
“China’s Economic Governance,” Infographic and teaching guide to key people and initiatives in China’s economy, Fairbank Center Blog, Dec 13, 2018
“China’s Leaders of Party and State after the 13th NPC and CPPCC,” Infographic and teaching guide to China’s leadership after the “Two Meetings” of March 2018, Fairbank Center Blog, Apr 5, 2018
“How the CCP Rules, a Guide to China’s Leaders of Party and State,” Infographic and teaching guide to China’s elite politics, Fairbank Center Blog, Oct 11, 2017
“The EU’s ‘Lack of Consensus’: Uneven Demands for LGBT Rights in Eastern Europe”, LGBTQ Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School, Vol. V (2014-15), Mar 2015
“Teaching the UK to Speak Mandarin,” Young Fabians, Oct 2014
Book Reviews
“Chun Han Wong, Party of One: The Rise of Xi Jinping and China’s Superpower Future” in Lawfare, October 2024.
“Yunxiang Gao, Arise Africa! Roar China!” in China Quarterly (2024), 1-2.
doi:10.1017/S0305741024000808
“Terry Laytz, Americans in China,” in The PRC History Journal, Book Review Series No. 68, May 2024.
“Matthew Galway, The Emergence of Global Maoism: China’s Red Evangelism and the Cambodian Communist Movement, 1949-1979,” in Journal of Asian Studies, June 2023. https://doi.org/10.1215/00219118-10849902
“Todd A. Henry (ed.), Queer Korea,”in Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Issue 46, November 2021.
Published Translations (Chinese-to-English)
“Discussion Notes of Chairman Mao receiving a Delegation of the Albanian Women’s Union and an Albanian film crew,” Wilson Center, Cold War History Project, 2020
“China Rainbow Media Awards: Annual Media Monitoring Report”, Queer Comrades, 2015
Magic [Film], directed by Michael Liu. Produced by Queer Comrades for Queer University. Chinese-to-English subtitles for documentary film on “yao’er” [trans-]culture in Northeast China, Apr 2015.
“2015 Media Monitor Report”, Beijing LGBT Center, 2015
“From Wenchuan to Lushan: An Overview of Disaster Relief NGO Efforts”, China Development Brief, 2014
“A Disciple Moving Towards a World of Openness”, L.A. Louver Art Gallery, 2014
“The AIDS Walk: Promoting Public Service in China,” China Development Brief, 2012
Theses
“The Third World’s Maoist Revolution: Maoism, African-American Activism, and Naxalism during China’s Cultural Revolution,” Harvard University, 2020
James Gethyn Evans 