Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

  

A Philadelphia native but honorary Southern Californian, I am a PhD candidate in Chinese history at UC Irvine, working on a dissertation about cartoons and other children’s media during the twentieth century. I am also a freelance writer/book reviewer, and for the past two years I have been an editor of The China Beat, a UCI-based blog that features commentaries on China by a wide range of academics and journalists seeking to bridge the divide that often separates scholarly and popular writing. I’m continuing that type of work during the 2011-2012 academic year as a fellow at the Asia Society in New York, where I’m on the editorial staff of a new site called “ChinaFile.” In addition to thinking, writing, and talking about China, I knit, watch practically any movie that comes my way (but not horror films), cheer for the Phillies, and strive to become a better cook.