Award-Winning Article:
“When Bugs Reject Scripts: Operational Images and Their Entanglements in Mao’s War Against Insects”
Chu Wang, a PhD candidate in the EAS Department, has received First Place in the 2026 Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Student Writing Award for his article, “When Bugs Reject Scripts: Operational Images and Their Entanglements in Mao’s War Against Insects.”
Wang’s article examines how the Maoist state mobilized illustrated manuals and scientific films in pest control campaigns, and how these visual tools were reshaped through encounters with local practices and nonhuman life. The essay is part of his doctoral dissertation, which explores the role of visual media in governing and remaking nature in socialist China.
As part of the award, the article has been selected for publication in the JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies and the award will be formally presented at the 2026 SCMS Annual Conference in Chicago.
The Department of East Asian Studies congratulates Chu Wang on this outstanding achievement!