Associate ProfessorHolly High

Tell us about your Substack, Revolutions in Reproduction.

I started Revolutions as a way of sharing my ideas as they develop. I'm alone a lot at the moment, writing my book about women and Lao socialism, and have one of those minds that's always following ideas down rabbit warrens. I wanted to share some of those excited meanderings with my intellectual circle, as a way of keeping in touch, but also connect with new readers. Substack is great for scholars because you have the space for whole essays and they go out to readers via email: readers don't have to download the app or start an account (who wants another social media app, right?). 

I'd hoped I'd get feedback as the book developed. In reality, Revolutions has taken on a life of its own: I see it as quite different from the book now. It is about Lao socialism on the one hand, and reproduction on the other, seasoned with anthropology and stewed together in my bubbling mind.

What are your top five favourite posts so far?

1. Defintely the series of posts on housing. This is such an important issue: when we compare Australia and Laos, rates of domestic violence are much higher in Australia and much more deadly. I showed my adopted Lao mother a photograph of my Australian home once, and she shuddered, saying she'd never want to live there. She associated brick walls and privacy with danger for women. So design of housing is one element: Lao houses in the countryside, don't emphasize privacy so much. But there is also the socialist platform which grants every citizen the right to a place to live and to grow food. This changes the domestic dynamic so women are much more likely to escape abusive situations. The posts are in a series here, here, here and here

2. The post on matriarchy in anthropology. This is likely the backbone of the introduction for my next book. I took a deep dive into the question of why anthropologists -- at least when I started in the discipline -- seemed so leery of using the word "matriarchy". I found that it was very much linked to the ridicule in Western scholarship for real world socialisms. The denigration of socialism is linked to the denigration of women. That was a huge insight for me.

3. The interview I did with Prof. Loes Schenk-Sandbergen about how anti-socialism during the 1970s and 1980s shaped her career as an anthopologist and sharply delineated what she could say or do, professionally. This conversation really stayed with me, and the response from readers was incredible. Loes said it felt incredible to be heard and undestood after all these years.

4. The interview with Dr. Manynooch Faming. Our conversation covered a lot of ground that isn't avaialbe elsewhere in terms of information on Lao socialism and ethnic minority sexuality. 

5. My article on women in the Lao military. This is a great example of why Substack is such a valuable alternative for scholars. I wrote this up as an academic article originally, speaking to global debates about how women can best serve in militaries. Mine is the only existing account in English of the role women play in the Lao revolution. Editors (male!!!) rejected it as "too niche" for their "broad audience." That research could have stayed locked in a drawer forever, never accessible to the general public. Substack allows authors to side step academic prejudices and connect directly with their intended readership. Now that post and others like it have thousands of reads.

Where can I sign up?

Here!