Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs.
Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
Three Little Pandas in a Pandemic
A Book for Families
Imagine the confusion for young children who left their toys at home when they went on vacation, and then never returned. Instead, they found themselves back in the land of their grandparents, often bouncing from one temporary home to another.
ZGBriefs | March 10, 2022
Who are the Chinese Diaspora in Ukraine? (March 4, 2022, The World of Chinese) The trade, education, and human connections between China and Ukraine—in infographics.
ZGBriefs | March 3, 2022
China quietly plans a pivot from ‘zero COVID’ (March 1, 2022, Science)
Under what’s now called “dynamic zero COVID,” localities have leeway to “tailor the measures to local conditions,” says HKU virologist Huachen Zhu. But the national government is pushing back at what it considers unnecessary local restrictions.
When Nixon Went to China
Fifty years ago on February 21, 1972, Air Force One touched down at Beijing’s Capitol Airport. President Richard Nixon, his wife, and a rather large entourage of officials were onboard. That this visit was momentous is an understatement as it marked the beginning of a thaw that would not only change the relationship between the US and China, but would change the world.
ZGBriefs | February 24, 2022
3 Lessons for Chinese Churches from Herman Bavinck (February 18, 2022, Christianity Today) The Dutch theologian’s concern for the catholic, contextual, and public nature of the Christian faith can help congregations overcome sectarianism and stereotypes.
Public Lecture: “The Rise of China and What It Means for the Church”
Attend the latest lecture in the series Exploring Christianity and Culture in China: Today and Yesterday, presented by the US-China Catholic Association, the China Academic Consortium, and ChinaSource.
ZGBriefs | February 17, 2022
Keeping the Flies Out (February 3, 202, China File) And so China has come full circle, from the bewildered sleeper that emerged from the Cultural Revolution rubbing its collective eyes to the isolated Middle Kingdom it has historically preferred to be, from the Open Door to the nearly closed.
ZGBriefs | February 10, 2022
Life inside the Olympics bubble: Limbo between China and the world (February 8, 2022, The Los Angeles Times) It feels like a parallel universe of ID-assigned bar codes, throat swabs and room service delivered by swift staff wearing goggles and full protective gear.
ZGBriefs | February 3, 2022
Give Me Anything But Dumplings this Lunar New Year (January 31, 2022, The World of Chinese)
Yes, dumplings are well-loved by some, but for a large part of the population outside of northern China, eating dumplings for the Lunar New Year is far from a given. In some regions of the country, they are absent, or only play a minor role on the dinner table.