The topic of water resource management has many implications in areas including public health, fair access to safe drinking water, pollution and the environment, all levels of politics, agriculture, the economy, climate change and population sustainability. Water management is a top concern of both China and the USA that is a part of every economic development initiative.

What can we learn about water management from China?  What to do and what not to do?  

Access to clean water in California is a challenge. Much of our water comes from the northern part of the state, but the greatest demand is in the south. Increasing drought made worse by climate change is another area of concern. Debates over how groundwater is used is also in dispute between environmental groups and farmers. Even with clean water legislation, contaminated water runoff and chemical threats are concerning. It seems water, our most basic need, is politicized almost everywhere. 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/droughts-exposed-california-s-thirst-groundwater-now-state-hopes-refill-its-aquifers 

https://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/rb/RB_211EHRB.pdf

https://water.ca.gov/Water-Basics/The-California-Water-System

The lecture notes (at 22:37) that 94% of the population lives in the Eastern 45% of country... and that only 6% live in the Western 55% of land. The lecture also noted that minorities in the west speak their native languages which are not Mandarin.  So, how/why does China control the western part of country if it is populated by minority people that do not naturally speak Mandarin (Tibetans and Uighers) and who frequently revolt against the central government?  Chinese civilization may be 5000 years old, but the borders that now encompass so many minority people are a relatively recent phenomenon. 

I found the articles about shifts in population and the need for women to enter the workforce interesting.  My students read a short essay called "My Mother Never Worked" about how home labor such as child-rearing, cooking, and cleaning isn't valued.  As Covid changes our home/work structures, my students have noticed how much of the additional labor of at-home school and increased meal preparation has fallen to their mothers, even when both parents hold outside jobs.  It's not universal, but common enought that my students were surprised. Although  Japan is trying to entice mothers to return to the workforce through daycare opportunties, it seems the larger issue is a patriarchial workplace that favors long hours in the office. If men aren't willing to demand better work/life balance, the problem of population decline will be difficult to solve.  

Culture heroes can communicate myths about the origin of a group, myths that support group legitimacy, promote ethnocentricity

Culture hero myths may display supernatural elements or power which “prove” divine connection

Culture heroes can create traditions and mark the beginning of group culture

Culture heroes can justify state/ruler power

Culture heroes promote intra-ethnic group affinity links.  This promotes power of leaders of these groups

Culture heroes may promote inter-ethnic group affinity conflicts.  This promotes power of leaders, especially during warfare.

Culture hero myths conveyed orally can reach more people than the written word because literacy was very limited.

Culture heroes personify and simplify history – much simpler history than books

Culture heroes may promote group exceptionalism ideas & group supremacy.  The "mandate of heaven" concept is an example. 

Video: Is Japan a dying country?

Based on this article the rural Japan is depleting and quickly. There are many factors for this reason: low birth rates, marriages not a priority, high life expectancy, and economic crisis to name a few. The one factor that caught my eye was that marriages are not a priority therefore, low birth rates. I am also referring to the video: Is Japan a dying country?  At 3:08 minutes into the video, the viewer observes a young successful administrator, Akihito who marries outside of the human race. He decides to marry an Anime hologram, which he fell in love with. As a young boy, girls bullied Akihito and so he decided to marry a hologram. The Anime culture is certainly a strong presence in our own students, youth and adults of America. This situation leaves me with many questions in regards to tradition and culture of the Asian population. Do people have to be married in order to start a family? Why does this culture of Anime have such a strong hold on people? According to the video marriages were down by 580,000 one year.

I really enjoyed the materials that were provided for session 1 and think it was A great introduction to this seminar. All the materials fit very well into my curriculumas I teach ancient civilizations and actually have A model UN unit where we focus on the issue of access to clean water. I think A lot of the water resources and conversation of resource management could be A nice addition to the Model UN unit I do on access to clean water. I found it very interesting that Professor Dube mentioned that many scholars use the issue of water management as A lens into the formation of East Asian societies. I believe with the Model Un water unit I teach working this discussion inot other units would not only help prep students for the Model UN unit but also be A way to extend on that learning. What particularly interested me about these materials however was the discussion of Ancient Chineese culture, culture heroes, what drives technological change, and the five rolls sources. 

My colleague and I are considering using A guiding question to anchor our curiculum next year and that question is "What makes A civilization great?" I personally believe two of the main factors that make A civilization great are culture and technological advancement. I believe the discussion of culture heroes is A great way to get an insight into any specific culture. Culture heroes provide A common moral compass for members of any given community, the belief in common culture heroes also allows for more people to work together collectively to build A great civilization. I am no professional but I believe there are many similarities between culture heroes from different societies but there are also many differences which would make this A great topic for debates and argument writing. Next year I want to do A better job of working in deeper discussions about culture and technological advancement. i believe technological avancement is so important and i will probably use the question "what drives technological advancement?" as another underlying guiding question to steer discussion, debates, and argument writing in my classroom. 

As I have said previously I would like to do A better job of teaching the culture of different civilizations in my classroom. I believe I can definitely find A place to work the 5 rolls into my classroom. I am also A big believer in the use of sources in the classroom and I feel onne of the problems that I had as A first year teacher was finding primary sources that could be incorporated into the classroom so I was very pleased to be introduced to these. As we learned, these 5 roles were the foundation of Chinese education and culture for over 2,000 years. The fact they have been A staple in Chineese education for so long they are A no brainer to incorporate into the classroom. Also if they were such A staple they undoubtedly have had A major impact on Chineese culture. Confucianism is also one of the standards in my curriculum so that is another reason to use them in the classroom. 

I apologize for any typos, it has been A long week as my school just brought back students into A hybrid model for the first time this Monday. I greatly appreciate all the resources everyone has shared and I am looking forward to taking A deeper dive into all of these topics tomorrow night with you all!