chinese migration

[Anonymous]

Clay... your Surname in South Africa means "Zebra!" It's also available in French - lots of French Canadians have the surname/last name Dube.. but I always refer to the African version, which is so much prettier!

[Anonymous]

I was watching wrestling with my fiancé tonight and who should I see but . . . Kenzo Suzuki. Kenzo is huge! 6’3” and 250 pounds. He was born in Hekinan City, Aichi (Japan). He started his career in Japan by competing in the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Riki Choshu’s World Japan promotion. He currently wrestles for the WWE. Kenzo is escorted by Hiroko, his geisha, who acts as his translator. I don't always agree with the way the WWE sets up it's story lines. I remember watching Kenzo a few weeks ago. I don't recall exactly what happened but I know Kenzo was looking at one of the "hot" women wrestlers. His geisha, Hiroko, got angry and started yelling at him. Somehow, Hiroko and the "hot" woman wrestler engage in an off the mat wrestling match where they rip each others cloths off so they are left in their undergarments. This worries me if this is the only exposure some students are getting to the Japanese culture. I know a lot of my students enjoy watching wrestling. I'm not sure how we can use Kenzo Suzuki to encourage our students to learn about Asia. Maybe a research project. I know that women wrestling is big in Japan. Maybe we could do something with comparing and contrasting.

[clay dube]

In the 19th century many Chinese sought opportunities worldwide. We know, of course, about migrants who came to California and the Pacific Coast, participated in the Gold Rush and the building of the transcontinental railroads. And we know of the backlash these migrants suffered and how the US enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. Much less well known in the US is the story of Chinese migrants to other lands, including other places in the Americas and to Australia.

There's a journal dedicated to Chinese migration to the southern hemisphere:Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, which is available online. The most recent issue included an article about Chinese/English phrasebooks that were created to aid migrants and how these might be used with students today to explore the world of migrants. You can download the article at: http://chl.anu.edu.au/publications/csds/csds2013/csds2013_13.pdf

Here's the website to support the lessons: http://www.cv.vic.gov.au/stories/language-a-key-to-survival/ The lessons themselves are here:
http://www.chinesemuseum.com.au/education/resources/ Several could be readily adapted for general discussions of migration, whether contemporary or in the past. It's noteworthy that the Australians encourage study of California.

This collection is indicative of the increased commitment to teaching about China and East Asia in Australia.

[clay dube]

Thanks for the info on Dubé. The version without the accent (doobie, which is what I go by) is also a name found in India.

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