I was very pleased to receive my first copy of "Education About Asia" and started this thread to open up a discussion about the magazine and it's contents. Many of the articles are fascinating as well as instructive, such as the articles about the Ainu-e, Japan's native peoples, "Genji to Godzilla," and "Performance Art in the Classroom: Teaching Through Kabuki and Chinese Opera." On page 45, there is an ad for Cobblestone Publishing featuring new resources for teaching about Asia. Could be useful for the library stipend.
Catherine
Dear Catherine (and everyone else),
I'm glad EAA has finally started to reach you folks. Let's take the discussion of using it to the "Asia in My Classroom" forum as I think it will be of general interest.
EAA was nearly killed off by the Association for Asian Studies board. Those of us focused on the classroom saved it by making subscriptions voluntary and by a letter-writing campaign. I often wish the articles were more substantive and the magazine has been slow to embrace the web, but I know all of the editors well and know how they struggle to deliver the best possible product.
http://www.aasianst.org/eaa-toc.htm
Lucien Ellington, the editor, will appreciate whatever feedback you may wish to offer. He's a fascinating fellow, a Mississippian who teaches in Tennessee (but lives across the border in Georgia), wrote a textbook on Japan, plays a mean harmonica, and is passionate about supporting teachers. His email address is:
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing and images in the periodical.
The resource section is priceless and even the ads have a lot to offer!
It has given me several ideas for "spin-offs" when teaching Ancient China to my 6th graders.
The Ainu-e have always intrigued me for keeping their culture despite the strong forces surrounding them.
I also appreciate Clay''s links to the magazine and editor, not to mention his and others efforts to keep
the magazine alive.
I enjoyed the periodical too, especially the article on Ainu-e. It made me hungry for more information about the Ainu and I found a great online tour by the Smithsonian Institute at http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/ainu.html.
thanks for the great link![Edit by="cforfar on Aug 22, 9:50:02 PM"][/Edit][Edit by="cforfar on Aug 22, 9:50:27 PM"][/Edit][Edit by="cforfar on Aug 22, 9:52:36 PM"][/Edit]
I just finished reading the article on the Ainue-e, and I could not help comparing them to the Native Americans of North America. There are so many similiarities that I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading about the indigenous of Japan rather than North America. Their diets were similar to some North American indigenous also their religion, salmon fishing and even the treatment they received from nieghboring emerging powers.
I was a bit amazed to read about their bear ceremony. First they raise the cub as a family member and then they kill it with arrows to set it free. I was wondering if anyone knew of anything similar?