Final essay - please post here

[Anonymous]

This spring I had the opportunity to participate in USC’s US China Institute’s seminar EAST ASIA FROM ORIGINS TO 1800. The experience was personally enriching and has provided me with many ideas and resources to take back to my classroom. As a requirement for the seminar, I developed a lesson plan on Chinese Immigration to the United States, which I am eager to present in my honors U.S. History class this fall. This lesson was inspired by the presentation of a guest speaker, Robert S. Wells, who talked about his recently published book, Voices from the Bottom of the South China Sea, which is about the sinking of a ship carrying Chinese immigrants returning home to Guangdong province.
I was a history major in college and my core emphasis was Medieval Europe, so I understandably enjoyed learning about ancient and medieval China, Korea, and Japan. I currently teach high school social studies and unfortunately this period is not covered in our standards, but I believe that there are ways I can incorporate some of the material into the high school curriculum.
Early in the seminar we studied the philosophical origins of Chinese and East Asian culture. The ideas of Legalism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Mohism arose out of a period of great turmoil in China and each sought to answer the question of what is the best way to order society. Professor Dube had us participate in “The Hundred Schools Debate,” between the competing schools of thought. This is an activity we could take back to our classrooms. Though we do not cover this period in high school world history, this debate could be modified to also include the ideas of the Ancient Greek and Enlightenment thinkers who are a part of our curriculum. I am also eager to include Chinese political philosophy in my introductory unit in government class where we explore theories on the origin of the state. Eastern political philosophy is quite a contrast to Social Contract theory.
I discovered many other tie-ins between the content of the seminar and the California high school social studies standards. I could develop a U.S. History or Government lesson tracing our merit based bureaucracy back to its origins in the Chinese civil service examination. The Qianlong emperor’s letter to King George III would also fit nicely into an economics lesson on international trade and Riccardo’s theory of comparative advantage and opportunity cost.
As China rises as a global power, understanding East Asian culture and history becomes more imperative. In the next few years, Los Angeles Unified School district will be introducing an ethnic studies requirement. I look forward to the opportunity to teach Asian Studies and potentially exploring in greater detail many of the topics covered in this seminar.

[Anonymous]

Ethnic Studies is becoming a mandatory requirement in the LA schools, and prior to taking this class I chose Asian Studies as a class I would teach to fill this requirement. At our school we already have novels and Geography books, but I feel after taking this course I can steer students towards some very cool and informative online content, and provide them with some engaging primary source material as well.
I chose to fit my lesson plan into our World History class, which was an obvious fit. I like that students will hopefully make a connection with Confucian ideology and the contemporary world. It is important as teachers that we keep exploring online content as another means to engage students because often we rely heavily on the textbooks that not only provided for us but mandated to be used.
I was pleased to see art lessons submitted as a final project- reminding me that the study of other cultures is not strictly a social science. When I visited the Asia Pacific Museum I was impressed to see how the four ancient philosophies carried over into art, and how the different ideologies and religions that developed in various East Asian countries manifested themselves visually.
I ended up incorporating the film I watched for the film review into my lesson. Maybe the film influenced me to choose women’s roles in traditional societies, in particular China, as a theme. I think it’s important for students to understand that the concept of “roles” is an ever evolving process, especially when associated with gender. Roles that both my male and female students will assume in this world is as of yet undefined. Students can learn that the world is dynamic and ever evolving and what identity and roll they choose to assume will be heavily influenced by their leaning.
edited by dhorowitz on 6/29/2015

[Anonymous]

The East Asia Seminar was a memorable experience, which inspired me as an educator. Because of this seminar, I feel confident in discussing, teaching, and engaging in conversations about East Asian topics. Although I am no expert in most arenas, I have acquired at least a working knowledge and a sense of direction when needed.
I find myself drawn to all things East Asian. I am more apt to converse with people about culture, politics, economics, and philosophies related to places such as China, Korea, and Japan. I have proceeded with finding ways to teach about East Asia while covering topics upon which, in previous years, I may not have seen the connection to East Asia. It is my intention to review my curriculum this coming school and look for more ways to be inclusive.
The seminar itself was engaging and informative. The rich supplies of resources that we received are especially helpful in creating lesson plans. For my curriculum unit I plan to include at least two of them to begin. I will utilize the source materials on Buddhist and Legalist foundations to have students begin a unit on applied law. The richness of the materials seems to lend itself to unlimited possibilities. I really appreciated being exposed to the history of Korea. Although I have had several encounters with people of Korean descent, including one of my first jobs as a stock person in a Korean market, it was the least known to me in terms of histories, origins and some of its early leaders.
I look forward to sharing all that I have learned and acquired with colleagues and especially the students. I pride myself on knowing my students; I am certain that they will enjoy this material and fully engage in the forthcoming lessons.
edited by tkuanda on 6/30/2015

[Anonymous]

Sandra Beltran
Class Review
East Asia from Origins to 1800

This class was full of surprises, at first I didn't know what to expect as this is the first time I have attended the institute. I feel that is was well organized and very informational. These are just a few highlights of the class.
Taking about the different Dynasties such as the Shang, This Dynasty ruled around 1700 to 1122 b.c.e. As many other dynasties the Shang Dynasty had fought to keep other clans under control and to expand and defend their kingdom, which means that they were at war most of the time. What called my attention to this dynasty is was their army which was made up of large numbers of foot soldiers, arches, cavalry riding horses and elephants. Another highlight of the class was when we talked about he different believes systems such as Buddhism, Islam, and Daoism among other Christianity. During the L.A Times Festival of Books we are able to expand our knowledge of the these different religions and how some of the originated in Asia. One of these useful books was the given to us at the fair and it really touched on the lecture of the day prior. This book talked about the Four Noble Truth, the first noble truth is the way we view suffering mortality and compassion. The second truth is about the three kids of desire. I didn't know there was a clear outline one is the desire of the sense of pleasure; the second is the desire of letting go of ‘ this means that we are using our mind to make decisions about our lives. I feel even if one does not follow this believes we can some how connect to our daily lives. Finally I was very interested in our, visitors such as the professor from CSULB when when he talked about the gardens and our tea ceremony was extremely insightful.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed my time in this seminar. When I think about my walks through the USC campus to class and all its greenery, it now reminds me of a Japanese garden. This class has been extremely informative. I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge about the Asian culture! And I feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface. This class exposed me to many aspects of Asia from its origin to the 1800 century. I think I could take this course again and still feel like there is new information I would learn as if it were the first time.

It has been an intriguing journey of discovering Asian culture. There are many topics discussed and presented in this class that could easily be applied to my current classroom. For example, in the beginning of the year when creating rules with students, we could read, “Chinese Fitness Report” to think about what is proper behavior in class. Also, my students’ and I could discuss the Legalist approach to dealing with situations.

I’ve received wonderful leads/ ideas on how to create a peaceful and calm class. Create some kind of ritual or meditation for the students! Which I already do, but I can add an Asian twist it. I can use Asian art, music and movement ( Tai Chi) in my classroom. This exposes my students to a new culture and way of life.

Personally, this class has reawakened my desire to learn more about other cultures, try new ways of living and travel to unknown lands. I have already incorporated tea time into my repertoire and I look forward to going to a Japanese style garden. This has been an amazing journey! Next stop, travel to Asia to experience the culture first hand!
edited by aafolabi on 6/30/2015

[Anonymous]

Sandra Beltran
Chinese History Museum
Origins
The birth and rise of the Chinese American in Los Angeles has drastically changed since the gold rush till present day. The immigration of Nationality Act allowed Asians in large number. Once the United States they were able to find greater jobs opportunities. These new entrepreneurs began to develop new businesses such as restaurants, markets, beauty salons and real states agencies among others. This new wave of Asians also became professionals in services such as law, medicine and banking.

Overcoming exclusion; In what is now Chinatown, was developed originally to exclude Chinese form owning property and also to prevent them from moving such enclave. However in 1952 the California Supreme Court found the exclusion laws to be unconstitutional. Although this was illegal Chinese Americans were not able to own property till 1963.

[Anonymous]

Dalia Coronel

This year I had the opportunity to attend the USC-U.S. China Institute and the focus for this session was East Asia from Origins to 1800s. I felt very happy to be a part of this experience because I have been looking for ways to incorporate Asian literature into my classroom. Attending the classroom discussions gave me a lot of insight about the things that as a teacher, I am not covering in class. My students, who mostly come from inner-city places, need to be exposed to various literary genres and this is not taking effect. As the English Department Chair at Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy, I began to change this last year, but, felt as if I was not given too much freedom to do so. This year, I have created my curriculum project on a Chinese novel and cannot wait to teach this over the summer and present my unit to my administrators to see if it can become part of the 9th grade curriculum. In addition, this year I had the opportunity to realize one of my biggest dreams. I had the opportunity to visit China in May and run the Great Wall of China Marathon. My students were definitely inspired by this and I began to teach them about China facts prior to my departure. I can honestly say that Dr. Dube and the USC US-China Institute definitely inspired me to pursue this. I had been wanting to do this race in 2011, but, I never actually thought that it would be possible. If it was not to all the historical, cultural and other traditions that I was exposed to through readings, then, I don’t think I would have mustered the courage to visit China. I want to thank the institute for this. Furthermore, as I continue to embark on my teaching career, I would like to increase the amount of multicultural literature that is taught at my school. I believe that Bright Star is a school that still needs a lot of guidance and assistance when it comes to choosing the curriculum that is taught in 9-12th grades and I would like to assist in this process. Eventually, I would like for students to visit museums and other informative places that display multicultural significance, so that they can learn a thing or two and continue to pass this on to future generations.

[Anonymous]

[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]Subject: It's only the beginning....[/font]
[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]It seems to me that the doorway to Asia has just opened for me and I cannot wrap my mind around finality quite yet. I get the feeling there is much more ahead on this journey of discovery. East Asia is a huge part of the world, hugely important in the global economy and so diverse yet somehow similar in some respects.[/font]
[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]I have just scratched the surface of learning, there is much more opportunity in my future quest through Asian studies. [/font]

[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]I enjoyed every part of this program which was professionally challenging, structured well with a blend of current information and history, balanced with media examples, guest speakers, and the common goal of educators working and learning together unified the process. [/font]
[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]I would highly recommend the seminar to other interested educators (from any subject background because as a studio art instructor I was not unacceptable to the historical inclination of the program). The dedication of some of my fellow educators who drove hundreds of miles to attend this seminar after instructing students all day encouraged and motivated me to be a part of this great group. This also speaks volumes towards the outreach intention of this program and it's foundation to provide a cultural bridge between people. I look forward to the next class and to becoming an alumni and possible traveler. [/font]

[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]I have become inspired by the East Asian Studies course to continue my personal learning with intention to share with my art students next school year. I have purchased "Chineasy" and I'm slowly learning Mandarin Chinese symbols and characters. I have registered for a free summer seminar about "China and the Forbidden City", at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Lastly, my traditional summer art class will be a Literati Ink class taught by master artist Seung-Yeon Oh from Seoul, Korea and I am very excited to try my hand at Asian brush work.[/font]

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