Final Essays - please post here

[Anonymous]

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:107%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Taking the US/China Relations Course was not only a tremendous learning experience for me as an individual, it also helped me to incorporate the culture and history of East Asia into my curriculum. Because I teach World History and US History, I will be able to introduce a lot of the material that we learned in my own classes.
JAPAN
The lessons that we learned about the experience of the average Japanese during WWII were very important to me because I did not have much knowledge about that time period in Japan. This class allowed me to be much more informed about the Japanese experience. From Japanese resistance to the war, the role of women towards the end of the war and the mass starvation that was experienced by the civilian population, all of these things are vital to understand Japan’s participation in the war. In my US history classes I plan on comparing and contrasting the experience of civilian life in Japan and in the US during the war. In my world history classes I will use the readings and the information that I learned to better explain the Japanese rationale for attacking the United States and also for their unfortunate refusal to surrender.
In my US History class, I will share with my students the experiences of when I visited the Manzanar concentration camp. Because I missed the first day of class, I opted to visit Manzanar on my way back from a trip and I am very glad that I went. I was able to visit the site where thousands of Japanese-Americans were kept against their will. Reading some of their journals and being in that isolated geographic location helped me to understand the isolation that they must have felt being so far from their homes. I can’t wait to cover this material with my students.
CHINA
Learning about China was particularly of great importance to me because of the current geo-political process. China is now a global power and its interests are increasingly clashing with those of the United States. This will undoubtedly result in further tensions and it is important for me to be able to accurately articulate the historical process which has led to current US/China relations. My students ask a lot of questions about China so this class was a huge help because I can now provide better answers.
Because a big portion of my classes focuses on imperialism and colonization, learning about the colonization of China (Japanese, British, Portuguese, American…etc.) will allow me to better education this history to my students. I also want to do a unit in the future where I will compare the colonization of China with the colonization of Latin America.
Lastly, I now have much more material and knowledge about Chairman Mao and the Chinese/Cultural Revolution so that will allow me to better explain the material to my students and I am sure that they will be fascinated by the material because a major portion is about the role of young people in China.
KOREA
Learning about the history of Korea was fascinating. I know about the political differences between the north and the south but I didn’t know much about the history of the people, the culture and the present day geo-political role that both nations play in the region and in the world. What we learned about Korea will help me in both of my classes because I always have a unit in both classes that focus on Korea; Korean War in US History and the role of the Korean War in the context of the Cold War in my World History class.
Although our school doesn’t have an Asian population, I always make sure that my students clearly understand the role that Asia plays in the world and the deep roots that Asian-Americans have here in the United States, especially in California. Because of our proximity to Koreatown, Little Tokyo and Chinatown, I hope to be able to take my students on fieldtrips to these communities so that they can learn hands-on about the rich history and culture of the people.

[Anonymous]

When I join the USC-CHINA Institute for the second time, I was looking to gain a more in depth knowledge and become more informed across time; learn about China’s ancient history its progression and development as a result of contact or lack of contact with other civilizations other than commerce and trade exchanges. Looking back the variety and wealth of expert presented by the China Institute contributed to expand my knowledge, beyond Chinese inventions and commonly known present day technological contributions. For example, the invention of fireworks, the counting system of the abacus, the legacy of the silk road/silk industry, the establishment of expansive commerce and trade networks across vast geographic areas, engineering ways to address floods and harnessing the daunting task of terrace agriculture, metallurgy and philosophy among many other lasting legacies evident in present day. I also appreciated and value the opportunity to participate in the interactive lectures, symposiums and events to promote literacy and raised awareness on the issues inherent to present day China and its people. The lectures were structure in such a way as to present not just China’s issue, but an encompassing history, evolution and adaptation the Asian continent has endured. Central to the China Institute, were the specificity of lectures presented by expert scholars in their particular field. The poetry and growth of Korea is noteworthy, given the relatively short period of time it took Korea to come of age and surpassed the masters of the west and other neighboring Asian countries, on perfecting the commerce learn skills and technologies of the west. Poetry, Cultural traits inherent to each country and geographic areas were evident in that art and artifacts created in each era/period serves as a visual diary of the intricacies of each design, each metal object, each of the items created in specific village, from specific materials for specific function, were for the most part of utilitarian value inherent to a particular locality. I learn that traditions, such as arts and crafts were passed on by one generation to another. The best way to explain the wealth of information to my middle school students is by making personal connections, compare and contrast how cultures across continents have traditions pass on from families to families and that is just the way they do things in the community. I will continue to relate the information I learned about China’s by constantly pointing out China’s geography and constantly making references to our colorful world map in the classroom, to explain the impact of physical barriers and towering mountain ranges immortalized in breathtaking poetry.

[cgao]

Please post your final essays here.

[Author]

Posts