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AnonymousInterestingly, when I thought of Asian Literature I instantly thought of teaching a novel that is infused with Asian culture. However, the more I learn about Asia, the more I could flex my muscle when it comes to integrating Asian themes into my class. For an example, I have connected Fahrenheit 451 to censorship in China and North Korea. Asian Literature does not have to be a whole novel about Asia, but I think as long as the educator is integrating Asian tones/hints into their lesson then they are doing a good job of educating their students about the Asian culture.
I have used videos from youtube to compare the difference in study habits between Chinese, Indian, and American kids. My students were actually really interested in learning about other people's cultures. Another technology that I use is showing videos of Korean Pop, Japanese Pop, Chinese Pop...Music is a medium that connects everyone no matter what country they come from.
AnonymousThis may not be a book for Young Adult readers, given the very adult nature of the dialogue, but it is insightful as to the current state of life in China.
The title is China High – My Fast Times in the 010 – A Beijing Memoir, by ZZ. Published in April 2009 by St. Martin’s Press, the author describes his life upon returning to China after a time in America. He lived in Shanghai until age 14 when his family moved to the states to be with his father. After getting his law degree, he returns, but to Beijing and tries to find a way to fit in with the changing China that is around him. The reason this is not for young readers is the course language, descriptions of sex, drugs and the rock and roll lifestyle of our protagonist.
Yet, it is his insider’s perspective that gives us an interesting view of the current China. He discusses the practice of “guan xi” – the favors that are developed and are a form of currency -- the bartering, corruption, lifestyles of natives, returning Chinese from America and Europe and the foreigners who want a piece of the action. Add to the mix an inside perspective of the Chinese prison system and you have a dark, insightful and enlightening piece of non-fiction.
Here’s one selection of ZZ’s views of the current China:
“In the American jigsaw, people get a bigger piece for freedom of speech, but smaller pieces for other things. Whether on paper or in practice, there is little tolerance for driving without a license, fudging tax records, or unwarranted issuance of prescription drugs for kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies. In the Chinese jigsaw, the pieces are sized just the opposite. In exchange for the masses keeping quiet about civil rights and suffrage, more leeway is given in a great many things related to economics” (210).
While one man’s perspective, I read it while in Beijing and it shined a light on the lifestyles I was able to observe over a five-day period.
AnonymousHere is a great book for your students enamored with Harry Potter style tales with an Asian influence. Author Cindy Pon creates a strong female protagonist in the novel Silver Phoenix, a tale set during the Xi Xia dynasty. A young woman, Ai Ling, goes in search of her father, rather than being blackmailed into a loveless marriage with a local merchant. But there are dark forces afoot that are challenging her quest. When she meets a young man on a quest of his own, their partnership strengthens and divides them.
I love finding books with strong female characters, as the majority of my student readers are girls and I want them to know there are a wealth of fantasy/adventure tales beyond the vampire tales of Forks, WA. Still, I am thankful Stephanie Meyer has hooked many of them into reading.
This is Cindy Pon’s first effort. Her second novel, Fury of the Phoenix, is due in March 2011 and I hope the San Diego-based author creates more exciting tales.
clay dubeLanguage arts teachers know these lists far better than I. Please feel free to add to or comment on these titles. I pulled them from http://crl.startest.org/crl. E = elementary, MS = middle school, HS = high school
How do titles get approved? Can teachers initiate review of a title?
It's striking that none of the approved authors lives in China.
Bosse, The Examination (HS)
Buck, The Good Earth (HS)
Fritz, Homesick (foreigner in 1920s China, E, MS)
Hong, How the Ox Star Fell from Heaven (E)
Hong, The Empress and the Silkworm (E)
Louie, Yeh Shen: A Cinderella Story from China (E, MS)
Mah, Chinese Cinderella (MS)
Pilegard, The Warlord's Puzzle (E)
Tsuikiyama, Women of the Silk (HS)
van Gulik, The Red Pavilion: A Judge Dee Mystery (HS)
Young, Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China (E)
Books that are primarily about Chinese American experiences:
Lee, Nim and the War Effort (E)
Solvenz-Low, Lion Dancer (E)
Yep, The Child of the Owl (E, MS)
Yep, Cockroach Cooties (E)
Yep, Dragonwings (E, MS)
Yep, Ribbons (E)
Yep, Dragon's Gate (MS)
Yep, The Journal of Wong Ming: A Chinese Miner (E)
Lee, China Boy (HS)
Portions set in China:
Tan, The Joy Luck Club (HS)
Mah, Falling Leaves (HS)
[Edit by="Clay Dube on Sep 7, 12:07:52 AM"][/Edit]
Anonymous“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
… segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.
Martin Luther King Jr.
AnonymousYour comments remind me of the 'famous' remarks made by the recently deceased Rodney King, who was a victim of the police brutality and became a modern cause celebre' a la Rosa Parks and was one of the basic reasons to change the Los Angeles Charter. Among other changes, the new Charter made the LAPD Chief's term into two 4-years maximum. Prior to that police term was indefinite. His famous remark, "Can't we all get along", was splashed across the Time magazine cover with his photograph!
AnonymousI have support ELs in my class who struggle with the English language and reading in general. Does anyone know of any short interesting Asian stories that would be good for this type of class to read and maybe spark an interest in Asia?
clay dubeHi Antonio,
China's Foreign Languages Press publishes many works for children in English, Spanish, and other languages. These can be purchased via the web from a number of companies.
Cheng and Tsui http://www.cheng-tsui.com/
China Books http://www.chinabooks.com/
China Sprout http://www.chinasprout.com/
There are also graphic novels available from these and other publishers (AsiaPac http://www.asiapacbooks.com/ ).
AnonymousThe interesting thing is students are very interested in reading about East Asia. Studuents love to read about other cultures and discuss how they see themselves in the literature. At least this is what I like to discuss. They are usually trawled with the fact that things are a lot different then what they thought things were like. I also realize how much my students truly enjoy problem solving. With this, they enjoy looking at propaganda, cartoons and political cartoons and trying to figure out the message. These are just a few ways students are reading about East Asia (possibly) without actually reading per say. This is one way, I plan to introduce Asia to my students.
AnonymousMy Language Arts textbook begins with All American Slurp a story about a Chinese immigrant family adjusting to American way of life and the challenges they had at first. This is what I will use at the same time I'm teaching the China chapter in Social Studies.
clay dubeHi Antonio -
Thanks for mentioning this story. Could you give a bit more info on the story, such as the reading level and author?
I'm guessing this is the story touched upon at these websites:
scroll down to unit 6, exploring cultures for a ppt and more
http://www.scottsboro.org/~flewis/SF%20Reading%20Street/Sixth%20Grade/Sixth%20Grade%20Reading%20Street%20Teacher%20Resources.htm
Glencoe pages
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/course/course1/unit/theme1/webresources/allamerican.shtml
a video lesson using it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN6QSv3zBq8
Holt, Reinhart, Winston handouts on it
http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_mk/la/latm/LITRES01.PDF
a copy of the story
http://smartone.typepad.com/files/all-american-slurp-story.doc
Can others suggest student-friendly stories or articles on cultural collisions?
AnonymousThank you Clockwood for the wonderful idea! I am scheduled to visit the Japanese & Chinese gardens at the Huntington in January. My students are only in 2nd grade and I've been trying to think of an exercise they could do when they are there, beyond just walking around and looking at the beautiful gardens. After reading your post, I've come up with an idea. They could take notes and write down what things they see and adjectives to describe these things. The students could also draw sketches of the garden's plants, bridges, statues, ponds, etc. Then back at school they could use their notes for writing a Haiku and also create a beautiful watercolor picture to go with it. Thank you again for the inspiration!
AnonymousShould we "just camp out" with the old dead white guys who wrote Gatsby, Mice and Men, Hamlet, etc...? That is not who our students are. I have this ongoing conflict with a few of the purists in my English Department, who think that "Multi-cultural literature" is somehow dumbing down the curriculum! Never mind that we are teaching in an urban school in downtown LA, where 50% of the students are bused in from South LA. Never mind that white kids make up about 5% of our population. Never mind that we live in a global community in which being internationally mindedness is a necessity. Never mind building an empathetic bridge to the human beings we are relating our knowledge to and have such a hugh responsibility in bringing up. Go figure!
AnonymousNaturally purists pooh pooh literature from other countries because it reveals the contributions of peoples thought to be "half-devil and half-child" as stated by Rudyard Kipling himself in the poem "White Man's Burden." I enjoy using literature from other cultures to illustrate state standards and key concepts in World History, US History, and Economics and Government classes.
AnonymousThank you Clockwood for mentioning the Japanese Tanka poem. I will be taking my students to a Japanese garden in January, and I have been looking for some other options for poetry writing in addition to Haiku. It looks like the Tanka Poem gives them a little more opportunity to add more meaning. I am excited to have my students really observe the beauty of nature in the gardens and be able to express what the see in great detail and meaning through poetry. 