Make-up assignments

[Anonymous]

The necessity to make up a missed seminar class led me to UCLA’s Bunche Hall, where Professor Jin Liu from Georgia Tech, the first speaker in a public lecture series, “Transformations and Innovations of Chinese Cultural Tradition in the Era of New Media," which is partially supported by the Education Section of the Chinese Consulate-General in Los Angeles, gave a talk on “Deviant Writing and Youth Identity: Representation of Dialects with Chinese Characters on the Internet.” Here she posited the notion that on the Internet, local dialects, ones that were forbidden, were reemerging, offering features of local culture that also embodied “the intrusion of oral features into writing” and is the “textual representation of auditory information.” Especially within the context of the alphabetization of Chinese and Chinese dialects in the May Fourth Vernacular Movement period, leading to the rapid growth of written Cantonese in Hong Kong since the 1970s and the Southern Min Taiwanese writing movement in Taiwan in recent decades, the writings of local dialects left “sporadic and fragmentary traces in modern Chinese history” which excluded local dialects in schools.
Prof. Liu’s lecture began with the examination of the purpose dialects on the Internet served stating that her study investigates “how written dialectal words are explored to mark a distinct visual style and to articulate a distinct local youth identity”. As much of her research focuses on the “local youth identity” she used popular lyrics from rap artist of varying provinces to display how youth culture combined with the force of the Internet caused a widespread popularization of the movement.

Her concluding point examined the concept of “dialect sound” using rap lyrics to support the subtle and not so subtle differences among the various dialects. As a fair portion of her talk used the various dialects she researched – and continues to research – much of the nuances in her speech was lost to me. However, when she compared the three different VHS covers of “Tom and Jerry” the characters for the titles, as representation of the local dialects, was obvious to even the novice. Additionally, it would be easy to imagine – as is the case in the United States – meaning and effect would get lost in translation, even within the same language.
Leaving us to contemplate: who does one deal with localization in the scope of globalization. How can we achieve real globalization in contrasts to psuedoindividualism.
Citation: Deviant Writing and Youth Identity: Representation of Dialects with Chinese Characters on the Internet. Chinese Language and Discourse, vol. 2, no.1, 2001, 58-79.

[Anonymous]

One cold gray morning I joined a team of teachers on a bus ride that took 4 hours to arrive at the Manzanar War Relocation Camp, near Bishop. We received a blustery welcome as described in James Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s book Farewell to Manzanar. Wind was blowing from every direction! Strong gusts blew through decorative Japanese fabric sheets, printed with Japanese characters. The site was alive with floating spirits swimming in and out of the wind.

This day was special as there were many tourists who arrived for the annual journey to Manzanar. We were welcomed by taiko drummers, and a special program was organized by Japanese college groups commemorating ancestors who trekked through Manzanar during WWII. We honored the Japanese who gave up their lives forced by the US government to relocate during WWII, when Japanese Americans were feared to be loyal to the enemy.

Manzanar today is quite barren, minus a few buildings. Most of the original buildings are now gone. The original high school gym has been converted to a visitor center, where one can explore photo exhibits, watch videos, and explore rebuilt model homes the Japanese Americans lived in on site.
edited by cgao on 1/28/2016

[Anonymous]

In order to make up one of the sessions I missed I attended the optional class at the Huntington Library focused on Chinese and Japanese gardens. This was one of the best lessons I attended and I was so glad I made the choice to go. I was pleased to see that our speakers for the day were true professionals in their field. Kendall Brown's presentation covered the fundamentals of the Japanese garden. His presentation inspired me to buy his book, which is full of a rich history on the Japanese garden. One of my favorite things about Brown's presentation was the way in which he organized the information in his book, his presentation took us through the different chapters in his book. These chapters describe a rich history of Japanese gardens and how they have changed throughout the years. It was interesting to learn about how the Japanese portrayed themselves as peaceful and "composed" at world fairs through the advertisement of the Japanese garden. Following this push in world fairs the gardens then became an attraction in the United States. I was also surprised to learn that throughout WWII only two Japanese gardens were destroyed in the United States. I was also surprised to learn that the gardens at the Huntington are one of the most impressive and oldest gardens in the U.S. The gardens are truly peaceful and simply beautiful and are today seen as "points of pride" in any location that houses them.

[Anonymous]

Visiting the Huntington Library to make up a missed session turned out to be a very great opportunity to learn so much about a the local gardens. I was impressed with the work done by Duncan Campbell who is the overseer of the Chinese garden at the Huntington. His presentation about Chinese gardens was very informative, starting with the fact that there is no such thing as a "Chinese Garden." Campbell says there are only garden types in China. Meaning that there is not one simple look for a Chinese garden. However there are certain elements that all Chinese garden types have, and this is; plant life, water, structures, and stones. What I found most impressive about the Chinese gardens were the structure types that are included into the gardens. For example the gates at the entrances of the gardens symbolize leaving one world and entering another. This idea of being transported to another place fascinates me. Another great part of visiting the Huntington Library was getting a tour of the gardens by Duncan Campbell. The Chinese garden at the Huntington will be the largest Chinese garden in the world when it is finished, currently it is 12 acres. The garden at the Huntington includes precious details that makes it one of the most luxurious gardens; such as master calligraphy and carved oak that was delivered from Chinese craftsmen. Most impressive is a huge stone near the end of the gardens loop that balances perfectly in it's place. Campbell explained the efforts that go into setting a piece such as that stone and all other details that go into such an enormous garden. It was a true honor to get this tour from him.

[Anonymous]

0 0 1 490 2798 Los Angeles Unified School District 23 6 3282 14.0 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:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria;} Political Scientist and Georgetown University professor Andrew Scobell and UC San Diego professor Tai-Ming Cheung spoke about President Xi Jing Ping’s sweeping reforms over Chinese security. Three salient points were:

(1) Xi’s reforms are more powerful/significant than Mao’s
(2) PLA is a very powerful, influential force in foreign and domestic politics
(3) China is now seen as an assertive power

This is determined by the specific issues and phases of Chinese policy implementation. Three policy areas:

(1) Purely Military – where PLA influence is expanding. Here, the PLA has two major roles: depend the communist party power and secure China’s borders, securing sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests.

(2) Mixed Civil-Military Issues- competition with many actors
example- Air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Space overlapping Korea and Japan. PLA imposed flying regulations unbeknownst to Korea and Japan. PLA air force advocated for AIDA for years, and the air force wrote up the regulations and made final decisions on them. This was a jolt to Korea , Japan, and world. It is potentially dangerous because it implies the need for Chinese permission to fly over this area. This was a symbolic move by China to control air space.

(3) Purely Political- which reduces, or appears to reduce, PLA influence. The one belt, one road (OBOR) issue is China’s plan’s to secure trade with over 60 countries, connected by one road on land, crossing through the Middle East and into Europe, and one maritime route connecting Africa to Europe. While China has said it would comply with the “Three No’s” (No to national interference, no to increasing sphere of influence, and no to hegemony), critics seem to think China is secretly trying to beef up its energy national security.

Military Issue-central military commission
PLA has two roles: (1) keep the community party in power
Politically obedient](2) secure china’s borders, secure sovereignty territorial integrity and national interests

Conlusions
-If there are plenty of powerful losers, which means military opposition to President Xi’s reforms will be considerable
-President Xi’s ability to fully implement reforms will have major impact on his overall authority and goals of building a strong China and strong military
-Reforms will require much of Xi’s attention. These could impact other reform priorities (economic and social).
-Another sign of re-emergence of a national security is a state mentality for the Xi regime. (From Mao to Deng, the focus was on state and economic development, but with Xi, his focus is on creating a national security state.)

This information is purposeful for students in understanding China’s perspective for decision-making during current President Xi’s regime. Equally important is how the rest of the world responses to China’s decisions as China is slowly moving towards the direction of being gaining its position among the Super Powers. What is also significant is how the Chinese people are reacting to these changes: if they are supportive or challenging these decisions, and how the government and media responds to its citizens.

[Anonymous]

To make up Saturday session that I missed, I decided to participate in the field trip to the Huntington Library to learn about Chinese & Japanese Gardens. This was the first time visiting the Huntington Library and I was impressed! I live in the San Gabriel Valley and I can't believe I had not visited the Huntington Library. I was very excited to visit and also be learning about the Chinese & Japanese gardens at the Huntington.

Chinese Garden: I think what first went through my head as I walked through my first Chinese garden was the feeling of being transformed to a different place in a different era. I think this is what is so powerful about field trips for students, is actually being able to visit and experience it for themselves. From visiting the Chinese Garden & the lecture "Chinese Gardens: Here & There" by Duncan Campbell (10/17/2015), I learned that:
[font=Arial]-Henry Huntington created a 9 million piece collection that is available for researcher at the LIbrary at the Huntington Library.[/font]
-Water conservation has ensued at the Huntington, having cut their water consumption by half, despite not required given government exemption
-Gardens are critical institutions in China; there is no such thing as a Chinese garden
-The Garden of Flowing Fragrance is the largest Chinese style garden outside of China and embodies plants from both here (West) and there (East)
-The Chinese gardens are inviting with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background, Oak tree,
-Gardens are what me make of them; “engine house,” it’s supposed to be a place where people visit and respond to the garden.

Map of Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library.

(I learned the Chinese character for Garden & its importance during the lecture).

Japanese Gardens: I had the same experience visiting the Japanese garden at the Huntington Library. I was impressed by the grandeur of the garden and the fact that it was my first time in a Japanese garden. It was also so enlightening to learn about how extensive and renowned Japanese gardens are in the United States from Professor Kendall Brown's lecture on "Japanese Gardens Beyond Japan." From his lecture I learned:
-There are more Japanese gardens in North America than there are in Japan.
-The first Japanese garden was put in display at the American Centennial exhibition in Philadelphia, so it is older than other American traditions like hamburgers and hot dogs.
-Japanese-style gardens in my America reflect American attitudes of Japan.
-Japanese-style gardens in America are not “authentic” Japanese because they include American trees and local plants, so they’re instead American constructs of what an ideal Japanese garden.

This was such an amazing experience and I hope to bring my students to visit the gardens very soon!

[Anonymous]

As part of a make up assignment for missing the very first class session of the USC-China Institute, I decided to visit the Bower's Museum in Orange Count and check out their ongoing exhibit the "Ancient Arts of China: A 500 Year Legacy." Most of the art pieces date from the Ming Dynasty and are borrowed from the Shanghai Museum in China and other pieces from local museums like the Pasadena's Pacific Asia Museum. Some of the pieces that stood out to me were the terra cotta horse statues that date from the Ming Dynasty (see pic below) and there were some amazing robes from the Qing Dynasty that were decorated with flowers, dragons, butterflies and were beautiful and ornate and demonstrated the elegance of Chinese dress by courtesans (see pic below). I am planning a field trip with my students next month to the Bowers Museum to check out some of the amazing exhibits. If you would like to visit the Bowers, I recommend two things:
1. Teacher Open House: The Bowers Museum offers professional development for teachers in the evening or weekends and teaches about their exhibits and also have curators speak. Link: http://bowers.org/index.php/education/k-12-for-educators
2. Bowers Field Trip Grant: I applied for and received a grant to cover the cost of a school bus to the Bowers Museum.
Link: http://bowers.org/index.php/education/scholarships

[cgao]

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