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Rob_Hugo@PortNWOk guys, I have chosen the area for my lesson plan: The Rape of Nanjing: An Undeniable History in Photographs. As I research further, I will post web sights that might be of interest to you in developing your lesson plans (social science teachers). "Comfort Women" and "bound feet" have already been done, so I wanted to do something different. This one is mine! I have wanted to do something on this topic for years, since it is rarely mentioned in our texts. I know there is a college professor in San Francisco that does an entire semester on the issue.
For those of you who are not familiar with the topic, it concerns the Japanese invasion of China and the sacking of its capital city, Nanking, in 1937-38, during WWII. The attrocities would rival the Nazis: beheading, burned, bayoneted, buried alive and disembowled; you get the drift. They estimate that approximately 370,000 Chinese men, women and children were killed, raped and mutilated.
One of the initial websites I have found is http://www.tribo.org/nanking. It discusses a new book on the subject: "The Rape of Nanking: An Undenialable History in Photographs" by James Yin and Shi Young. Both are Chinese researchers, and the book has been published in English and Chinese.I have read the background on the book, but not the book yet. It has over 400 photographs, which would be very helpful in planning a lesson. Several years ago I started a book on the same subject, "The Rape of Nanking" by Iris Chang. I never did finish it at the time, because it was very depressing. I still have it, but probably will not be able to locate it before this class is over. She has since followed that book with two others: "The Chinese in America, a Narrative History" and "Thread of the Silkworm". I do know she went into several years of psychotherapy, after she wrote the first book. It is that "rough". I also know I will have to very careful with content and pictures in our conservative district. That fact alone should be a real challenge.
Wish me well! If anyone finds anything they think would help, please let me know.
AnonymousVery interesting topic! I do address this in my World History and Cultures class. I would love to see what you come up with in your research--you're right, our books have nothing to say on the topic.
AnonymousVery disturbing news. I learned today that Iris Chang, the author of "The Rape of Nanking", committed sucide late last year. She was found dead in her car, about 50 miles from San Francisco, of a self inflicted gun shot. She was in the process of writing another book regarding the Phillipines. She left a husband and a 2 year old son.
AnonymousI have found a very interesting web site if your are interested in incorporating the Rape of Nanking into your curriculum. Check: http://www.fatherryan.org/holocaust/holocaust77/rapenanking.htm
You would have to be very careful on what pictures you chose, due to the nature and content, but some are milder then others and could be used.
AnonymousOkay, I will bite on this thread, although I think it is far too specific for a thread. I think we might want to go with "atrocities of Asia", because that would be a better thread.
In essence, the power of Japan in the modern era reared its ugly head here, before the eventual hubris. If you look in our text, China is responsible for much greater atrocities, so to single out Japan is unfair. I don't want to be an apologist for Japan, but let's look at the context.
AnonymousI am not picking on China. I just thought it would be a good idea for a lesson plan, since not allot have been done, and there are about two sentences referencing the issue in our book.
AnonymousThis web site is not now operable. I even had to take it out of my assignment for the students.
AnonymousI just checked on the site and it is up again. Of course, if it is unreliable then you don't want to include it in your lesson. I spent a little time looking at it and I thought that many of the pictures were too disturbing to show to my students.