Self-introductions

[stubing]

Hi everyone! We are looking forward to meeting online and getting to know you over the course! Please use this thread to introduce yourself.

Please upload a photo of yourself. Go to "my account," then click on the edit tab, and upload a photo at the bottom. Make sure you click save!

[clay dube]

I'm Clay Dube, director of the USC U.S.-China Institute. I'm really looking forward to this seminar with Prof. Vinayak Bharne. He's had such a wealth of experience in the region and, as a working architect and urban planner, is intimately involved in thinking about how design can facilitate life, work and community.

My own work is in Chinese history, particularly 20th and now 21st century economic and social history. I love to travel and enjoy photography, reading and films. I'm a bit of a podcast junkie, so don't be bashful about suggesting ones you've found interesting and useful.
Here's a photo from 1984, but I include it because it was partly seeing a picture of the Leshan Buddha in a textbook that interested me in going to China. I got there in 1982, but it took me a couple years to get to Sichuan.

[Amy Stamm]

Hi everyone,

My name is Amy Stamm, and I teach at a tiny special education high school in Northampton, MA. I taught incarcerated students for years before this, and I'm so appreciating working in a school and context in which the first priority is to do everything we can to help our students to feel safe and cared for. Plus, I am now able to bicycle to work, which fills me with happiness every single day.

I started taking courses with NCTA a number of years ago, and I've loved every one of them. I'm especially excited about this class because I have had a lifelong fascination with design and architecture. I'm viscerally affected by space and aesthetics, and the way different elements shape our moods, interactions, and choices is fascinating to me. How cultural values are expressed through social, visual spaces and how people learn visual techniques and design preferences are things I would like to better wrap my mind around.

[Taylor Bub]

Hi everyone,

My name is Taylor Bub and I am a 4th year teacher in LAUSD.  I teach Biology, Physiology and Psychology. I find it important to explore different cultures from around the world and ensure that every student feels welcome, valued and represented within the classroom.  At our school we have an architecture and digital design magnet and I often work closely with those who are in the magnet.  I am looking forward to gathering ideas that can be used in cross curricular activities.

[Joanna Bourque]

Greetings!

My name is Joanna Bourque. I teach visual arts in elementary school (K-5). I have been teaching art integrated with various cultural themes for almost a decade. I have always held an interest in Asian arts and cultures. In college, my studio art focus was Japanese woodblock printmaking and I also was an Asian Studies minor. Having had studied Chinese language for four years and after having taken on tutoring and teaching Chinese 101 for my professor, I had even contemplated becoming a Chinese language teacher instead of an art teacher. 

I try to provide art lessons for my students each year that are related to Asian art and cultural themes, and I have been taking online seminars, webinars, and courses related to Asian art, history, and culture for a few years now. I am excited to delve more into Asian architecture and design and look forward to sharing our ideas.

[Peggy Lovro1]

Hello everyone, my name is Peggy Lovro. I teach Mandarin Chinese and Freshan seminar at a magnet high school located in Norwalk, Connecticut. I have taken a few courses here at USC and find them very beneficial to my professional development, as well as exploring the Asian culture from different perspectives. Asian architecture and urbanism has been a topic that I am interested in learning more. I look forward to learning from and working with you all.

[Nina Zhou]

Hi everyone! My name is Nina Zhou, and I am currently teaching high school History and Social Sciences at a progressive independent school in Santa Monica, CA. Previously, I taught high school History at an independent school in Honolulu, HI, including an upperlevel elective on East Asian studies. As a third-culture person who calls Beijing, Vancouver, and Los Angeles home, I grew up navigating the different cultural and historical landscapes of East Asia and the West. In college, I studied International Relations and Asian Studies, focusing on the political and cultural spheres of China and Japan and their relationship with the U.S. I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese and conversational in Japanese, having studied abroad in Tokyo and conducted field research throughout Japan.

I've always been interested in the programming and curriculum coming out of the U.S.-China Institute at USC, and I'm really excited about this opportunity to learn about an aspect of East Asia that I am less familiar with--its art, asethetics, and architecture. Last year, I taught an Asian Studies course that included a focus on the art of China and Japan. It was the first time I incorporated the study of art and art history into my curriculum, and I really loved how well the students reacted to the more artistic components of the course. Since my academic background is more focused on political science and economics, the experience pushed me to expand my own knowledge of East Asia. Looking forward to learning more awesome things alongside each of you this summer 🙂

[Nia Gipson]

Hello All, 

My name is Nia and I teach high school STEAM/Engineering/Environmental Science. Our school has several international students from East Asia and I want to incorporate more narratives from that region into my teaching and broaden my own understanding of that region. I do have an architecture unit where students design and build models of their own sustainable designs, so it would be great for me to incorporate other design perspectives into my teaching. My father is also an architect, so I enjoy learning about his profession and having new conversations topics to dicuss. I am very excited to be taking this course! I hope to learn a lot!

[Madelyn Masterson]

Hello! 

My name is Madelyn Masterson and I am a 3rd year teacher in LAUSD.  I teach Biology at John F. Kennedy high schooI. This will be my first course in asian studies and I am looking forward to learning ideas on how to incorporate the study of art and history into our units. Increasing the culural value in my classroom will help me create an open and safe space for my students. I also want to provide more opporutnities for my students to build engineering skills and incorporate models.  

[Nurnisa Kurban]

Hi Everyone! 

My name is Nurnisa Kurban. I've been with LAUSD for over 17 years as a classroom teacher and out of classroom staff. I am so excited about the course and look forward to learning along with you all. 

[Bin He]

Dear all, 大家好！It is a privilege to participate in the this seminar. My Name is Bin He, a current Chinese teacher at Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles. Before coming to Los Angles, I taught the Chinese language and culture at the U.S. State Department and a public middle school in China for four years each. Last fall, I  teach a new course named 'History's Imprint on Modern Chinese Culture 'and hope to learn more from this seminar regarding Asia culture and its impact. That's why I am a big fan for USC US-China Institute. I look forward to meeting you all soon!

[Miguel Diaz]

Hello everyone,

My name is Miguel Diaz. I am currently teaching 5th grade at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). I've been with the district for two years. Before this, I spent approximately 17 years living and teaching in Shanghai, China where I worked with students ranging from elementary grades to high school. I really enjoyed living in China and traveling to other countries in Asia such as Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and North Korea. One of my most memorable experiences was an overland trip (circa 2003) where we traveled in a convoy of jeeps from Lhasa Tibet to Kathmandu Nepal. I've included a photo of me sitting with Mount Everest in the background.

 

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[Betsy Ures]

Hello fellow educators! My name is Betsy and I have been an LAUSD teacher for 9 years. I work at an elementary school in central Los Angeles supporting English learners and supporting struggling students. I have taken a few USC China Institute Courses before and I love studying and learning about architecture.

[Ann Heusser]

Hello, My name is Ann Heusser and I am an STEM educator at a LAUSD charter school located in Downtown Los Angeles. I have experience in K-8 teaching, Chinese language, and Lego integrated urban space planning with ethnic neighborhood analysis. My undergraduate is in Landscape Architeture and Minor in Architeture, so I have always facinated with how the  living spaces are affecting our city and our culture. I would like to understand how Asian architecturual spaces from the diversity, equaty, and inclusion perspective as well substanibility.  Looking forward to meeting you and share such special moment with you all! 

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[Marcos Garrido]

Hello everyone, my name is Marcos and this is my third time in this program. I'm an LAUSD teacher, and I teach history. I'm looking forward to learn about architecture and urbanism in East Asia. At our school, we have a magnet program that focuses in Architecture and I think that my students and I will benefit from this program. I'm looking forward to these lectures, and how to use them for my classroom. 

 

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