Session 1 - Clay Dube, 9/15 morning

[Gisela Gaona]

I appreciated the explanation of urban vs. rural population distribution in North and South Korea. According to Professor Dube, 3.2 million Koreans live in Pyongyang, while 25 million South Koreans live in Seoul.  Moreover, more than one-third of South Koreans live in the city. I am interestered in visiting/or reading first hand accounts of how the city lifestyle compares to that of the country side. Speaking as an American who lives in a "rural" part of California, I know that visiting cities such as LA can be highly overwhelming. The traffic, the heavy use of advertisement signs, the weaving freeways that split and interlock due to ongoing construction can all be very overwhelming to someone such as myself who is used to open lanes on the freeway, and open spaces in general. 
I am intrigued in figuring out if the difference between the city and country lifestyle in S. Korea is even more drastic than that of us Americans here in California. 

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,

I'll try to attach my ppt for the geography discussion. You're welcome to use it with your students, but please do not post it to the internet or otherwise share it. Thank you!

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[Lindsay Reiss]

I think The Economist's article on the decline in marriage in Japan to be very interesting and relevant to me and Millenials in general. They cite many reasons for a decline in marriage such as women waiting and pursuing careers, singles living at home with their parents, and higher expectations. Nowadays women and men are seeing that marriage is not the only way to live a fulfilling life, and that is not just happening in Japan. 

[Mario Galindo]

I checked three or four maps online to re-count the number of borders China shares with other countries like we did in class a couple sessions back and I counted three different totals. Not only that, as I clicked for another map, a phishing virus temporary froze my computer as a voice repeated that my computer had been locked for security reasons. My spinning rainbow wheel on my Mac was the only icon that moved on the screen. Do not try to restart your computer or the detected virus will spread, the voice said. Call for support right away.

After the sixth or seventh repeat of the message one of my sons yells, "Don't fall for it, Dad!" All I can think is is this Chinese phishing? I couldn't restart or shut down. I tried to force quit--nothing! I unplugged the CPU and, after a few minutes, things were back to normal. I stayed away from another East Asia map search after that.

Just as China influences the countries it borders as well as the whole world, I thought how much do other countries influence China. We discussed in class how many things from American culture become popular and profitable: Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds. The interlationships between countries has always been interesting to me. How cross fermentation of cultures creates something new. It so happened that The Fowler museum had an exhibition called Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives which touches on this particular topic.

The way the exhibit explains it "... it explores the roles that art plays in creating meaning and defining purpose for people across the globe". I decided to explore and take in each room of the exhibit and if something seemed East Asian in any way to me I would go up and verify my find. I walked up to three pieces and was three for three.

The first artwork was a hand puppet called The Blind Schloar from Taiwan. The puppet is striking with an oversized bright yellow head and red-ruby, bright lips. Across, up, and over the entire face there is writing. I learned that the writing on the puppet's face was a passage from a prerevolutionary texbook used in China called Book of Three Character Phrases. Though the card details say the artwork is from early to mid 20th Century it looks contemporary in design. Something that in a life sized version would easily be part of a Cirque Du Soleil show on the Vegas Strip. So, the question? Taiwanese, Chinese, or Hong Kong and Macau? We havent covered too much on Hong Kong or Macau, so I am not sure. From what I do know and see on the art itself, it seems that England and Portugal could also be at play?

The next piece I identified as East Asian was from Northern Luzon, Phillipines. The Ifugao people created a beautiful ceramic jar of classic dark blue on white, that until my visit to the museum, I thought was unique to Chinese style. Vine leaves cover the entire jar up to the rim where the pattern ends and is replaced with two single leaves side by side, hash markings symetrically scattered on either side of the leaves. Once I looked closer I realized there were four metal heads attached to the top part of the jar just as the vines begin. The Phillipines have come up in disussion, but again, I don't know the intimate relationships (if any) with China. More questions than answers learned on this artwork, which is in my experience just as much of the learning process than getting a concrete answer. Maybe as a sign of status? Comparable politics? Is that the Chinese/Phillipine intersection? What I do know is the Spanish influence on the Phillipines, and how both negative and positive has impacted their present cultural identity. So, another country comes into the posible Chinese influence--Spain. Is their a Chinese/Spanish intersection?

Ending my East Asian journey I walked up to the Buddha in a beautiful gilded laquer from 17th Century Myanmar, or as it was called when this impressive work of art was created, Burma. The idol was made of wood for a Theravada Buddhist temple. I found out that Theravada means "Doctrine of the Elders" and that it's origin is Indian. Also that in our time, now, this practice is the predominant school of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. This made me think about the similarities and differences between Buddhism? Also, which way was the major influence on Buddhism in China? From what we have learned so far, it would seem that China has the influencial presence, yet this "intersection" of faith has multiple cultures and countries since at least the 17th century. So, again more questions than answers for me. We also touched on Tibet and it's historical importance to China and Buddhism, so another country? Does Tibet have a similar placement in the "one China" policy like Taiwan? Much learning, yet.

As I left the museum I noticed a woman waiting right out side the exit. Soon after, a few students came up, notebooks and pencils in hand. The woman welcomed them into the exhibit. Sounds like an extra credit activity opportunity for my students as well.

 

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[Ingrid Herskind]

Thank you for posting this ppt. I enjoyed the map comparisons- especially the "map battles" in the naming of the waters from both the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese perspectives.The debate over the Sea of Japan has even been taken up by Korean American activists in the United States. These activists have pushed legislation in three states that would require new school textbooks to note that the Sea of Japan is also called the East Sea, the Korean name for the hotly disputed body of water. I also find it interesting that both South Korea and Japan have conducted surveys of antiquarian maps to demonstrate their preferred name has historical precedent. Of course, the surveys have come to very different conclusions.

I found this map as depicted within Kunyu Wanguo Quantu by Matteo Ricci in 1602. This is an example of the type of map that both the South Koreans and the Japanese are using to support their arguments.

[Kim Leng]

When I first heard about the Flint water crisis and with California's drought...I immediately thought about Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower series. I read the book over 10 years ago.  In this imagined future, water is very expensive because it's the one resource that is rare. This book is definitely worth a reread.  I continue to be amazed by science fiction writer's ability to invision a probable future. The book has gotten a lot of attention in this current political climate: https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/octavia-butlers-prescient-vision-of-a-zealot-elected-to-make-america-great-again.

In reading “Can China fix its mammoth water crisis before it's too late?” by Ben Westcott and Serenitie Wang, I am once again reminded that our world is so connected. China is doing great economically, but at what cost?  Over $2 million people died from air pollution and part of the air that we breath in Los Angeles comes from China.  Factories not in compliance with discharging their chemicals properly have polluted water. In the region of Dawu, China, more and more people are dying from cancer due to water pollution.  The article also notes that China aims to improve the water pollution problem by 2030.  See this article: http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2015/04/16/content_281475090170164.htm. 

I think it would be interesting for students to compare the Flint water crisis with the water pollution crisis in China.  Our students are currently working on the Mikva Challenge speech and I hope maybe one student will speak about the environment.

[Sophia Kang]

I think it would be also interesting to link that to how in some countries, productivity levels are increasing and innovations are spurring in exchange for the declining population. A few weeks ago, Dr. Dube mentioned that about Japan. I would also see the future projection of this trend and its effects. 

[Lindsay Reiss]

The article on the WHO’s proposal to include gaming disorder in their 11th ICD was very interesting and brought up a lot. If gaming disorder were to be included it would be in the categorized with substance abuse and gambling addiction. I believe that gaming disorder is a real thing but see how some may take issue with its inclusion in the IDC due to overdiagnosis and misuse of resources. This reminds me of the overdiagnosis of ADHD and subsequent unnecessary medication of many students.

[Lindsay Reiss]

The article on water pollution was very interesting to me. The fact that people live in "Cancer Villages" due to their proximity to the water is terrible to hear. This reminds me of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan in the United States. Water is so vital and a lack of it can cause drastic repercussions.

 

[Reynaldo Mangabat]

I completely agree with you Ingrid, this is a very controversial issue to talk about. Ive alwyas trained my studnents to be specific with their perspectives in analyzing Globalization. The most common perspective is the Marxixt/conflict perspective - that globalization will always be viewed from the developing country's standpoint as something that is extractive and exploitative in relation to the first world economies. Yes the MNC's are coming in as foreign investment which seem to be good for the developing ecenomies but in the end they will get their profit thereby extracting from the third world/developing economy's. 

[Reynaldo Mangabat]

I agree that the aging population in East asia is a an open ended problem. It is going to be an economic challenge for them to take care of the aging population and open to more migration to inject to their dwindling labor force. Asian culture about ancestors and the elderly is so strong as in their extreme tradition they believe that the elderly and the ancestors are crucial in guiding them to even from the afterlife to achieve success here in the now. 

[Reynaldo Mangabat]

Thank you Professor Clay for this powerpoint. I was able to use this with my students particularly the contibution of one country's geography and even it demography in shaping it power and influence in international politics. How that large land area may be an ecomonomic asset especially if it has rich natural resources but it can equally be a liability militarily because of the vast territory that needed defense from foreign invassion.

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