session 10 (12/1) discussion

[Anonymous]

Since we did not share, I wanted to share I will be my unit on compare and contrast of biographies of children of conflict and author's viewpoint. Dr. Yamashita shared the biographies of the different perspectives of regular folk during conflict. My students already compare a Tory family and a Patriot family and the children's perspective. We also discuss Ann Frank and now I will include the nine year old's perspective about World War 2. Children relate to the struggles of chlidren their age. they will do a writing piece of compare and contrast.

[Anonymous]

This is via Lguthrie, since I have once again been kicked off the site and can not log in and give my input. I realized that the first response I put in did not take, therefore I am rewriting this response.

First of all as I stated before I left class, I grew up during the Mao era and participated in many of his teachings such as "Criticism Self Criticism". Therefore my self criticism is to state that I held back and did not voice my opinion during class when I agreed or disagreed to what was being said. So, since I have made a self criticism of not speaking up, I need to voice some of the concerns I have. The class as a whole has been very educational, but too many things needed to be covered in to short of time. I really believe that there should be a part I, part II and a part III. The contemporary component was not given enough time to throughly update and discuss. Secondly the title of the class was not clear "East Asia and California". I led me to believe that not only would we learn about Asian History, but that we would also be incorporating Asian American History into the mix hence, the California part. In the contemporary part of the class it would have been beneficial to discuss what was happening in Asia as well as what was happening on the West Coast. What led up to WWII and what has happened after WWII with resettlement.
With Mao's thought Criticism Self Criticism - one needs to remember that criticism is not a bad thing as along as it is constructive.
Jchomori

[Anonymous]

How ironic that just a mere two weeks after our class ended, it was the anniversary of the 47 Ronins. At midnight, I watched Keanu Reeves painful execute the role of a biracial child living in the shadow of the local warlord. The movie is rated PG-13, so one may be able to show portion of it to one's class. The notion of class distinctions, honor, and loyalty/fealty will serve students well as they begin to study modern Japan. One comment registered at the review at imdb says: " Some men are forced to commit seppuku in order to preserve their honor. You do not see the full act, but the act alone is slightly disturbing and can be unsettling for some viewers" I disagree with this summation and think that the communal spirit, the final acceptance of the half-breed makes for compelling drama. Students will enjoy this movie, although the sexy she-devil, witch gives one pause. Teachers will need to preview the entire movie to know when to black out the screen or fast forward.

A good discussion point would be the use of non- Japanese in roles… how do we address the stereotype that all Asians can play all Asian roles. I find it personally offensive.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Jchomori for your honesty. I too wondered about the word California in the class title. Your compassion for Mao's teaching was understood in class. It is always good to hear other's viewpoint.

[Anonymous]

I think if had to say which information I came away with that was really important, it would be a greater understanding of my Asian students, many of whom are first generation Americans, many many of whom were brought over here as children by parents who truly wanted a better life and better education for their children. After reading much of the material about contemporary Asia and thinking about conversations I have had with my students, I truly have a much better idea of their lives and their parents goals and hopes for them.

[Anonymous]

I plan to do various things with the things I've learned in the course. I was fascinated with the diary of the young Japanese girl who was sent to a military camp. There was a particular entry that reminded me so much of Lord of the Flies, in which violence and war were so idealized and trivialized. The young Japanese girl had mentioned practicing throwing grenades, reminiscent of the young characters and their spears and eventual fire in Lord of the Flies. I plan to do some kind of comparison. In addition I plan to use excerpts from Lost Names as an anticipatory set to allow students to witness how significant a name/family name is. I want my students to also build a narrative around either their own or someone’s close to their names. I imagine in many cases it won’t be as direct as the Lost Names narrative, but I want the students to somehow make that connection in their narratives.
edited by dchoi on 1/6/2015
edited by dchoi on 1/6/2015

[Anonymous]

1. Nicaragua Canal - potential threat to the US and Western powers’
http://rt.com/op-edge/217779-nicaragua-waterway-project-china/
Reading this article was really interesting because it came from a Russian media outlet and it provided a very different perspective than that of the mainstream American media that I have read regarding this new canal. The Huffington Post, Fox News, the Washington Post and others have published very negative articles about this proposed canal that is being financed by Chinese billionaire Wang Jing. American media outlets have suggest that it might be a “disaster” and that the Chinese are trying to increase their role in Latin America. RT provided a very political analysis that is much more favorable to China and Nicaragua, two governments who don’t have the best relationship with Washington DC. They explain how the US sees this project as Chinese expansion and that it poses a direct threat to US interests because it would take most of the business away from the Panama Canal.

[Anonymous]

1.
This would be a good way to connect China to what's happening in Latin America right now. Is the US concerned about this new relationship? If so, why?

China is buying up Latin American oil
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/China-Buying-Up-Latin-American-Oil.html

2. China makes its presence felt in US backyard with deepening Latin American ties
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1679024/china-makes-its-presence-felt-us-backyard-deepening-latin

3. Chinese foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean
http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/35927/S2013956_en.pdf?sequence=1

[Anonymous]

http://www.aems.illinois.edu/downloads/To_Live.pdf I visited the site and read/downloaded, the user friendly guidelines for augmenting and extending the current unit on China. This is an excellent resource because incorporates the aspects inherent to any culture experiencing change for better or for worse. The film portraits the difficulties of a country and its people undergoing transformation, while at the same time exposing what appears to be oppressive measures, to implement rapid and ruthless change. Central to the film is the relentless political upheaval and civil unrest. The structure or template I will like to use deliver the information in the film is, GRAPES: Geography/Religion/Achievements-Architecture-Arts-/Politics/Economics-Economy/Social Structures-how their society is organized. The film captures the sense of uncertainty, despair and a poignant visual account of the Chinese experiences during that time. I really like the historical backdrop, the order and layout of resources available for before, during-( pause film as needed per desired objective)-and after-plenty opportunities for group or whole class discussion, for the duration of the unit. I will positively use the film and tweak the instructional resources to meet the needs of my diverse student population. The film's content can be access and understood at many levels of cognition by students of all abilities and learning modalities.

[Anonymous]

I have been teaching watercolor to my fifth grade students actually Chinese brush painting as our school is a visual and performing arts theme. They have enjoyed it. For the next phase, we are going to start doing the Chinese characters as an art form as well. Our theme for watercolor has been scenes from nature and the characters we will be doing are words related to nature.

[Anonymous]

I was not surprised when I read this article. Interesting how hypocritical our foreign policy is...In fact, it seems there is doubt among cyberexperts that North Korea may have either been helped by China or Russia..Or maybe not at all..Possibly an insider from Sony. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-sony-hack-inside-job-not-north-korea-20141231-story.html

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
Which ideas or documents caught your imagination or might work with your students?

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Here are links to a couple of the resources mentioned:
Chen, Jo-hsi The Execution of Mayor Yin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Mayor_Yin ; http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/g387/mayoryin.htm
A new version (available if your institution has Project Muse) http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9780253110947

To Live Someone's uploaded the whole film to YouTube. Download while you can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB7HYhUpDz8
Teacher's Guide: http://www.aems.illinois.edu/downloads/To_Live.pdf

Farewell My Concubine on Daily Motion 1 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11ktab_farewell-my-concubine-1993-pt-1_creation 2 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11ljus_farewell-my-concubine-1993-pt-2_creation

Farewell is available on Netflix streaming.
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Read what others think of these films in the Film Festival forum.
Farewell: http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/topic18407-farewell-my-concubine.aspx
http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/topic19287-farewell-my-concubine.aspx

To Live: http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/topic18179-%E6%B4%BB%E7%9D%80-to-live.aspx

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For more on this period, look at the biography thread which includes links to several books, including
Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng, who passed away in 2009 at 94:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110303870.html

The Man Who Stayed Behind is by Sid Rittenberg
- film on Rittenberg: http://revolutionarymovie.com/
- our Q and A with him: http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=2833
- google books http://books.google.com/books?id=_vTLJpWj-0wC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

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