Session 4 - November 3

[Anthony Pollard]

 The first idea that jumped out  was "[the conquerors forces itself on the landscape...," this was a powerful statement. For an English class, this is an example of using vocabulary, the tone being communicated, express the not so welcome changes in an environment. It is sort of an euphemism. 

[Jaclyn Pop]

The material from this week reminded me of what we read for the first session, specifically the article “Framing the Asian City.”  In this article, I remember reading about the third landscape in Asia, which was explained as the colonization of Asia.  At first, I wasn’t able to picture what that landscape looked like. (Having never been to Asia and not having the first-hand experience and perspective, I don’t know if I’ve been able to accurately picture what any of the various landscapes look like.)  Now it is all making so much more sense!  

[Denis Vovchenko]

It seems that Vin is a fan of Venturi’s understanding of Japan’s “ambiguity without anguish.” P. 196 “Having not traveled to Japan before and spared of witnessing the panorama of Japanese modernization, he was more than many others able to perceive a complex monoculture with completely unbiased eyes.” I wonder what Vin meant by “complex monoculture”. Lack of ethnic diversity yet open to or obsessed with Westernism like “Lost in Translation”? Many of you traveled to Japan. Do you share that assessment?

 

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I really enjoyed the discussion- everyone brought up really interesting and provocative points. Thank you all for pushing our collective thinking about Western/Eastern influences and how these interact. You have given me much to ponder!

[Thomas Pineda]

After the discussion, there was a lot to think about in terms of diversity, assimilation and cross-cultural influences. From travels, the countries like Japan and South Korea appear very homogenous ethnically throughout. It was interesting to hear about other native groups that existed in Japan, either in this lecture series or another. But the confluence of both Japanese and Western culture provides those beautiful examples that Prof. Bharne was referring to in those gray areas. I think of something like coffee culture that is a Western idea brought to Japan, but the design of cafes around Japan or the invention of slow-drip coffee brewing towers if something that comes from a marriage of those two cultures that is now celebrated around the world. So I do notice a Western obsession in a sense, but one now that has also been molded into its own narrative by Japan.

[Philip Bramble]

Feel free to do so -- just stick my name somewhere on there for attribution, thanks!

[Alison Douglas]

After the discussion about colonialism, I found it very interesting.  Yes, there is so much influence and it has changed the way people live, think, design, and even learn.  It is important to understand and learn about all of it.  As a teacher of ancient world history, I see how important it is to learn about all aspects of events that have happened.  People did not have any outside influence until advancements were made and people were able to explore outside areas.  Influenence and assilmulation are not bad concepts in my opinion.  It has been fascinating to learn about people from all over the world and what there civilizations were like before colonialism.  The key is to preserve aspects of that history to learn about it and things have changed over time.  There is so much Western influence in the subject of architecture that we are discussing, but seeing the rich history through preserved buildings throughout Asia in Japan, China, and India is fascinating.  It is a great mix of ideas and cultures and it is important to learn about all of them.  I also, found your question interesting about who decides what we learn.  There have been many times that I look at my textbook and think why so much was left out.  I think we should learning about all aspects and facts of history regardless of opinion.

[Alison Douglas]

I agree with both of you.  As a teacher, I think we just barely touch the surface on so many different topics and this is one of them.  I think it's imprtant to learn about everything that happened before, during, and after to really understand history.

[Alison Douglas]

I teach world history as well, and I don't get into all the details with the middle schoolers either.  I really wish we were "allowed" to cover such details.  It comes down too who decides what we teach, as we discussed during the class.  It is important to understand all aspects of history and how things came to be in present day,  It's fascinating to see influence in buildings, even here in the US.  Influences of many cultures can be seen throughout the world.

[Ingrid Herskind]

I found this interesting article in National Geographic about Tokyo's growth into a megacity in spite of wars and natural disaters. I really enjoyed this part of the discussion from the video and slides. I haven't had a chance to go to Tokyo, yet, but wonder about architectural and urban resilence. I found an image from the article so interesting (and tied nicely to the slides on Tokyo's destruction and development cycle). The article also discussed Sendagaya, Tokyo's Silicone Valley. I thought this was so interesting as it connected to the discussion on the narrow structures in Tokyo and the multi-purpose spaces of home and office.  Here's the article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/04/how-tokyo-japan-became-megacity-by-rebuilding-after-earthquake-war/

[Elizabeth Rosales]

Yes, that is what I meant by not forgetting the lessons. I do not mean that we should not teach the history of a place and people, but that we have a choice in how we do it. When I teach science, I use a lot of questions. "Why do you think that is so?" "How do you think that occurred?" "How can you fix that?" Open-ended questions allow students to think about a situation. 

[Elizabeth Rosales]

Good point! When I have taken my students to a California mission, they have learned about the life there. Learning about the good and bad points of history while on site really stick with us. 

[Jennifer Lee]

I just happen to rewatch it right before we started the course so it was in the back of my mind.  Its a fun and underrated Disney movie

[Jennifer Lee]

The article sounds interesting, but when I clicked on the link it said you had to be a subscriber to read it. 

I can't help but make connections between Japan and California with Japan being about the size of California and both areas having earthquakes. I find it fascinating how two different places have become very well populated and developed in areas that are prone to natural distruction. 

[Ingrid Herskind]

I was struck by this conversation as well. I teach a section of our senior Identity class and think I will investigate ways talk about architecture and art as a means of shared culture, but will still question the power of colonialism. The Portuguese structures in Gao made me think about how much of a culture is shared and how much is absorbed because it is seen as being superior. This is always something that I have to really think about. Like you said, teaching from a social justice perspective does make me want to think about the power of indigenous architecture and culture.

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