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AnonymousInitially, I was going to be offended, but then I had to remember the time period. During the 1920's there were very strong feelings about the changing styles of American women as well. Some of the cartoons, though, are relevant even today, particularly the one with the New Woman in fancy Western clothes stepping out of a hut! There are people today who have the latest fashion or expensive cars and their houses are falling apart or they live with relatives. Some cartoons, though, I may have a problem with. Like Cartoon 4 where the girl has a short skirt and the commentary is that she should be studying hard. She's "roaming the streets" - the connotation of the word choice is that her style of dress has affected her priorities. Why is she roaming the streets? Why can't she be leaving class or the library? Just because she's dressed like that means she's not studying? What about not judging a book by its cover? Finally, Cartoon 6 was very shocking. The tattoos on the women's legs revealed by their short skirts are like advertisements to others about their availability or financial status...scathing criticisms...ouch....
I think it would be interesting to have my students create a cartoon about a character that they read...There's a lot of literary devices that can be used in the creation of a cartoon: symbolism, allusion, hyperbole...
AnonymousAs I was doing more reading about the Thought Police, I came across an article that discussed the group in more recent times, which gives me pause. Americans live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech, right? That's one of the pillars of the nation as written in the Amendments to the Constitution. So, it would be egregious to us, that there would be a very visible secret police force to control those individuals that are deemed harmful to public thought...but then I think about the work of the FBI during the days of the Black Panther Party and the Civil Rights Movement. There is lots of documentation to suggest that there was some surveillance... Are those two entities more similar than we're willing to admit? Does every country have a secret force designed to control those whose thoughts would be considered politically dangerous? Things that make you go hmmm...
Below is the link to the article I found...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501176.html
AnonymousI was really bothered after reading about this and watching the short clip that was shown. It was heartbreaking that any country, in any time period, would think it is alright to treat women or any group of people in this manner. I was horrified by the living conditions for these women and the expectations and "services" that they were to provide. My English students are studying the Civil Rights movement and they are struggling to hear and understand the brutality that was inflicted on the Black Community during this time period in our country. "Comfort Women" is not a topic I would be able to teach, unless I could figure out a way to present it to my students who are more sensitive and immature. I almost think that you have to show all of the ugliness or it does not represent what these women actually experienced and how it changed and damaged them as human beings.
AnonymousThis was a fascinating lesson. I am not sure how to introduce comfort women into my historical narrative. Like the Holocaust, in which learning about the horrors are considered necessary to truly deal with the subject, I find the issue of wartime sex slavery in a similar vein. Yet I think the violence of the Holocaust is socially acceptable to teach, but I'm not sure the sexual aspects of comfort women is something that could be addressed in the classroom. It is something that is a delicate subject that I think needs reflective discussion.
Solution to the "problem" of delicacy. I think the current political concerns between Japan and Korea in relation to "comfort women" is a way we could address the issue. Yet by doing that, you almost tame a horrible event. Although perhaps addressing it even in a bracketed way is still better than not addressing it at all.
AnonymousOne of the most interesting historical phenomena that we discussed in the program was the New Women's trend in Colonial Korea. Perhaps because we saw it in movie form, in cartoons, and in readings we were able to really visualize the movement and its various aspects. What I found interesting is how the ideology of the New Woman essentially is contrasted with traditional values. The values of the New Woman included, ideas--self-awakening, woman's rights, and individuality. Although the clothing is filtered through the Japanese, it is clear that this is a Westernizing influence that gave identity to a whole class of people. Like all social movements, this one is complex, comparing and contrasting modern, "Western", and new values with traditional values. This conflict between New and traditional touched on issues of societal reform, and what is ethical.
In a classroom, I believe this might be a good way to talk about modern gender politics without wading into modern ideas.
cgaoPlease download and read the attached PDFs.
edited by cgao on 11/9/2016
AnonymousI knew nothing of Japanese colonization of Korea. I decided that I would like to create a lecture that compares British Colonization of India with Japanese Colonization of Korea. Things to address in this comparison are: