Session 8 - Lynne Miyake, 11/3 afternoon

[cgao]

Please download Handouts #1-6 below. Professor Miyake will go over them during the lecture.

You are not required to read everything attached below, but please refer to Handout #1 to:

   (1) locate the primary readings & comics

   (2) read what you are interested in

 

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[Lin Kuang]

I would like my 10th grade studnets to research on " Pearl Harbor' right after they finish reading " Tora, Tora, Tora" by Mizuki to open a Unit of " Self-Strength" to the lessons we should learn from the Dec. 7th, 1941 Peral Harbor acctack, which caused our heavy loss of 18 ships sunk or damaged ( 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 3 destroyers); 188-292 aircraft damaged or destroyed; 2402 killed in action; 1282 were wounded in action. Professor Miyake introduced a lot of literature books reflecting Japanese culture and tradition, which is the greatest way for us to study and understand

[cgao]

Professor Miyake's PowerPoint presentation is below.

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[Ingrid Herskind]

I absolutely loved Dr. Miyake's presentation last week and was impressed with her enthusiasm, knowledge, and ability to adapt her discussion to use of her sources in our classrooms. The one manga that I found very interesting was the "Barefoot Gen" series. I did more research on the series and found Barefoot Gen is considered one of the most important anti-war manga ever written. The series focuses on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the aftermath of the Pacific War. For a while, Barefoot Gen was banned in Matsue City, Japan.  Barefoot Gen was removed from Matsue City school libraries because it was considered an “ultra-leftist manga that perpetuated lies and instilled defeatist ideology in the minds of young Japanese.” After tremendous outcry, the Barefoot Gen ban has been overturned.

According to scholars, why is this series so important?

• Understanding why Japan went to war and how China and Korea were stripped of their natural and human resources, including the enslavement of those captured.
• Seeing that while most Japanese blindly supported the Emperor’s “divine right” and rule, a growing number of people began to question and resist it.
• Learning the immediate effects of the bomb
• Understanding the long term effects of the bomb: limited/contaminated food and water, homelessness, orphans, radiation poisoning and medical/health issues that doctors were unequipped to handle, rampant crime, misuse and abuse of drugs and medications, and the crumbling of law and order.
  • Our 8th graders have used parts of Barefoot Gen in their classwork and have really gained better insights and understanding from this experience. I love the image from the 9th Volume titled "Breaking Down Borders."  I think this manga does a great job doing just that!
  • 

[Kim Leng]

I made a note to promote Barefoot Gen to the kids and it's definitely on my reading list.  Our library has the entire series, but it has not seen much circulation.  I read "Barefoot Gen: The Japanese Cartoon Character Who Stoked Our Nuclear Fears" and learned that the author of Barefoot Gen, Keiji Nakazawa, survived Hiroshima.  I can't imagine the horror of that experience.  I also found the Barefoot Gen movie on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8XT5kRlDrU with English subtitles. I scanned it and the bomb scenes are very gruesome (32:00- 36:00).  It was hard to watch.  I'm going to read the series first prior to watching the movie.  

[Christine Moguel]

I also absolutely loved Professor Miyakes lecture about Japanese Literature- she is funny, engaging, and made the content very exciting.  Although I wasnt surprised with the amount of female writers who executed their art covertly, I was surprised to learn about the candor in which they spoke about their lifes in their writing.  Lynne gave specific examples of this - noting the sad stories, true stories they spoke about.  I wonder if these women were ever shunned by society because of their writings.  

[Christine Moguel]

I loved the anime section of the lecture.  Not only does my son LOVE Manga series, it is the only type of reading material he loves (oh no!).  As I have skimmed through my sons anime books, I noticed that- not only is it a very visual literature, aggressive at times, but it is open to ineterpretation by the readers often when there is little text.  As a special education teacher, I would like to take out the text and have my students dive in to configuring the meaning of the story line based on the pictures.    They can practice sequencing, infer meaning of the storylines, and possibly predict the ending of the story.  I think it would be great practice for my students.  I love when I am able to teach through creative means.

[Ingrid Herskind]

Kim,

I agree with the idea of promoting Barefoot Gen. I talked to our 8th grade United States History teacher about maybe doing a project with this series when they do World War II. She said she liked the idea, but didn't really know how to create a lesson plan around it. Thanks for posting the YouTube video of the movie. I might suggest this for her class--but will also need to be sure that it is age appropriate for 8th graders. 

[Margaret Siryj]

World War II is focused in my World History and Geography course.  I notice that over the years, I have been in the education business for twenty years, unfortunately, students seem to be reading less and less.  I have developed a graphic novel library in my classroom, and when students are finished with their daily learning task or activity, they are allowed to spend five minutes on my couch checking out and reading historical graphic novels.  I plan to use all of these awesome Japanese graphic in my classroom library.  My tenth grade World History students will have additional perspectives from other countries, not just US.  I am currently working with my school librarian to spiral bound these graphics and so excited to bring this valuable insight to my sophomores.

[Margaret Siryj]

Professor Miyake has such enthusiasm for her content area.  I was entralled by her knowledge and her zest for presenting Japanese literature and history.  I plan to use her graphic Japanese pieces with my 10th grade World History students.  Currently, my school librarian has generously offered to bind the pages of graphics into one book.  This book is going to be placed in my class library to encourage my students to read as a reward for doing a good job with their daily assignment or assigned homework tasks.  I teach my sophomores throughout the whole school year, and next semester we dive deeply into WWII, so this is going to be quite a treat for my students.  Professor Miyake has taken interesting graphics that will catch the attention of my students in a unique way.  Graphic novels are a great way to encourage reading for high school students.  

[Margaret Siryj]

I have to agree with you, Jen.  "Barefoot Gen" was a good read, but the youtube video is a bit "over the top".  We need to be congnescent that we are teaching children, even though my students are tenth and twelfth graders and think they are grown up, they are minors.  There are many creative ways that I teach WWII, but gorey stuff can be "risky business".  I think as a parent and a teacher, a teachable moment can send a strong message to teenagers.  For example, R rated movies are for audiences 17 and over, but many of my students have said over the years that their parents are "OK" with them watching a movie that is R.  As a mom, my kids were allowed to see their first R movie when they turned 17, and not before then.  The horror of Nakazawas' experience as a Hiroshima survivor is tough enough for adults, let alone minors.  Students look up to us as educators and when we tell them personal experiences, such as the one that my kids don't watch R rated movies until they are 17 helps students realize that you stand for wholesomeness.  Not that we sugar coat things, but we exercise caution with what we show.

[Margaret Siryj]

Anime is so popular with many students, and in my high school there is a large Korean student population.  We have a club that students dance after school to many popular Korean (K Pop) music.  One of my colleagues and I are co-advisors and the students dance every week to such music as BTS and CrayonPop.  What I love about Korean music is that the majority of it is extremely positive with strong character elements which are the lyrical focus.  I am adding Professor Miyake's anime section to my classroom and plan to give a second copy of the bound edition my librarian is making to my Korean club members.  As a teacher who has taught for twenty years, reading seems to be declining over time, and students are reading less and less.  This generation of high school students become engaged with graphic style presentations and anime can deliver this message to our classes.  I have many artistic students who have shared their creativity with me and my "student wall" that highlights creativity through various art mediums.  This wall has been a compliation over the years, and when colleagues or visiting students come to my classroom, they are amazed at the variety of art mediums.  Manga is a common art form that many students enjoy drawing.  With Professor Miyake's generous additons, my students have become even more interested in Japanese culture and art.

[Reynaldo Mangabat]

The use of primary sources in historiography is the pillar of historical research. However, Professor Miyake's use of comics as it went well wtih prevalent pop coulture of Anime is very refreshing. I think this will work well with our moderate to severe population especially the middle schoolers and high school students. We need to encourage more of this medium and presentations of history. I also wish to see more research on local history especially in terms of gender to balance our His-tory with Her-story as well. 

[Lin Kuang]

Hi Ingrid and Kim,

Thank you both for the promotion picture and the youtube video posted previously, my students in East Asia Origins club and I enjoyed the movie. High school students really like the cartoon characters, and they strated to draw all the cartoon characters in their schetch book. They even suggest we take a trip to Little Tokyo to explore more of the Japanese culture, which is on our agenda because we will join with our Animation Club to toure Little Tokyo as we planned when we come back from our Winter Break.

[Lin Kuang]

A Graphic Novel Library in classroom is a great idea for our modern technology driven generation. We have to find ways to take away their phones and electronic devices, so they can actually sit down and read books. I have a student who is now a senior, he is extremely talented. When I had him for 10th grade, he was drwsing Japanese cartoon characters every day, and his art work is very creative and impressive. I talked to him all the time to take come art courses to develop his skill. Unfortunately, he was destructed by iphone and ipad and started playing video games leaving his drawing behind. We didn't see him with a schedtch book all the time, but a phone in his hands. If our graphic Novel Library can replace all electronic devices, we build those library in our classrooms.

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