Thursday, 8/2, afternoon session - Clayton Dube, USC

[Gerlinde Goschi]

After reading Martin's post about the meaning of the colors in the Mayan society,  I will add these to my lesson.  Students will brainstorm in groups first and then they will create a poster with what they think red, black, green/yellow, white, and yellow meant for the Mayans? When they finished, we will discover together as a class what these colors mean and discuss with the whole class why we think they have the specific meaning.  We will then compare it to the meaning of some of the colors in China.  

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I had a discussion with Dr.Dube about this during our wonderful field trip.  I asked Dr. Dube why Chinese citizens are so in awe of Mao? They celebrate him on their currency, posters, and quote him.  I wondered if this is a manipulation of the present communist leadership? Dr. Dube answered by stating that the current Chinese population is not so much in love with Mao or cherish him, rather, they are using Mao as a symbol of stability for the country.  Nationalism has always been present, it is not necessarily "back" as I stated earlier.  It is redefined for the 21st century.  

[Jane Shen]

Hi Ruth,

Thank you so much to post the teacher's guide to the movie " To Live". This movie as one of my favorite one, has been always played to my students in my classroom. The movie was so rich in the historical background for the contemporty Chinese. It also shows the Chinese culture and family values.

With your guide, I think I could discuss more with my students.

Thanks so much

[Jane Shen]

Hi Stella,

I just want to share with you the information I know about the Black Arm band. I heard that this custom started from England, while when a nobleman passed away, people supposed to wear in black while some servants cannot afford black suits so they just wear black armband to mourn for the loss. Then this culture had been spread out around including China.

In China, when parents passed away, children should wear blackband for 30 days. Lost Father on left arm, mother on right arm. As for grandparents, they add extra red or white short fabric on the whole blackband. So by the armband they wear, people could know who passed away and show their condelesence to them.

But is a Emporer passed away, his people are required to wear the black armband for 90 days . That's what the Chinese do for Mao when he passed away.

[Jane Shen]

Thank you so much Prof. dube for posting the  list of Chinese movies which worth the time and money.

I watched " To Live" with every class I teach, and so far for more than 20 times, but still every time, it touched me into tears. Great movie! And thanks for Ruth who posted the Teacher's guidelines for this movie. here is the link

 http://www.aems.illinois.edu/downloads/To_Live.pdf 

"When Beijing meet Seattle" was a Chinese version of finding Mr. Right. It shows the trend of many rich Chinese who give birth to their child in American for the USA citizen. And also the Chinese richmen's family values in recent years. 

" Goodbye my concubine" is another legendary movie that I loved and watch it so many times and never disappoited.

 

[Nira Sun]

Sounds great! Colors do have certain representation in different cultures. Earlier my colleague and I were looking at a logo with Chinese and Mexican images on there. We both think that we could totally use it as our World Language Department Logo. I joked about how the dragon was painted with black color. It’s quite obvious that Chinese sees red as the luckiest color at all. In ancient theory, red can be used to scare the evil things away. This is probably another major reason behind it. Then I asked my colleague if there is any color that Mexicans or Hispanics specifically like. She reminded me to recall all the decorations and textiles Latinos have are usually mix of all colors and that they are super festive and flashy. This can be a really interesting topics to talk about in class. That way we also expose students to different perspectives and cultures so that they understand the theory behind them. 

[Daniel Horowitz]

The presence of the California grizzly bear on the state flag gives us a teachable lesson, since the subspecies is no longer in existance. We have removed other top predators from ecosystems, such as the gray wolf, because we found their presence threatening. Sure dragons can be seen as an obvious or lazy symbol for China, and as much as there are no grizzlies in California there are no dragons in China, but it is imediately recognizable as much as a bald eagle represents the United States. Bears were often used in political cartoons to represent the Soviet Union by the way. Interesting that the California quail is the state bird- although it is a distinct and visually pleasing bird it would seem odd to use it as a symbol for California in a cartoon or magazine cover.

[Anthony Pollard]

     Professor Rosen did a wonderful job introducing "soft power" during the summer seminar. Actually, I am disappointed I will not be able to hear him speak this evening, (9-6-2018) China's Efforts to Build its Soft Power. During the summer seminar, Professor Dube further expounded on the premise of soft power. I actually like the information; I am not sure if high school students will understand. If they do understand, they will most likey agree to the existence of soft power, and its influence on American cultural.

     Professor Dube reiterated the idea that soft power is a cultural influence. What is understood is that other countries admire your country; its attraction. After studying China's soft power, I have noticed China has had influence around the world for centuries, and still has influence today, even though there has been internal cultural problems for years.   

     A particular soft power Americans experience and enjoy is movies. Americans enjoy visual representations from other countries. Other countries have allowed American visual arts performers to produce their works in their countries. We can call that "mutual soft power". 

     Power is "the ability to make something happen; the ability to get others to do something they normally would not do" (Professor Dube). Additionally, Professor Dube explains a country "create[s] something so interesting and attractive, people want to be a part of it." i have been inspired by Chinese physical fitness regiments and diets, since I was a child. How did this soft power influence me? I think I was influence by Chinese cinema, theatre. musical performers, and meals. They were interesting, attractive, and delicious.

     In closing this post, a thought: "Emulation is a by-product of soft power" (Professor Dube). What country in this world has the most affective soft power? The United States are often emulated by other countries. Advertising and product sales have increased, but many of those products are being sold to Americans. Our democratic values have been emulated, however, that can be a arguable topic. 

 

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

You bring up an interesting point about currency. Images of the currency can be a great primary source to use and could spark an interesting discussion. We can even discuss US currency and current debates for changing the images on our bills. Regarding materials to present that are authentic, I recommend checking jackdaw online for their primary source kits. They are a bit expensive, but I order a few every year with any leftover department funds. The kits have primary documents that are made to look realistic. For example, the newspaper articles look like newspaper sheets and fold up. The students really enjoy working with the materials. You can check and see if they have any Chinese history kits. 

[Ann Huynh]

What is in a name?  It was interesting when Professor Dube pointed out names in America that could possibly be influenced by the Chinese.  For example, he mentioned a city in Ohio with a very Chinese name, Canton.  I never knew that.  It started making me wonder how many other cities or towns that are linked to China.  It would be a great way to get the students to think about things that they know in America and then learn about who actually influenced the name.  We can map the various names on a Google map.  Another interesting and really accessible thing is Chinese foods.  There are many Chinese restaurants so getting the students to want to learn about China is to expose them to various Chinese foods so that they can make connections to the food in their own culture.    

[Ann Huynh]

I really appreciate how Professor Dube named films that showed the history of China.  These films would be a great hook to get students to think about events in history and see the impact that those events had on the psyche of the people.  For example, the film “Ju Dou” referenced the Cultural Revolution and the role of youths.  I would not show the entire film, but the snippet of the youths would be very powerful.  Another film about Mao’s rule is “To Live.”  This film is about communal kitchen, referencing the Great Leap Forward, where many Chinese ended up dying from famine.  These are just some of the films that showed the history of China as it moved toward modernity. 

[Helen Kang]

Diving in to the subject of meanings of colors in Professsor Dube's lecture, in South Korea family members mourn by wearing white, and I remember seeing dramas with story lines of loved ones dying and women wearing small pin white ribbon in their hair to mark their time of mourning. I think I only saw an actual person wearing such pins in their hair in Korea just once but then again I only spent the first 9 years of my life there.

I lead a Korean Drumming group at my my school with traditional drumming clothes with bold color blocks that mean specific things. When I teach the students of the meanings that the colors represent, I can expand and cite examples from China compare differences and similarities that occur between the two countries.

[Anthony Pollard]

Many students studying American Literature would not have know about the black arm band. So, it's inception and meaning is a powerful example of togetherness, even it's practice in the United States is interesting. When a tragedy happens, athletes wear a thin black band, visible to the public, signifying mourning.

[Anthony Pollard]

We learn from American Literature. We study the poetry genre, so I like to ask students to create Haiku. Many students do not know it's Japanese orign. It's not necessarily good when teaching grammar, but haiku is wonderful for teaching format and vocabulary. 

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