[Aja Koester]

Through this seminar, I have definitely walked away with a much deeper understanding of East Asia. I was originally interested in this course because of my personal love for Japan. It is one of my favorite places I have traveled to and I have had many conversations with students who are deeply interested in Japanese and Korean culture. While many of my students are obsessed with anime and K-pop, they have expressed that they don’t think they will ever have the chance to go to these countries. They were always excited to see pictures and hear stories about my travels. My desire to leverage these interests in my classroom was one of the driving forces behind why I was interested in this course. However, my initial attitude was that incorporating these cultures would have to be its own separate unit. My perspective has shifted because I see now how much overlap there is in the literature I already teach with the Asian literature I have been exploring. Now that I have more knowledge on each of the countries we learned about, I feel more apt to include texts from them.

One of the ways I will incorporate my learnings from this course into my classroom is through literature and film. Prior to the course, I was not familiar with many of the Asian directors or writers that I am now aware of, nor had I explored the web for resources. Through the film and website review, I gained an interest in watching and reading more works from Asia. I ended up finding lots of extremely useful websites for Asian literature, and I hadn’t realized that many of the American and British literary movements line up with Chinese and Japanese movements. The course inspired me to read Haruki Murakami and Xiao Hong for the first time and I was thrilled to find that many of the concepts of specific literary periods that I teach are demonstrated perfectly in their works. Now, I can incorporate more cultures into my curriculum.

 

 

 

[Aja Koester]

Ebrey’s chapter titled World War II, discusses the Axis and Allied powers with an emphasis on Japan’s role in WWII. As I think back to my own education in high school, the emphasis on WWII was always on Germany, Hitler, and the Nazi party. Though it was a long time ago, I do not remember learning much about Japan’s involvement in the war. Oddly enough, considering I grew up in America, I learned little to nothing about the Japanese-American experience in the war.

 

As I read Ebrey’s chapter, it felt like a lot of missing pieces in my understanding of WWII were falling into place. Ebrey does a great job of outlining some of the similarities between Germany, Japan, and Italy. Thus, he brings an understanding to why they came together during this war in the first place. This had never actually been super clear to me. I knew different events that each country was involved in and their individual roles in the war, but this article gives insight into the larger picture and the attitude or ideologies driving the Axis and Allied forces.

 

I liked the layout of this text. For me, it felt accessible and straight to the point. This article could be used with high school students and I feel they would be able to grasp it quite well.

[Aja Koester]

On the Go For Broke National Education Center there is a great resource called the Hanashi Oral History Archives. It is video clips of Japanese Americans telling about their experience in America during WWII. I watched a few of the clips, but one that resonated with me was Choichi Shimabukuro talking about war trauma. He says, "You know, seeing people go through all that hardship, and yet, things like people that come back and they are, they call it what, "shell shocked," something like that.  Don't take them cheaply.  That person took as much as he can.  So, don't look down on them.  Some people can take more, some people less.  They call it battle fatigue." I thought this was such a great example of empathy. He himself was able to move on after war, but he understands the soldiers who were never the same. I would like to use these stories alongside war poetry such as Stephen Crane's "War is Kind". I feel these videos would pair well and bring a perspective from a different group of Americans.

http://www.goforbroke.org/learn/archives/oral_histories_video_public.php?publicclip=02805

[Aja Koester]

When I first read When My Name Was Keoko I had not made the connection between the events in the story and the current events with DACA and immigration laws. Now reviewing it through this lens, I am seing so many interesting connections. 

In the beginning of the excerpt, there is a child's voice who is trying to understand an adult conversation. The Uncle states, "they're masters of organization- if they want this done, they can be sure they will find a way" and later on he shows his frustration because he wants the Japanese to be honest that they are forcing them to change their names. Instead, it seems people are speaking as if they have been given a choice, but he knows they have not. The child is trying to make sense of all these pieces of conversation.

Going back to the current events of today, I have recently been working with students on college applications including FAFSA and DACA. When I read Josie's post, this moment in the text of a young child attempting to make sense of an injustice around them stuck out at me because it is what I am seeing with my own students. Many of the students I am working with are being put in a place of trying to understand why they are not feeling accepted by the country they were raised in and identify with. Many of them have asked about the use of the term "illegal alien". This treatment is hurtful to them, but some of them can't seem to articulate how they feel about it, much like the child in the story.

[Aja Koester]

Hi there Chris. I really like how you explained that often students think "cartoons are just that, cartoons" but these are tools for students to look deeper and think critically. Using visuals to push analysis is useful for all students, but I have found it especially useful with English learners. By not relying solely on text, therefore taking the barriers of language away, my EL students have often understood concepts on a much deeper level than if we had read or talked about them. 

At the Go For Broke National Education Center I visited, there was an entire exhibit on political cartoons and propaganda that was aimed at students. Some of the images shown by Clay were similar to the images displayed in the museum. This would make for a really engaging field trip where students could further understand the stereotypes built around Japanese-Americans during WWII.

[Aja Koester]

The video clip of Lenora Chu was extremely interesting for me as a teacher, and I appreciated how her book and talk has the potential to resonate with a large majority of people, not just educators. She opens by explaining how her research on China's education system is through many lenses: parenting, education, China's culture. She does a great job of storytelling to get her point across. 

One story that Chu told was of her son's teacher (Teacher Chen) forcing her son to eat eggs. Chu confronted the teacher and the teacher's response was very upfront stating, "yes I did". Chu then goes on to tell how she attempted to explain that in the US we do not force, but rather give choices to children. Teacher Chen poses the question, "Does it work?" and then Chu admits...not always. I loved this, because it was such a real response and I have had this conversation with so many other teachers. I agree with Chu, choice does not always work. As a teacher you are constantly playing a game of balance between allowing choice while maintaining control and authority. How much choice is fair, keeping in mind that a lesson must move forward?

Chu finishes this story with Teacher Chen getting angry that she challenged her authority in front of a child and Chu states, in Chinese culture "teacher knows best." This was great because it reminded me of a conversation I had with two friends, one is from China and the other from Japan. They both agreed that where they grew up, you absolutely would not have questioned a teacher. The teacher knows best, as Chu put it. While watching her talk I was interested in this difference in culture, because in the US often as teachers we are told that students appreciate vulnerability and the admittance that sometimes as people we make mistakes too, or that we do not know the answers to everything.

[Aja Koester]

The film I watched for the last seminar discussion (that we did not get around to) was The Golden Era by Ann Hui. It was a film about the life of Xiao Hong who was a famous modernist writer from China in the 1900s. The film depicted her challenges not only as a writer, but as a female, as a wife, and as a revolutionary thinker. The film does a great job of incorporating pieces of her writings and contextualizing her works within a larger framework of her life and the world around her. (I have analyzed the structure of the film in greater detail in my film review).

This movie got me thinking about how to embed film into my lesson. Many of my students are into K-pop and Japanese culture (i.e. anime), which immediately got me thinking about my postmodern unit since so much of Japanese contemporary culture has tenets of postmodernism. I would like to do something that incorporates my students' interests in some way, so I did some research on other postmodern Japanese films. I found a scholarly article about postmodernism in Japanese popular culture, which is challenging but accessible for high school students. It discussed a film titled All About Lily Chou Chou. So far, I have only watched the trailer because I had to order the film, but it depicts some postmodern concepts perfectly. That is what I have so far for my lesson.

[Aja Koester]

After learning about Chairman Mao during Dube’s lecture, I came across a documentary that follows, oddly enough, a British motorcycle rider named Guy Martin through China. The documentary is titled “Our Guy in China” and looks at modern China through an interesting perspective where he rides around a “flying pigeon bicycle” which is the most popular Chinese produced bicycle with over 500 million that were produced. During the documentary Martin attends a celebration where thousands of people come together before the sun comes up for the national flag-raising ceremony held in Tian’anmen Square in Beijing. He discusses the history of the square as the first place where Mao united China and put it under Communist rule. He is amazed at the respect and loyalty shown by the people in the gathering and by the flag raising celebration, which lasts exactly 2 minutes and 7 seconds (the duration of time for the sun to rise). He emphasizes how Mao died over 40 years ago, but how important he still is during this celebration. In the background of the square hangs the enormous portrait of Mao, which Dube discussed in his lecture and the documentary explains how the portrait is replaced each year with a refreshed painting. Many visitors wait in line to observe Mao’s body in a mausoleum. Later in the film, Martin goes back to his hotel room and goes on the internet to test out what he can find about Tian’anmen Square. He discovers that the massacres are censored and one website calls the event a “popular myth”. The documentary helped bring to life many of the topics Dube discussed.

[Aja Koester]

After the film, Han Dongfan explained the film was not for the film industry, but to record the activism that went on throughout history so that in the future young people who have workers’ rights can remember what people went through to gain these rights. The film was a very realistic portrayal of the people in China. The style of it was unedited and raw, which seemed purposeful to show the audience the real life struggle that many people in China were going through. However, it was interesting that Dongfan made it very clear that his intention is NOT to build sympathy within white collared workers such as teachers or others who are not factory workers. He explained that white collared workers have too much to lose and are not truly willing to fight. Therefore, they cannot truly empathize with these blue collared workers in the film who have lost all hope and feel like fighting back at any cost is all they have left. While watching I assumed that the very raw approach to the film including the moments when workers had been physically abused and were interviewed while still bleeding was to build support, but it was surprising to me that this was not the major intent. While clearly Dongfan seemed to appreciate support, he did not see that this was the way to make a change. For him, true change comes from workers bargaining with their own bosses not necessarily through support of others. Rather, the intent of the film is for historical documentation purposes.

[Aja Koester]

My card is an image of many different people celebrating what seems to be the election of Chairman Mao. There are balloons and fireworks in the sky along with hanging banners. There are dancers at the bottom of the group of people holding lanterns as part of the celebration. Many people are holding different offerings including items such as fruit and flowers. It is clear that the people are from all different walks of life, including a naval officer, a musician, a baker, etc. It seems this poster was to promote the unification of all people under Mao's Communist People's Republic of China. It celebrates the potential spirit of collectivity and patriotism that many poeple believed was possible through supporting Chairman Mao.

 

 

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[Aja Koester]

Tonight Professor Dube discussed the 19^th century. The primary source titled, “Imperial Edict to the Board of Rites” expresses the Manchu demand for cutting hair. The new rulers demand that all Chinese subjects need to wear their hair in a Manchu tribal style with the top of the head shaved and the remaining hair braided in the back. The argument for this was unification. The edict uses specific language to describe this unification where the Emperor is the father and the citizens are his sons. They are described as part of the same body that must work together. The edict poses that, “If they are not as one then it will be as if they had two hearts” therefore they are unable to survive. This is an analogy of citizens who act as if they are part of another country and are not on the same page as their Emperor. I found this proclamation to be cleverly written using the language of a father and son rather than a ruler and subject because this brings an underlying sense of guilt if you do not cut your hair. It is as if you are going against your family rather than a distanced ruler. The entire order is clever as well, because it placed a physical demarcation on rebels so they could be recognized easily.

[Aja Koester]

In “Ridding China of Bad Customs,” there is a section titled “An Address To Two Hundred Million Fellow Countrywomen” by Qiu Jin. As I read this, I kept thinking this would make a good article for teaching rhetoric in high school.

The piece begins with a “hook” to get the reader’s attention stating, “Alas! The greatest injustice in this world must be the injustice suffered by our female population of two hundred million.” The “Alas!” grabs you and then the following statement immediately pulls you to wonder about the injustice. Because it concerns the, “female population of two hundred million” it applies to such a huge demographic that any female reader despite their backround can empathize. The author then moves into a series of if-then statements to make the reader visualize various situations of women born under Chinese customs that Jin finds tyrannous. Jin also uses rhetorical questions and sarcasm to expose the absurdity of customs such as foot binding when she asks, “What is all this misery for? Is it just so that on the girl's wedding day friends and neighbors will compliment him, saying, "Your daughter's feet are really small"? Is that what the pain is for?” Midway through the article after building anger within the reader, Jin turns her focus to directly address women. She states, “Dear sisters, you must know that you'll get nothing if you rely upon others. You must go out and get things for yourselves” essentially turning towards a call for action.

I feel this piece is written at a level where high school students could grasp its use of pathos and logos along with its structure.

[Aja Koester]

Christmas Cake Theory in Japan:

http://www.gurashii.com/the-theory-of-japanese-women-and-christmas-cakes/

Jane, I appreciate your post about your experience on marital pressures in China. I met a Japanese-Australian man while visiting Japan and he told me about the Christmas Cake Theory in Japan. It seems to create the same pressures on women to get married that you are speaking about in China. The analogy is that a woman is like a Christmas Cake where the optimal eating period is on December 25^th or at 25 years old. After the 25^th, prices are reduced and the cakes go bad. They explain, this is similar to a woman whose prime age for marrying is 25 and after that they start to “go bad.” The article “High Prices, Cakes, and Marriage” cited above states, “[Christmas cakes are] Highly demanded, sold at full price, and enjoyed with great company – this is the peak season to eat Christmas Cakes; therefore the peak age for women to get married (a woman’s peak marriage value)…As the Christmas Cake Season is over, women cannot expect many marriage offers from men – further slashed prices referring to their significantly reduced marriage values. In other words, they have passed their sell-by-date.” It is interesting to think that both China and Japan have similar cultural expectations for women that are made very explicit. It seems American women face similar pressures, but they are not as explicit and spelled out.  

Furthermore, the reading “Bank of Korea chief calls for increased birth rate amid population aging” was interesting because it brings an added economic layer into this pressure and also shows that Korea has similar expectations to China and Japan. The implication of a bank calling for more babies is that cultural pressures for marriage are partly dictated for monetary reasons. I wonder if this same economic pressure is in China and Japan as well.

[Aja Koester]

During Professor Dube’s lecture on China from 1800- 1950, he asked the question “Can we change the past?”

The answer is of course no, but what we can change is the perception of the past. He then discussed the 3 reasons for why the stories from history are often revised.

1)    New data causes revision to history

2)    New people (new generations, different cultures) asking about the past cause people to rethink history

3)    New questions being asked cause a deeper look into history (i.e. Were there women at this time period? What about the poor during this time? Etc.)

This could be an interesting lesson with students on how we understand/ tell history. If I think all the way back to Dube’s first lecture, we looked at 2 different versions of maps in textbooks from a Japanese perspective versus Korean perspective that wanted to claim the East Sea or Sea of Japan. This may be an example of how history can be “revised” depending on the story that is told. This question about changing the past may also be interesting in introducing the meaning of historical revisionism before then looking at an unorthodox version of an historical event.

[Aja Koester]

In one of the books sent around by Prof. Yamashita titled Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes there was a chapter focused on women rebels in the Tokugawa Era (1600-1800s). It discussed the subordination of women stating, “[women] were expected to be obedient, docile, and submissive…They were enjoined to be good wives and wise mothers,” which is similar to the expectation of women during Britain’s Medieval Era. As I read this chapter I was interested in the parallels between these women rebels and what my class has been focused on. I teach World Literature and we have been looking at one of the most famous British feminist characters, Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath, who argues that as an experienced wife she should have authority within her marriage. It seems the women in Japan had similar arguments to this character. I would be interested in tying in the Japanese experience next year perhaps using this book chapter.

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