[Andrew Frank]

One of my favorite readings, which we did not discuss on Saturday, was the Economist article, "Debating contests teach Chinese students an argument has two sides." Although I knew a great amount of Chinese students choose to study in America (which was a question raised in Lula Wang's recent film, The Farewell), I had no idea that it is often due to the fact that China has "brutal university-entrance exams." I was also surprised to discover that "Chinese education emphasises one correct answer to a question," unlike what is typical in American education. I am curious to learn more about Chinese education, specifically how I as an American teacher may learn from their country's pedagogical strengths & weaknesses...

[Andrew Frank]

Sara, I love that you brought up Ansari's Modern Romance! I have read it as well, and his case study certainly came to mind while we discussed the "single-person household" in Saturday's session. Without discrediting Ansari's work, I feel that it may be too gross of a simplification to infer that the main cause of the single-person household is stress or a resistant attitude toward sex/dating. 

I truly had no idea - until Saturday's session - of the intense lack of space Japan faces. (6-8 individuals standing on one newspaper is truly mind-boggling to me!) Dube's comparison with California was especially notworthy: although California is still larger in terms of physical size, it only has 39 million+ inhabitants compared to Japan's 126 million+. I would like to infer that perhaps the single-person household has grown in popularity, because Japanese citizens simply want to feel they have their "own space." Although it may certainly not be the only reason for the rise in these households, perhaps Japanese adults crave this "space," since they lack it so much in their day-to-day lives...

[Andrew Frank]

While listening to Professor Dube's lecture on "China in the 19th Century" on Saturday, I found myself especially intrigued at the ways that the Imperial Palace was shaped and reshaped over the course of its history. The changes the Manchurians made when taking over the country in 1644 with the establishment of the Qing Dynasty seem almost contradictory to me in a way. As noted in Saturday's lecture, the Manchus created a limited government, that allowed dual ruling (a Machu & Chinese in top positions), no change to the economic order, and a respect of the Ming Dynasty's religous practicies. If they really promoted such tolerance, my question is why they were so strict in terms of their hair edicts?

As mentioned in the reading from The Search for Modern China by Cheng et al., the colloquial saying at the time was a bit extreme: "'Lose your hair or lose your head.'" Was this simply a weak (and failed) attempt by the Manchus to enforce their culture, without doing any of the hard work to actually make it happen? As Dube mentioned in the lecture, the Manchus did "lose their distinctiveness" as a nation, as well as their language...Perhaps, if the Qing Dynasty practiced as much tolerance in terms of fashion, as they did in other areas, there reign could have lasted even longer than the 266 years.

[Andrew Frank]

Sara, you make a very meaningful comparison here - in questioning how foreignors living in the U.S. are treated in terms of their voting rights. I also found this article ("Muted in country of birth" by Joel Fitzpatrick) extremely enlightening, especially since it seemed to emphasize the interconnectedness of the three major East Asian powerhouse countries. The interplay between these nations, even geographically (with the "East Asia" vs. "Sea of Japan" debate discussed in the session), seems to reveal countries continuing to make bold moves to emphasize their power. The fact that part of Japan's naturalization process asks foreignors to "give up any other nationality and their old passport" (Fitzpatrick) simply seems like an extension of this power play.

As we further discussed in the session itself, while debatable in its terms of its justness, Japan's strict naturalization also seems to fall in line with its other attempts to "legitimize" itself as a nation. As Professor Dube mentioned, several Japanese individuals love to note the size of the nation (as seen with the image of Japan superimposed on the U.S.). What is surprising to me is that Japan would not be more open to immigration, due to its aging population. If a full 27% of Japan will be over 65-years-old in 2020 (Dube), then why will Japan not open its arms to easing naturalization policies, in order to build its younger generation?

[Andrew Frank]

Hello all,

I am thrilled to be participating in the seminar this semester! I am a first-year high school English teacher at Panorama High School, located up in the San Fernando Valley.  I know very little about East Asian history, but am very excited to learn more! I am particularly looking to increase my knowledge of international affairs (in this specific case, between the U.S. & Asia) to create a more globally-conscious curriculum for my students. Looking forward to working with you all.

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