[Chris Hertzog]

Great idea, and I was inspired myself, especially hearing the story of Prof. Yamashita's father at Pearl Harbor and knowing my grandparents were there at the same time, reminded me that history is not just a subject, it is the tale of our lives, our families, our peoples  and the perspectives they have or had.  If we don't share it, it can be lost.  That being said, I realize I need to be more active and diligent with my grandfather's photos from Hawaii and share those with others who remember or lived through those days or even had family and friends that did.  Whether its a photo, a diary or a family story, these personal narratives or perspectives is how we have any historical records at all.

[Chris Hertzog]

I also found the perspective of the children eye opening on how war, patriotism and nationalism can take hold of the young, but at the same time how some of them could be so resilient and offer an understanding of the complexities and emotions surrounding the families and communities they were in.  Kids seem to be able to speak to the reality or 'truth' of the situation when adults continue to look the other way.  Prof. Yamashita's perspective and teaching style was very helpful in brining in the big picture or the Japanese culture, the war and then the personal view of the journals, especially the children's.  These kinds of perspectives and sources are excellent for our students today.  One of these diary entries can bring our students into the minds of others powerfully and quickly.

[Chris Hertzog]

Great idea, I also thought that was a great reading and document usable in the classroom.  I will use it too.  Totally agree that helping students see the connections from then til now helps them understand the headlines in the news.  I think the British and the American influence has now come full circle and the behavior or repsoneses by current governments are absolutely linked to the past events.  Sometimes I think American culture can just look back a few years or so and neglect what happened hundreds or thousands of years ago, but other cultures and nations do not forget those things.  The past is present in the now.  I know that is somewhat of a generalization of American historical understandings, but the more we can get our students to understand the past, the better.  They are our future leaders.

[Chris Hertzog]

In my classes at school we are currently looking at the growth and spread of Buddhism out of India into East Asia, specifically Japan.  The readings this week were very helpful in tracking the merging of Shinto and Buddhism, but also of the Imperial Sun goddess cult and its connections to the Emperor into the Meiji Restoration.  So by the 1900s, the Sun goddess manifested herself into the national leader, which spreads that superiority to the people and then gets wrapped up in Social Darwinism, the blending of Buddhism and conservative Confucianism, the infectious imperialism learned from Europe and the U.S., nationalism, gun boat diplomacy and the desire to expel the "barbarian"; such a fascinating and complex story.  I am looking forward to the discussion and talk this week.

[Chris Hertzog]

In the morning discussion last week we got to the issue of water and natural resource issues across China.  The readings and news articles highlighted the serious concern about water, disease and keeping access open to millions for water and sewage service.  It is crazy to look at this issue of water access compared to the access to trade and to business expansion.  This week I caught this program on BBC's "Our World" show on "The New Silk Road".  The railway being built across Asia to Europe to offer direct access to goods, foods and "clean" European products.  Absolutely amazing what they are doing.  The past becomes present.  Here is the link, they also get into some of the cultural issues in the central and western parts of China.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhb8tfu7m1c

 

[Chris Hertzog]

I too have been thinking about the debate in naming seas and other land and water features and how in a sense who makes the maps get to decide what to call things or where to put them, say right in the midde... Prime Meridian?  Anyway, the example Clay used about the debate in the textbooks in VA rang home for me.

I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in northern VA, Farifax County Schools.  The reason the debate was so big there was not so much based on the size of the district or number of students, but on who or whose kids went to those schools.  Congressmen, White House staff, CIA, Pentagon and all the rest live right there and almost all of them were from another part of the U.S. or another country.  I went to Langley High School, right next door to CIA headquarters.  When those folks showed up at board meetings or councils people payed attention.  So a small district could raise some big questions, concerns and start a debate on whose perspectives do we favor or ignore?

In a way this encourages me on all of this.  Even seeing the new California Social Sciences Standards, particularly in High School World History and U.S. History.  I can see a change in the curriculum that tells the story of more people not less and gives their perspective and voice.  No longer will students just learn that "the West" was born from Greece and Rome, but that there were actually other foundational cultures and civilizations that contributed to the world we have today and guess what?  They still are contributing and have a voice in the conversation now.  Asia, it turns out, is just one of those lands.

[Chris Hertzog]

Totally agree, great picture and great talk on how Korean women were similar to those in the U.S. and elsewhere at the time.  This picture would be great to use in U.S. History classes to see how students reacted to it.  Would they think it was here in the U.S.?  Or could they recognize and differences and know that it was taken outside the U.S.?  Not only would this be a great tool to use for 11th American Lit, but also using it in 11th U.S. History and then branching off to research or investigate how these same women were treated in Korea or the U.S. during the same time period and how Korean-Americans were doing, say in the Los Angeles area at the time.

[Chris Hertzog]

I agree it is facinating to see the beautiful changes in a society and how it affects how those see a person's view of life and fate.  Very helpful for me was the explanation of the anti-Confucianism movements through Korean history, especially around the Tonghak rebellion.  I appreciated the references to how this was a religious and a social movement at the same time and how that affected the larger populace as well as the local corruption in the smaller magistrates.  

Clearly seeing the separation and the working out of the "Pratical Learning" movement to the "Northern Learning" movement to the "Western Learning" movement and the Tonghaks was very helpful for me.

I realized that this was an area I was very weak in understanding how they all played off of each other and I realized the lack of depth in my teaching in that area.

[Chris Hertzog]

Terrific session (despite the heat) and I confer with the first post about learning how a country's history and society work into the individual's view of life and fate.  I particularly enjoyed Dr. Jung-Kim's references to filial piety and the continuation of Confucianism and the continual transformation of Confucianism (Neoconfucianism) in Korean society, especially with the development of the role of women in the society during all of that development.

For me, it is a complex subject to teach on and communicate the subtleties, especially it's transfer from Chinese culture to Korean culture.  And this is made even more complex when I have Korean, Japanese and Chinese first and second generation students in the classroom.   It was very helpful to hear all of that from a Korean perspective and how it transfered from China and then how it played out in Korean society in context with the Japanese influences.

 

 

[Chris Hertzog]

Hi, I am Chris Hertzog, I teach AP World History at Stockdale High in Bakersfield.  Yes, I will be making the drive to USC, but looking forward to the course and the info.  I have taught 15 years, here in California and overseas in Europe and in the eastern Med.

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