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Donna JamshidnejadI have not, but I have attended a PD through the museum on the War in the Pacific and have their curriculum kit. I should check their website again for more materials.
Donna JamshidnejadAfter teaching WWII, I usually mention to students how Japan and Germany differ in their approaches to teaching history. While German students visit concentration camps and study their role in the war, Japanese students do not study atrocities committed by their military. I am not surprised that Professor Brown’s argument of militarism in art deco during the 30s and 40s is rejected in Japan. Instead of simply mentioning this aspect of Japanese society, I would like to design a lesson. A quick google search uncovered this paper: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7824/1/Tan_Weilu_BPhil.pdf
While I have not read the paper yet, I did browse it and found some useful information and ideas, such as on page 27 Table 4 where we can read translations of “controversial textbooks” versus “traditional textbooks.” Here is an excerpt on the Nanjing Massacre from the controversial textbook with a 0.4% market share:
In August of the same year, two Japanese army officers were shot and killed in Shanghai, a city where foreign interests were concentrated. This incident escalated the confrontation between Japan and China. The Japanese army believed they could make Chiang Kai-shek surrender by taking the Kuomintang capital of Nanjing. In December, they occupied Nanjing, but Chiang Kai-shek transferred the capital inland to Chongqing and continued to resist. *Footnote at the end of this sentence: “At this time, the Chinese military and civilian population suffered many casualties due to the Japanese military (the Nanjing Incident). Furthermore, controversy has arisen with the data used to calculate the number of victims in this incident. Many perspectives exist on the number of victims and other details about this incident due to doubts about the historical record, and debate continues to this day
The author compares this to a traditional middle school textbook with a 14.9% market share:
The Japanese military also invaded China from the south and occupied Shanghai and Nanjing, the capital at the time. In Nanjing, many Chinese, not only soldiers but also women and children, were killed. Japan was criticized by the international community for the “barbarism of the Japanese military” (the Nanjing Massacre). The Japanese people, however, were not informed of this incident.
Clearly neither excerpt cover the massacre in detail and leave out vital information. However, I can use excerpts such as these and compare them to sources we use in class to study “what really happened” while also analyzing bias and historiography.
Donna JamshidnejadI'm not sure if this image depicts foreigners visiting China to sight see, or if this is a political delegation. Due to the many women in the image, I assume it is depicting tourism or possibly Africans in China.The image celebrates farming as the visitors pose for a photograph in front of farming equipment. They seem to be receiving a tour of farming technology. I'm curious about the historical context of this image and what time period it is from.
Donna JamshidnejadStandford History Education Group, SHEG, has a lesson on China's Cultural Revolution https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/chinas-cultural-revolution
Prior to this lesson, I give a basic overview of the Great Leap Forward through a 10 minute lecture. For the remainder of class, students conduct a gallery walk of images from the period. The theme of the gallery walk is propaganda. Students analyze both propaganda images and "real" images from the Great Leap Forward and its aftermath. The posters provided here can be used for a similar gallery walk because the overarching question is: what can propaganda tell us about a country in history (contextualization)? How do propaganda images reflect the goals or outcomes of _______ (event).
Donna JamshidnejadStandford History Education Group, SHEG, has a lesson on China's Cultural Revolution https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/chinas-cultural-revolution
Prior to this lesson, I give a basic overview of the Great Leap Forward through a 10 minute lecture. For the remainder of class, students conduct a gallery walk of images from the period. The theme of the gallery walk is propaganda. Students analyze both propaganda images and "real" images from the Great Leap Forward and its aftermath. The posters provided here can be used for a similar gallery walk because the overarching question is: what can propaganda tell us about a country in history (contextualization)? How do propaganda images reflect the goals or outcomes of _______ (event).
Donna JamshidnejadThank you! My email is [email protected] if it is easier to send them via email.
Donna JamshidnejadI teach high school and the readings are typically a little too easy so I often use the original documents instead of the modified ones. I did a PD with SHEG once and they taught us how to modify documents. They recommend taking the original and shortening it to around 200-500 words and selecting 2-3 words to define. For any other difficult words, we should simply modify the words and replace them with an easier synonym. The reason for this is that defining too many words for students makes it difficult for them to understand the document.
Donna JamshidnejadWhile listening to Professor Yasar discuss family dramas in cinema, I was struck by the difference between American portrayal of "drama" versus the film clips we watched from Japanese film makers. The clips we watched seemed to echo the realities of relationships within families. The scenes of household chores, the discussions between family members, even the jokes about death all seemed real to me when comparing the film clips to my experiences. In contrast, our family dramas are unrealistic. Even our reality shows are outrageous. Dramas in American cinema typically involve backstabbing, scandals, obsessions, and even murder. While I don’t have much interest in watching American dramas, the Japanese films drew my attention.
Donna JamshidnejadAkunna, I teach AP World History.
Donna JamshidnejadI appreciate Professor Yasar discussion of the American occupation of Japan and censorship of media. While it is difficult to include every aspect of World History in my classroom, I think that I should work this information into the classroom somehow. Visuals could portray this censorship through images, newspaper articles, or film clips during the occupation, and after the occupation. A Google search on US occupation and censorship in Japan quickly reveals some articles. Through more research I think I can dig up primary and secondary sources that students can use in the classroom. We can compare US censorship to other censorship at the time (for example, communist countries).
Review: Censorship of Japanese Films During the U.S. Occupation of Japan
Donna JamshidnejadOne part of the Professor Berry's lecture that stood out to me was when he said that no one is going to make a 100 million dollar film if they are not going to have access to the Chinese market. Some of our films are therefore censored in order to ensure sales in China. Due to the quota system only a limited number of films will reach China, so Professor Berry clarified that only our box office hits are generally catered to a Chinese audience. The notion that these films are censored to the standards set by the Chinese government is a little disturbing. While we have positive consequences of a large Chinese fanbase such as more Asian representation in films, I can't let go of the thought that American films are being censored.
Donna JamshidnejadMy students study propaganda under Mao's rule through reading his work and studying primary and secondary sources. Today's lecture introduced me to many examples of art that I can fold into this lesson. In addition to primary sources and reading Mao's work, I will now add art pieces as well as Mao's opinion on the "destruction" of many forms of art. San Mao is a great example of art to use in the classroom. Students are expected to compare and analyze continuity and change over time. They can compare the use and depiction of San Mao before the revolution and after. Students can also use this character to study continuities and changes in 20th century China.
Donna JamshidnejadHi Jane, you made an interesting point about watching Flower Girl and being unaware of the political message. You also comment on the political agendas of Chinese films from the 60s to 90s. When watching these films, was the political message clear to you? I often see propaganda in American film, especially those that glorify war and demonize our political enemies. I wonder how consumers view Chinese and Korean films and the messages embedded in them.
Donna JamshidnejadProfessor Kim's lecture and film discussion was fascinating. Many of my students are engaged in class when we watch short film clips. Dr. Kim's ability to use short film clips to demonstrate the cultural and political changes in Korea encouraged me to do something similar. I use the Standford History Education Group's lesson on the Korean War. In addition to this lesson, I would like to work in documents related to the Sinchun massacre and focus on sourcing the events. For this lesson, I can work in North Korean films depicting the war. For example, we watched a scene from Choi Hak-sin Family (1966). In a history classroom, we typically use written sources and images to compare perspectives, however I now see the benefit of using films as well.
Donna JamshidnejadHello everyone,
I teach 10th grade AP World History and Restorative Justice at a local high school here in Los Angeles known as L.A.C.E.S. 20% of the World History curriculum includes East Asia, from the first civilization to present day. I'm here to learn more history and incorporate visual culture (my weak point) into my curriculum.
