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Eric Hoh"Mao changed the emphasis froma proletariat to the peasant class to better suit his needs..." really reminds me of Donald Trump's campaign and his ability to appeal to the pathos of working class peoples. I would love for my students to engage in an analysis of how Mao and Trump's manipulation of peoples has been, and continues to be, a tool used by politicians of every level. I would ask my students to identify certain patterns and warning signs for a populist movement, and then have students consider how they might teach these warning signs to people who are swept up in the rhetoric and false promises of immoral politicians.
Eric HohI love the opportunity to teach students more about arts and culture in East Asian societies. Oftentimes, I feel that instruction on art in history gets trapped in the European Rennaissance. However, it is clear that their is a rich history of art and entertainment which exists in East Asian cultures. One way to get students to start thinking about East Asian performance and entertainment might be to show a video of K-Pop. These videos often portray men in a highly gender-fluid, androgynous image. This might be paralleled to the practice of Kabuki performance amongst Japanese males. In addition to this, a discussion regarding gender binaries and LGBTQ communities and inclusive practices and attitudes could be presented. This is a highly relavent issue that could be made more palatable through the discussion and learning of arts and cultures which demonstrate an affirmation of gender fluidity.
Eric HohI was truly humbled to be able to listen to and witness Han Dongfang's thoughts on his documentary and experiences. I was truly start struck to be in the same room as the man who has had such positive influence in the lives of many people who have become vulnerable to the lies of the government. What reallly stood out to me was that he saw the film more as something he hoped future Chinese people could watch in order to remember the struggles that occurred in order for them to experience the liberties that he believes they will surely have one day. Instead of being bitter or angry with the ways in which he was outcasted and treated by the Chinese government, he maintains a very balanced and compassionate stance towards China and his people, and he continues to work towards the installation of their rights and benefits to this day.
Eric HohI love teaching these extremely important events in US history to my students. However, I have noticed that many students are relatively apathetic when learning about the xenophobia and exclusion of East Asians in American history. In order to make this more relevant to my students in South Central Los Angeles, I often add the 1992 LA Riots to the mix. Many of my students are more familiar with this moment in history because they have heard stories from their older family members. By linking these more distant anti-Asian events with something more near and dear to the experiences and narratives of my students and their communities, I hope that there can be more engaging discussion about these poorly represented histories. In addition to this, I also hope that there can be some healing and reconciliation in communal attitudes and views towards Asian Americans when my African American and Latino/Hispanic students bitterly think about the conflicts surrounding Los Angeles in 1992.
Eric HohI appreciate that you recognize that "one of my roles is to teach my students how to... challenge and deconstruct myths and stereotypes through thought, empathy, and exposure to other viewpoints." If there is one thing to be gained from Professor Kurashige's lecture, that would be it. Keeping this in mind, a suggestion that I have for even beginning this type of learning for students (in this example, secondary students) would be utilizing supplementary resources (blog posts and articles) that outline the history of the de-sexualization/imasculation of Asian men in the United States. I would begin by asking the class "Would you ever date an Asian person?" This would provide an engaging and fun segue for students to see a side of US history (and also history in general) that is a little more elusive and malicious.
Eric HohOff the top of my head, placing the history of Korea's division in the language of "Civil War" can be an excellent opporunity to help students re-evaluate and strengthen their understanding of the American Civil War, whilst also teaching them another example of what that has looked like in a nation like Korea. In addition to this, my head is flooded with imagery of the Berlin Wall and what it meant for and did to people of Germany. In a world history course, I might have students investigate and research different national conflicts (Apartheid in South Africa, North and South Korea, Berlin Wall, etc.) and then compare and contrast all of these events.
Eric HohA sad reality of American media is that it often works to stir up fear in people and to create polarizing views and stigmas about people. This has largely been the case for Korea in that most of my students often laugh and only associate Korea with Kim Jong Un and nuclear weapons; It's either that or the comedy movie "The Interview." I would love to take this same line of thinking as a point of teaching students empathy and open-minded, humble thinking in critically analyzing anything they consume (whether it be via social media, friends, news, etc.). I would like to help students to identify the ways in which creating stereotypes and caricatures of people can be damaging, and then hammer in that idea by presenting them with articles and news clips that do these same things against them (my students are all minorities; either African American or Latino/Hispanic).
Eric HohThis immediately made me think of an opportunity to implement restorative justice teaching (which is extremely relevant and necessary for students at my school) with a lesson covering this article! It would be amazing to provide both exerpts from this article with the diary of the Japanese school girl. I can already imagine my students criticizing and debating over whether the Japanese are right or wrong for refusing to apologize. I know that I could rally the students to see the value and importance of the Japanese apologizing, and what that might look like. Then, I would metaphorically turn on the lights of students' minds so that they would see that this diplomatic, international issue is much like the issues that they face inter-personally with one another.
Eric HohI love the prospect of doing a case study of Japan and their complete 180 in addressing pollution and the effects of pollution. Our students are entrenched in a nation whose social, economic, and political cultures are entrenched in an ignorant and short-sighted attitude towards climate change and preservation of the earth. It would be interesting to facilitate a debate as to whether policy and positive changes could be made in the United States in comparison to Japan. Students would be tasked with digging deeper and really breaking down the politics and economics that go into the determination of policies that we are living under. What would it look like for our students to take ownership of the decisions and policies that affect our thinking and actions on a daily basis? What would it look like if our students had the knowledge and tools to enact positive change to create a more sustainable future for the world? These are the kinds of learning opportunities that can be created in this sort of lesson.
Eric HohI would love to utilize this article as a hook to engage students in a topic of discussion regarding the different factors affecting birth rates in different cultures and societies. I can see this article really grabbing students' attentions and piquing their interests. I would leverage their curiosities to teach them to consider a variety of factors (social, economic, political, etc.) as well as to utilize data in charts and graphs to make generalizations or to support their claims. These are really important skills in analyzing history and critically thinking, and I think that this would be an excellent platform to practice and model these skills.
Eric HohFirst off, I think it is awesome that you have the opportunity to teach a range of students with East Asian ethnic backgrounds. I know that you teach in Bakersfield, so I imagine that your students are quite diverse. I can imagine that attempting to address "the subtleties" of this topic might be very challengin. The process of how filial piety and Confucianism passing into other East Asian societies and what it becomes in each context might seem irrelevant to students, but I realized the process of cultural blending is present in Hispanic/Latino culture and society as well! This might be a good opportunity to engage in a cross-cultural discussion about students' lives and experiences in conjunction with their understanding of their unique ethnic histories.
Eric HohIt just occured to me that it is commonplace to see the media associate and connect China and North Korea together. Of the few people and/or students that I know of who are cognizant of this political-economic relationship between the two nations, I have never heard anyone explicitly (or implicitly) recognize the historic context in which these nations established said relationship. I was personally involved with the high school club known as LINK (Liberty in North Korea). I can see a club like this as an excellent opporunity to provide a more tangible learning opportunity for students.
Eric HohI very much appreciate this excellent idea! It allows students to have a more kinesthetic and visual experience of learning that can be extremely memorable for all types of learners! I will definitely look into implementing a modified lesson experience like this for my students since we are always looking for new field trip ideas! In addition to this, I thought it might be interesting to also utilize the Chinese American Museum, as well as the Japanese American National Museum (both located in Los Angeles!). My students have definitely demonstrated the lasting impact of field trips that truly align with and complement curriculum. I look forward to seeing how these field trips and ways of thinking might shape and prepare our students for the future!
Eric Hoh
The primary way I want to incorporate East Asia into my teaching is with the intention of helping students to see and understand East Asian culture and history as being rich and unique. I would desire for students to be able to make connections and parallels to more emphasized histories of European and United States histories. In addition to this, it would be amazing to create opportunities for students to see themselves in a global scale and perspective. My personal upbringing has largely felt Western-centric, and even this designation of globally Western versus Eastern assumes Europe as a central position. This is actually a crucial idea about history that I want my students to become aware of and to think critically about when they are processing any histories they are taught in the future. Students should develop a critical and analytical lens when reading history books, texts, resources, etc. I think that this seminar has done an excellent job in highlighting the deep complexity and nuance that is present in East Asian history, as well as the utter importance of learning these histories due to the global presence and impact that these nations have had on European and American history.
Overall, my general desire is to see a greater openness and awareness to the importance and influence of East Asia on Europe and America. The students I teach are largely unfamiliar with East Asian people and/or culture. As such, I see a great opportunity to help build the bridges for future cross-cultural interactions and connections that I hope my students will experience in their future relationships in their future communities and college campuses. I am certain that I will continue to bring up discussion about the Sea of Japan versus the East Sea at dinner tables and friendly conversations.
Eric HohI chose the movie "Grave of the Fireflies," which is a Japanese animated film that is set in last moments of Japan during World War II. It really grips viewers into reflecting upon the harsh realities and negative effects of war upon everyday people, and it does an amazing job of humanizing Japanese people. If you are interested in learning more about this film and how it might be used in the classroom, feel free to peruse my post!
In regards to my lesson plan idea, I want to cover CA SS HSS 7.3.5-7.3.6. I would love to integrate a multi-lesson plan that incorporates computer lab time for research utilizing websites covering the 7.3.5, followed by group work to develop a presentation/station for a gallery walk. Students would then engage in a discussion/debate defending their discovery as being the most impactful/influential in Chinese history. The last day of this multi-lesson plan would teach students the development of the imperial state and scholar-official class by giving students an "important exam" that would determine their power to decide the way time is spent in class that day.
