[Eric Hoh]

Japanese American National Museum

            This museum is such a gem for anyone interested in deepening and enriching their understanding of Japanese culture and history! It is located near many delicious restaurants and cute stores in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. I already have a few students in mind who I would certainly recommend this museum to because of the rich and abundant opportunities for a glimpse of Japan in our own city. They currently have an exhibition on the diaspora of Japanese people in Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo. This exhibition is extremely intriguing in and of itself, and it naturally incites a curiosity as to how and why Japanese people are scattered throughout the American continents. I would definitely recommend a visit to this museum to any and all students or people who are interested in Japanese culture, regardless of how much (or little) Japanese history they know. I would also recommend stopping by Daikokuya for lunch or dinner. This would be a wonderful field trip experience, or simply a fun and engaging weekend stop. 

[Eric Hoh]

Korean Cultural Center Visit

            I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Korean Cultural Center. They offered a brief, ten- minute presentation on some Korean customs, traditions, and foods. The presenter was very knowledgeable and prepared to answer any questions about Korean culture in response to the video/presentation. There were beautiful displays of Korean instruments, artifacts, and traditional Korean-styled rooms. I learned that the Korean Cultural Center encourages LAUSD educators to bring students on free field trips to their center. In addition to this, they offer to pay up to $200 for bus transportation.

            This visit to the Korean Cultural Center reminded me of the reality that East Asian Americans are often perceived in a very stereo-typical way. I noticed that the presenter seemed to be painfully aware of the perception of East Asians as quiet, submissive, and stoic. She countered this caricature with an emphasis on the love for arts (music and entertainment), technology (cutting-edge), and food (unique and delicious). I think that this would be an excellent field-trip or experience for both students and educators. Although it does not go into depth of the Korean history that we learned from Professor Jung-Kim, it does enough to spark curiosity and cultural bridge-building interest for all people. Plus, the end of the tour includes the opportunity to interact with technology and a karaoke room. 

[Eric Hoh]

I completely agree with your opinion that this would be an excellent text for high school students to analyze. I particularly think this because of the use of sarcasm. I still remember my high school AP US History class in which my teacher would play clips of The Colbert Report as a means to connect current events with historic events. The structure of this text is easy to chunk since it is conveniently organized into small paragraphs. This text could also be used as a plug into a discussion about womens' rights throughout history, and a cross-cultural analysis of what that looked like or could look like in different contexts. Overall, I believe that with the proper guidance and modeling, this text could be both challenging and engaging for a wide range of learners!

[Eric Hoh]

This reminds me of a more modern catastrophe in which the Chinese government tried to minimize responsibility for shoddy construction of a school campus that was ravaged by an earthquake in 2008. Ai Weiwei is an artist and activist who sought to confront the Chinese government in assuming responsibility for neglecting to uphold safety standards in construction, ultimately leading to thousands of lives lost in a single natural disaster. He has been arrested based on what have been speculated to be made up charges by the Chinese government, and he has also been a political refugee. 

 

It is important for our students to consider the potential for governments to cover up shameful histories, and also the liberties that we are afforded in the United States to speak truth to power. I want to be careful to not sound overly-critical of Chinese politics, especially because the United States has quite a track record of its own (and currently in the making)!

[Eric Hoh]

This playing card portrays the Cultural Revolution in which cadres and intellectuals would occupy and experience lower levels of society. The faces and body language of the people on the card suggest that they are more than happy to comply with Chairman Mao's 7 May Directive. However, the reality was that peasants were not excited to share the burden of becoming "self-sufficient in food production." If anything, the sharing of space and farmland with these demoted cadres and intellectuals created a tense atmosphere in which poor farmers were threatened by competition for limited resources, while intellectuals were strained by the unfamiliar physical demands of labor and food production. In short, this card portrays the effects of Mao's decree as something facilitating unity and prosperity. The reality was quite the opposite. 

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[Eric Hoh]

It is incredible that former Chinese Emperor Pu-Yi was used by the Comminist Party as a political scape goat/puppet. I imagine students being captivated by his story of being raised in isolation to the world (even to the reality of his own country) only to become a prisoner of the state and then eventually having his life being ghost-written into an autobiography that disseminated the propaganda that shifting status from Emperor to citizen was an improvement.

[Eric Hoh]

I often consider the question of "who gets to write the history" as the historian's equivalent question of "which came first; the chicken or the egg?" I am a firm believer that digging into who wrote a history is a necessary skill and lens that each student must develop in order to determine the validity of a historical source. As we all know, the victors often write the books. Too long has K-12 history education been painted in this color. It is high time that people (beginning and/or continuing with this generation of students) start to see history in a more nuanced and balanced perspective. Any history that is cut off from context and lacking in a diversity of voices is an incomplete history. With that little tangent in mind, I think that asking "why weapons technology is equated with cultural superiority" is a pertinent and important question. 

[Eric Hoh]

I can see this topic of discussion expanding further into the issue/reality of students being constantly data-mined through their internet usage. In addition to this, any institution of credit or app often asks to access certain personal information that can be attained and shared to other 3rd parties. The Chinese government is notorious for it's impressive ability to censor the internet content from Chinese citizens. My personal experience and time in China has shown me that even a VPN connection is slow and frustrating. 

 

This topic could be a good segway into a discussion or analysis of ways in which other governments have often raised public concern in the infringement of individual rights and freedoms/privacy (ie Big Ben, Patriot Act, etc). I ultimately imagine that this topic could lead students to project what the future for them might look like based on the actions and responses of people around the world historically. Will there be a push towards more government intervention with the wild-west that is the world wide web? 

[Eric Hoh]

I appreciated how the role-play discussion organically led to a deeper understanding of how China transitioned between these three approaches to reconstruction. Professor Dube really modelled how to facilitate the discussion, and I see the potential for an intellectual exercise such as this to be used for a wide range of learners. It would be interesting to utilize this topic of debate as a critical thinking exercise in which students might compare and contrast the process of reconstruction for a particular region and/or nation-state studied throughout the course of a unit (or at the end of a school year). I can imagine students becoming deeply engaged with the opportunity to debate and role play certain characters in this history. I would probably supplement the discussion with sentence starters and a guide with key points that would have been front-loaded and researched prior to the debate. 

[Eric Hoh]

This was an inspiring film that captured the hardships that laborers have been facing in China. Although they had legal rights to health and social welfare provisions, business owners were not informing workers of these rights. In addition to this, workers realized that even though they had legal rights, they were under a system that would not honor these rights and that would not be regulated in enacting these benefits. I can imagine that this film could be an encouraging and humbling lens for students who have been (or currently are) exeriencing systemic injustices that are affecting their communities, families, and personal livelihoods. I would love to show this film to high school students as a point of discussion, because I believe that daily struggle against cycles of poverty are a reality that many students in my community face daily. 

[Eric Hoh]

This documentary was captivating and inspiring. I appreciated Han Dongfang's declaration that the intention of the movie was not to make an inspiring or artistic film, but rather to have documentation and recollection for future generations of a China that he hopes and believes will be far past the need for workers unions and contention between people and the government. 

 

This film documents the Chinese workers' fight for their own future security and care as inscribed in the law. It portrays many workers in their apathy, fear, and/or hesitancy to join in protests and action against the systems of injustice around them. I can imagine leading a discussion amongst students and asking them what they observed in the workers. They might describe the workers as "apathetic" or "afraid," which would be a perfect transition into asking students the more critical question of what systems are in place that are leading these workers to be apathetic or afraid despite the fact that they have legal rights in their work. 

 

I really like the prospect of having students shift their attention from blaming the workers, to seeing the oppressive atmosphere which are the systems of injustice that create a gravity of discouragement in organizing and protesting. 

[Eric Hoh]

This article is highly pertinent to the socio-political climate of the United States as of late. With the epicenter of this timeframe existing around Trump's presidency, it is clear that there has been a resurgance of racial rhetoric and divisiveness. Kurashige's addressal of "polite racism" that has largely been dealt towards East Asians can be paralleled to the micro-agressions and overt acts of racism during this time of Trump's presidency. 

 

Trump's opinions and influence served as a catalyst to increased ICE activity and stirring fears among much of the immigrant population in Los Angeles. During this time, LAUSD officials encouraged teachers to engage students in relevant and practical discussions about how to protect themselves from deportation and ICE raids. 

 

In light of this East Asian history, and this current history in motion, students could benefit from reflecting upon the racial oppression of Asian Americans as a means of finding comfort and inspiration in enduring through these extremely challenging times. 

[Eric Hoh]

Shultz's feature on ten things to know about Korea is written in a style that is highly accessible to students of this generation. I appreciate how this list-like format is something familiar to many high school students, yet this article contains academic language that can be challenging and deepening for more motivated and interested students. This is an excellent point of discussion containing popular misconceptions about Korea ("Koreans want to be reunified," "Korea is not a copy of China," etc.). 

 

This reading would provide a perspective-shift for students who are highly unfamiliar with the unique differences and distinctions in East Asian identity and history. I imagine that this could be an important tool in debunking and shedding common stereotypes that can sometimes serve as microaggressions in society. 

[Eric Hoh]

My personal education was heavy laden with references to the Diary of Anne Frank both in my social science courses, as well as English classes. Based upon discussion with my colleagues, I suspect that this was not uncommon in the education of many Americans. The diary entries of an evacuated schoolgirl is an interesting account that I would love to introduce to students and friends because it reveals the hardships and horrors faced by a girl in Japan during this same period of time. This is a voice that has largely been under-represented or acknowledged in the American, K-12 education system. I think it is crucial to shed light upon the experiences of the non-kamakaze, soldier Japanese civilians because it deconstructs any stereotypes or stigmas of the Japanese that might be present in only telling of the attrocities committed in Japanese War crimes. 

 

I would probably show a clip from a Miyazaki film called "Grave of the Fireflies" as an accompaniment to an excerpt from this text and a comparison contrast assignment/discussion with the diary of Anne Frank. 

[Eric Hoh]

Domainal reforms occurred during the domestic secessions of the Meiji Revolution. I can imagine helping students make connections in their own cultural and societal experiences. Just as samurai were developing a sense of hierarchy based on merit instead of lineage, I can imagine students making connections to their own lives. In a classroom with a diversity of cultures (Latin, East Asian, European, etc.), having students reflect and consider power dynamics and power succession in their own cultures would help enlighten students in understanding not only their classmates, but a depth of analysis in interpreting history and how they relate to histories. This could be a good opportunity for students to practice discussing and debating what political and economic practices are more effective (meritocracy, democracy, bureacracy, etc.). 

 

In addition to this, I was intrigued by how "rural entrepeneurs sought new ways to bolster their prestige. Rather than marry within the village, they sought marriage partners of similar background a day's walk or more away." Contextualizing and presenting this information to students could be an excellent hook that could guide student interest in learning more about this topic. 

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