[Jennifer Macchiarella]

My team is excited to look more at the Animal Farm/China connection.  Thanks for the resources

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I was surprised to learn that Animal Farm is a widely read in China. I also just found this article about a play version of the novel.  When we get to post- Mao China in my history class I plan to refer back to their study of Animal Farm and discuss why a book that makes fun of communism is popular in a communist country.  I would also like to look at the Chinese use of "reunification" to describe the joining of two countries that were never unified - sounds like rewriting history. I also think a comparison of Chinese propoganda to Russian propoganda would be interesting.

 

https://www.npr.org/2002/11/16/845088/orwells-animal-farm-travels-to-china

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I find it interesting that China wants to restrict internal movement, especially to cities.  Providing services such as sanitation, education and tranportation is much more efficient in an urban environment.  When we look at European migration to cities during the Industrial Revolution, we talk about overcrowding and pollution and bad work environments, but we also talk about the opportunities cities provided.  I get the impression that the Chinese government doesn't want to provide services to all citizens, at least not in equal amounts.  This seems short sighted in the long run. I'm curious to watch the rest of the lecture and see what I'm missing.

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I teach a combined world lit/world history class and we frequently discuss what makes people, especially young people, join groups.  From Napoleon raising the puppies in Animal Farm to the Hitler youth, we discuss the advantages and appeal for youth. Why was Oskar Shindler a member of the Nazi party when he had very little interest in politics?  He wanted to make money.

We look at the economic advantages, the social connections that can be made, and how these desired play out in less concerning ways. Why join a fraternity or sorority in college? Why did many people join Kiwanis and Lions? And why are their numbers dropping?  What networking opportunities are provided in an ivy league college that have nothing do with education.

Looking at the membership of the communist party in China helps students see that not all politics are political.   

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I attended Professor Denton’s webinar on Politics of Museums and Memorial Culture in Post-Martial Law Taiwan.  He discussed the content, changes, funding and social function of museums in Taiwan and explained how they have changed since the lifting of martial law and the introduction of multiple party democracy.  I was especially interested in how some modern museums include displays and artifacts from Taiwan’s aboriginal people, and why that information had been previously repressed.  I compared it to the history curriculum in my home state of Washington, where we include information from “Time Immemorial” about the people’s native to our areas.  I also enjoyed the discussion of what it means to be Taiwanese, and how a museum asks that question encouraging everyone, even foreign visitors, to see themselves as part of the Taiwan culture and experience. I compared it to the ideal of the American melting pot, where everyone can experience and contribute to a vibrant and evolving culture.  I was also surprised by the inclusion of positive aspects of the Japanese imperialist period. 

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

We teach many short stories in our English 10/World history class, and I plan to incorporate "Cranes."  We often look at stories about oppression and the "other" but this story shows how borders and national identity are somewhat arbitrary, and not as important as family and friendship.  I think it would compare well with Persepolis, the graphic novel about the Iranian Revolution.  In both works, the main characters recognizes that politics and wars and labels mean less that family, and that how others are percieved may have nothing to do with reality. It also deals with a country divided, although not in the same way Korea is divided.

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I plan to use the playing cards as a matching and sorting game for my students. After learning about the time period, we will sort the cards into those that show different ideals and topics - pride in work, equality, land reform, wearing the uniform, etc.  Even in high school my students like to physically manipulate things with their hands, something they don't often get to do in a combination English/history class.  While I will give directions, these types of activities often end up with students noticing things about the cards that I didn't notice, which makes for a good discussion. This year I have at least 4 students who speak Chinese (although I don't know their reading levels) so that may be even more interesting.  I would also compare them to the Normal Rockwell posters many have seen (especially those who attended our district's Norman Rockwell Elementary)  and how pictures can be used to promote value systems.  

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

1. Both believed in authoratarian government; these weren't democratic

2. both were supported by the Soviet Union

3. Both were concerned with Japan

4. Both opposed imperialism, both Japanese and European. 

 

I chose the 9 of clubs. This looks like a Chinese communist version of a Norman Rockwell painting. The grandmother?is sewing the sash onto the boys uniform while his proud sister looks on. The small details - the calendar or picture with a military theme, the girl's bucket indicating her work or chores, reminded me of the story told by Rockwell.  I couldn't tell what the people outside were doing - looked like a river? Maybe a kite?  I was also reminded of the indoctrination of children and how uniforms were a part of that - from the horrors of Nazi youth to the humor of the band in The Music Man.  I think the target audience for this picture is children and parents. Children will want the uniform that everyone admires, parents will want their children to be admired.  I think it promotes families, loyalty to the state, conformity, and work. 

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I found Professor Borovoy's presentation on the role of the Japanese woman an interesting comparison to Mrs. America, the Hulu show about Phyllis Schafly and the Equal Rights Amendment.  The show deals with the tension between women who want more rights in the workplace and society at large, and women who are concerned that their roles as wives and mothers were being denegrated.  The idea that in Japan the homemaker and mother is a respected role, even as the govenrment tries to get more women into the workforce, shows a different way of looking at career paths. The reasonably priced availability of child-care, and the high pay and training of the child-care workers, was also initially surprising.  I guess if a society values children, as American society CLAIMS to do, they need to support all children.  So many people seem to have a difficult time seeing the long-term benefit of raising children in calm, stress-free environments, with parents who can work to provide for them.  How much less would we spend on later interventions if all children were able to start life this way?

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I was very interested in the descriptions of Japanese military recruitement and how the focus is on public service as opposed to the cool guns and machinery so common in American recruitement ads.  My senior English class has a unit focusing on advertisement; we usually look at how ads within America have changed over time and from print to TV to online, but this would be an interesting addition.  With a few exceptions, my students see the military as a way to pay for education or access training for a blue-collar job. Most do not see it as a viable career option.  Do Japanese recruits get the same kind of educational benefits as American soldiers?

 

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I appreciate the list of textbooks. While I enjoyed the simulation because I like to take on historic roles, I felt I lacked background in the overall subject. 

I really enjoyed the "what-if" discussion and how that applies to other parts of history. I teach about WWI and WWII knowing how they will end.  I describe growing up near a nuclear sub base at the end of the cold war and NOT knowing how that was going to end.  I think trying to separate ourselves from the knowledge of the end and focusing on the feelings and ideas in the moment is valuable.  I also teach English, and it's very different to read a novel or watch a play production knowing the end.  I think about our WWI unit a documentary we show where the soldiers are so anxious to fight. I think trying to see the war from their eyes, as opposed to our own, would be valuable for the students. 

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

RE lecture 1 - I found it very interesting that one reason LIDP stays in power is that Japanese citizens trust experience. This seems to be in direct opposition to the American candidates who declare "I'm not a politician."  While I always appreciate a person new to politics running for a small town city council or even the state legislature, I also prefer politicans who have experience.  In what other field do we want people without experience running things.  Hmm - well, school boards aren't often teachers, but other than that we expect experienced doctors and engineers.  I was curious if there are any age demographics about party support.  Does Professor Suzuki expect the system to undergo any significant change in the next 20 years?

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

My 10th grade team is putting together a small unit on treaties. These will help!

 

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

Here in Washington we just had Indigenous People's Day, and my class talked about why we don't "celebrate" Columbus Day anymore (although most of my students didn't remember ever doing so).  I think it would be interesting to compare the Boxer rebeliions frustrations about foreign missionaries to the missionaries who ran schools for Native American children in the United States.  How does it feel when someone tries to convert you?  I realize the power relationship of the missionaries in the US were very different from those in China, but the very idea of trying to impose one set of cultural beliefs on another is interesting.  As we study the spread of Islam through trade in North and East Africa, we also looked at how some traders might convert to Islam because it was good for business, not because they had a religious epiphany. It's a difficult subject to discuss with 15 year olds; many of them are deeply religious, and find it insulting that some would practice a religion out of convenience rather than belief.  

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

This is the most one-sided, ridiculous document I have ever read, although it does remind me of a recent email from a parent... I digress.  The Chinese have to pay, and give up Hong Kong, and agree to let British run their own affairs as a way of ending a "misunderstanding."  There is nothing about the British paying for the lives destroyed by opium they brought, or for taking any responsibility for any of the issues.  I think it would be interesting to compare this document to the Treaty of Versailles, and look at how China and Germany were treated by the military powers that overcame them.

 

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