[Johnny Walker]

As we routinely cover over one thousand years of history each week about different complex civilizations of East Asia whether it be Japan, Korea, or China, I consistently return to the process of thinking about how can I simplify, yet demonstrate with complexity and profundity, the developments, traditions, and structures that both encapsulate the unique characteristics of these societies, yet also contain shared human values that my students will recognize. I appreciate the multitude of high quality resources that I can now bring to my classroom to allow for differentiated instruction, additional resources that further deepens my knowledge, and ideas that expand and synthesize my previous historical understandings. In the unit plan I created, I was able to incorporate East Asia into the effects of the Spanish colonization of the New World. I had previously kept that narrative mostly in the Western Hemisphere. As I’ve become more familiar with East Asian history, it allows me to integrate and emphasize it to its rightful place, in balance with other regions of the world rather than being subordinate to a western narrative. To be regularly exposed to such a high level of academic discourse each week was inspiring, revelatory, and a welcome breath of fresh air from the typical discussions held at a secondary school level. 
 

Examining the roles of religion, ideology, centralization of power, race and ethnicity, agricultural development, division of labor, and feminism/patriarchy are fundamental aspects of human behavior that I have too often used European models to demonstrate to my students. I feel so fortunate as a teacher and also as a person who strives to discover connection and commonality between peoples of the common behaviors, attitudes, practices, and institutions to now have East Asian examples. I feel grateful to be able to choose examples from a larger palette to introduce my students to historical concepts beyond Western Civilization in China, Japan, and Korea. 
 

I’ve really gravitated toward the big ideas presented in these classes, especially the value and effects of “opening or closing of societies”. In addition, I’ve appreciated Professor Dube’s charge that “we must guard against inevitability in teaching.” Whether we teach non chronologically, engage our students in research projects, or use simulations and debate, I really enjoy the challenge to place our students in a frame of mind that engages them in argumentation and exhorts them to invest their passions and action in politics of the past, so they can realize the importance of their own duty and responsibility for determining our future. Likewise, this course has done a remarkable job of integrating current events including religion, the Belt and Road, and environmental issues seamlessly into historical content. I’m always striving to engage my students in current events analysis throughout the year, and these resources will be vital.

 

[Johnny Walker]

I was interested in Professor Pitelka’s explanation of why it was easier for Japanese to avoid the plague of the 14^th century even though they had contact with the mainland. He mentioned that frequent bathing as well as tea drinking (involving the boiling of water) were cultural practices that served as unintentional prevention of pandemic disease. I’m curious about the tradition of the bow and if it also fits into those descriptions. As it relates to Covid, our new ways of greeting each other have certainly changed. And, as we consider ways in which to adapt during the pandemic or even to fundamentally change our future behavior, cultural practices can play an important factor. The firm American handshake and especially the cheek kiss (as the French greet each other) are excellent vectors to spread disease. When did the traditional bow come into practice as a greeting in Japan, and would that also be considered another cultural prophylactic to the spread of infection? Is that something that would also be adopted in other cultures? I think of the ritual washing in Islam as well as the dietary restrictions and cleanliness inherent in kosher practices that have also served to protect Muslim and Jewish communities from disease or illness. Is it time for other cultures to jettison some of their traditional behaviors that threaten the safety of our communities?

[Johnny Walker]

I really enjoyed learning about the idea of “geomancy”, the Chinese philosophy that places value on geographic and natural elements that seems to blend animistic traditions with city planning. I’m wondering how universal these ideas are and how they manifest themselves in other cultures. While the Japanese design of the capital of Kyoto was picked specifically because of its fertile and auspicious location, the specificity of eastern hills, deep mountains to the north, agricultural regions to the south, and rivers to the west providing a chanel to the inland sea, I am wondering how common these considerations are in determining a center of power are in other cultures without direct influence from these ideas. In addition to a grid-based plan, the Tang Dynasty influence on Japanese capital design was believed to be efficacious in creating a political structure to keep the sovereign in power. I’m imagining the City of Tenochtitlan specifically, and based upon its grid, relationship to mountains, water and fertile plains, am curious how closely it aligns to the values of geomancy.

As our cities require greater care and urban planning to serve all inhabitants and have an even greater awareness of environmental factors in both resource management and protection from ever greater climate threats, this theory seems worth unearthing and even more prescient today. It would be interesting to consider the different philosophical considerations that are stratified upon modern cities and have our students examine the material, cultural, environmental, economic, and political ramifications of ideological influence on city planning. As we look to dismantle racist institutions today, many of its legacies remain embedded in concrete and steel of the archetecture that surround us.

[Johnny Walker]

I am continually delighted to be exposed to ideas here that stimulate my learning. I am extremely grateful to have access to Professor Dube’s slide decks and have the opportunity to study the sources and ideas there. One idea that jumped out at me was “Occidentalism”. I have studied the Western racist ideas including 19th and 20th century European and American fascination with what Said labeled, "Orientalism". However, I hadn’t been exposed to the term, “Occidentalism” to describe the Eastern fascination or fetishization of the West. Is there a similar negative association with this movement? Or, do power dynamics of east and west change the moral equivocation of western fascination with the east as different from eastern fascination with the west?  In slide number 14, there is an example of the palatial Forbidden City as containing elements of “Occidentalism”. This made me consider assumptions I have made about cultural appropriation. I’m curious about learning more about this idea and the relative nature of racism. What kinds of discussions are there about cultural appropriation as being benign examples of diffusion, syncretism and sharing versus racist attempts to fetishize, objectify, colonize or subjugate other cultures.  Are there debates and awareness in modern China, Korea, or Japan about racism within their societies and the types of historical studies that expose or dismantle those ideas?

[Johnny Walker]

The more I am exposed to Chinese history, I’m reflecting on how much of China’s culture and history reflects the domination of “non-Chinese”. I had only thought of 20^th century Japanese imperialism and 19^th century British imperialism as being examples of foreign domination before taking this course. However, as I reflect upon different periods of Chinese history, I see an ever present continuity of foreign influence. Buddhist influence reflects a strong foreign ideological imprint upon a millennium of Chinese society. Likewise, the reliance upon Muslim merchants to transport and exchange Chinese goods reflects a “foreign” economic reliance although China stood at the economic center of the hemisphere. The Yuan dynasty certainly represents rule by a “non-Chinese” source. While the Mongols and Khans certainly appropriated “Chinese” structures and cultural elements, they were outsiders who left their mark on the “nation”. Similarly, the Qing Dynasty are Manchus, so their rule could also be viewed as “outsiders”. I’ve also recalibrated my sense of Maoism as being as anti-colonialist or anti-imperialist as I had previously thought. While certainly liberating of Japanese forces and espousing Chinese nationalism, communism’s adoption initially placed China’s role as a “little brother” to the dominant paternal foreign Soviet model. Likewise, the economic liberalization since the late 1970s and growth of manufacturing has placed China in service of American corporations and consumers. This seems to reflect a continuing subordinated status or at least a conformation to foreign economic influence. I’m curious then, why does the 19^th century stand as a “Century of Humiliation”? The “open and closed” status of China does not seem to be ever truly “closed” to foreign dominance. Foreign influence seems rather to be varying degrees of nonconsensual political, economic, and cultural intercourse.

[Johnny Walker]

I wanted to extend the possible uses of student engagement with the Marco Polo document. I love the suggestions that will engage students to discuss and argue whether Polo visited China or not, as well as arguments whether the effects of Polo outweigh the veracity of his travelogue.

I was also considering that it is an opportunity for students to discuss the reliability of a source and how to evaluate it. In addition to Polo’s text, there are probably contemporary accounts that demonstrate lies about an event. The Trump catalogue is especially fruitful here, whether it’s determining the veracity of claims of his inauguration crowd size, the letter from his doctor attesting to his fitness, or the claims of election stealing in 2020. Then, class discussions that relate the motivations for lying, the effects of lying, and the methods and duty of journalists and historians to expose those lies are put into sharper relief.

It’s also an opportunity to dismantle the Great Man theory of history and argue that it was not necessary for one man to travel the length of this global trade route because there were objects of material culture that could have told stories of faraway lands during that time if people had taken the time to look carefully. As we see in modern globalization, it is up to the curious consumer to determine how, where, and why their products were made. I use an NPR webquest that involves the journey of a tee shirt from idea and cotton seed to finished printed product. I was thinking of doing the same thing for a single silk robe that made its way to Rome in 1200 and trace its journey from a silkworm in a mulberry tree to being draped on a Roman’s body.

Finally, it would be an interesting exercise for students to write a fake/imagined travelogue to engage in the creative endeavor of both research, fiction-writing, and presenting. Then, other students would act as fact-checkers or journalists to uncover the “lies” in the fake travelogue through either exposing images in a students’ report as being taken from certain websites or finding descriptions being plagiarized from other sources. That could be a whole entire presentation itself. This activity would also serve as a learning experience about academic integrity, plagiarism, and how and why to cite and attribute sources. I also want my students to see how easy it is for teachers to spot blatant plagiarism.

[Johnny Walker]

Ebrey’s "Song: The Attractions of the Capital" is an absolutely wonderful read that inspired me to brainstorm a simulation and class project. I was imagining turning this chapter into a jigsaw reading exercise where students in small groups read, then plan and create “an experience” at their table for classmates who are visiting different neighborhoods of the capital. For instance, the first topic identifies various types of markets including rice, candy, herbs, and vegetables. Students could bring examples of each to demonstrate to their classmates on their “visit” to this section. Or, in the Commercial Establishments section, students could create a checklist of different professions and each “visitor” to that section has to pay a specific tax. While the descriptions of Wine Shops (students could use grape juice) and prostitution may make this more of a high school activity rather than a Middle School activity, there seem to be many opportunities to create simulations from the text, and expose students to a creative project that makes a game of what they might otherwise see as a dry piece of reading.  In the description of the Restaurants, it would be a lot of fun to actually find some of the food described in the text and expose our students to them- or show an example of a pickled pig’s foot. As the Tea Houses section demonstrates, many of these establishments are covers for other activities. And, in the Entertainment Centers station, teachers could help students set up video or audio that demonstrates the types of music, dance, puppet shows, or acrobatics described there. Descriptions of Dragon Boats also provides an opportunity for students to watch film or even engage in an engineering project. Finally, the description of “The Three Teachings” explains how Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism coexisted and played a harmonious role in society. While it may take some effort to present this simulation/game, I think it could result in an extremely fun and informative collection of evidence about the wealth, diversity, and customs that not only define the Song Dynasty, but reflect continuities and lasting understandings throughout Chinese history. And, it would be fun to challenge students to engage in a creative interpretation themselves.

[Johnny Walker]

I really enjoyed the paragraph in Dr Ma’s introduction on page xx that explains the importance of incorporating women’s voices into the historical narrative. While I regularly incorporate feminism, identify the patriarchy, and have attempted to de-emphasize the role of Great Men of history, I am always looking for sources to elaborate and argue for why such a reappraisal of the historical narrative is so important. I’m going to use the second paragraph in which Ma makes this argument. She includes quotes from “Women and Ideas and What Men Have Done to Them” and the claim of Harvard religion scholar Catherine Brekus that “if historians do not become more self-conscious about who is included in their stories and who is not, they will perpetuate the fiction that male leaders alone have made history.” I look forward to using this excerpt to expose my students to this idea next year, and make a habit in our classroom of identifying patriarchal narratives and dismantling them. It would be a fascinating unit project to begin with a patriarchal or white supremacist or elitist narrative and then expose students to documents that reveal the contribution of women or people of color or working class people to undermine the previous narrative. The summative assignment would be students writing a critique of the historian's narrative. I currently do this for textbooks that downplay the nature of the Armenian Genocide and the Rape of Nanking, but I have not attempted this in order to illuminate and expose the role of the historian in dismantling the patriarchy or white supremacy.

[Johnny Walker]

GLADNEY’S Chapter “Central Asia and China: Transnationalization, islamization, and ethnicization”

            Gladney’s chapter is such a valuable source to deepen my appreciation for a variety of influences and factors in China and its connection to the greater AfroEurasian continent. And, I’ll be able to use some of the content directly with my students.

            When thinking about the spread of Islam in China, I had previously thought of the role of merchants on the Silk Road establishing cultural influence in cities such as Kashgar where Islam gained in stature. However, I did not think about the role of Islamic seafaring merchants who traveled along Indian Ocean trade routes as being effective vessels for religious influence at Chinese ports as well (page 6). Likewise, the statistic that China is home to nearly 20 million Muslims, “more than all in Saudi Arabia” is a staggering statistic, and one I will incorporate into my class.

            Gladney also mentions that the Great Game of Central Asia that involved Russian and British competition for influence also included China as yet another imperialist nation seeking influence in the region. This fact surprised me. I had previously thought of China simply as being dominated by foreign powers (among them Britain and Russia). I did not realize China also played a role as an imperialist on its western borderlands. This lends greater complexity to my understanding of China’s dual identity in foreign affairs as both aggressor and victim nation during the nineteenth century. I had learned about Qing expansion west during the 18^th century, so I suppose this continued expansion and administration of territory naturally placed the Manchus in competition with the expansionist Russian seeking to enlarge its borders and the imperialist British seeking to buffer the Raj.

I really enjoyed the historiographic argument Gladney articulates on pages 11 and 12 where he challenges the concept of “Central Asia” as being distinct from the AfroEurasian Continent. The quote, “Herodotus himself wondered why the old world in his day was already divided into three places, Asia, Europe, and Africa: ‘Why three names…. should ever have been give to a tract of land which is in reality one?” is a wonderful question to ask of our students.

Other valuable elements of the text include the photographs with their captions. Using just these sources, students could use primary sources and material culture to describe and explain methods of trade, evidence of cultural diffusion, and the transnational and transethnic nature of trade throughout AfroEurasian history for over two thousand years.

Gladney’s treatment of the Uighers is also a fascinating and in depth account of their mis-naming, changing religious identities, and internal conflicts, yet maintains their ancient continual presence in the region. The idea of establishing a new nation state of Uigherstan is a fascinating one- especially in the midst of Chinese genocidal policies of cultural eradication. Do the Uighers deserve their own state as Israel did in the aftermath of the Holocaust? What other such ethnic movements to establish new states in the world such as Chiapas or other independence movements relate to this idea? I enjoy challenging my students’ notions of permanence, especially with borders. As we’ve studied changing borders and names of states in the Americas, Europe, and Africa, I’m looking forward to engaging in this case study as well especially since the treatment of minority ethnic groups by a dominant state is such a common recurring theme throughout our curriculum as is identity and racism.

[Johnny Walker]

In responding to the discussion prompt, I likely became aware of the yin yang symbol through the South Korean flag and then gradually built awareness of it through American material culture of the 1980s in graphics on t-shirts or likely from Karate Kid films. I did not understand or appreciate the values of the symbol. It served mostly as a fetishization of Asian culture and reflected orientalism, that subtle form of racism so often appropriated in American and European artistic and capitalist culture since the ninteenth century that distorts, sensualizes and commodifies non European cultures. Honestly, I haven't truly reflected upon or emphasized the values of harmony or balance in my life to a great extent. 

The terms "harmony" or "balance" seem so ingrained into Chinese culture that it is often used regularly in political speeches. In doing a brief internet search, a CGTN article popped up in which President Xi called for "enhancing human-nature harmony as China modernizes". Such appeals seem out-of-place in the American cultural tradition. We search for growth, innovation, prosperity, pushing the limits of the frontier, domination, wealth, victory, individualism. These values seem to run counter to ideas of harmony. While much of the Chinese government calls for human-nature harmony reek of insincere political doublespeak and pandering to nationalistic and cultural traditions, it nevertheless does seem like a valuable and potentially powerful cultural commodity. If there is an already strong sense and deeply rooted cultural identity in the value of harmony, I expect that increasingly desparate calls for collective action and environmental sustainability to combat climate change are more likely to be accepted and embraced by the Chinese people than Americans. While American collective mobilization has powerful precedents especially during World War 2, those calls were for Victory rather than Harmony. Yet, in the need to combat climate change as well as truly integrate our society to be inclusive of race and gender, the calls for Harmony in America are more imporant than ever. 

[Johnny Walker]

I really enjoyed the first article listed here by Monika Dix on the centrality of water to the rituals, beliefs, traditions and technology of Japan. I'm making this comment after having finished our final lecture, and I've noticed that there are many connections in this article that encompass many of our discussions in the course. For my students, this reading offers an excellent distillation (pun intended) of the religious and cultural ideas in Japan of Shinto (after our lecture on Korea I learned not to use the term, "Shintoism") and an explanation of the animist/shamanistic Japanese beliefs of the kami (spirits present in the natural world).  We learned in our Buddhism Saturday lecture about the diffusion of Buddhism to Japan and the syncretism of the Japanese kami into the Buddhist concepts of bodhissatvas.

From an environmental perspective, the article also examines both traditional and contemporary water conservation policies in Japan. The traditional cleansing rituals of Japanese culture were in stark contrast to Europeans who first came into contact with Japanese in the 16th century. The smelly, hairy European barbarians, whether Dutch merchants, Portuguese and Spanish Jesuits, or other sailors' infrequent habits of cleanliness contrasted markedly with the Japanese peoples' daily ablutions. And, to see descriptions and images of modern toilets in Japan (whether it is the music, massage, water features, or low-flow use of water), continue to contrast with less advanced European and American toilet technology. Having students look up features of the Toto toilets would be an amusing and interesting activity.

Finally, bringing the idea of a traditional Japanese water festival to school would be an enjoyable and also informative activity. Especially for urban schools like the one in which I serve, the idea of uchimizu- water purification and cleansing rituals first used during the Tokugawa Dynasty but are now used by modern Japan in order to raise awareness of climate change and heat-island effect. When over 300,000 people participated in uchimizu in 2003 in Tokyo, the average temperature dropped 1 percent in the city. It is fascinating that this ancient ritual (which uses recycled or used water) actually has an significant effect on decreasing urban temperatures. In the San Fernando Valley, where temperatures routinely hit over 100 degrees, issues such as high electricity demand for airconditioning in buildings, increased smog production, and emission of pollutants are similar problems that my students face. In addition, the relationship to water in Southern California is vital and fraught. I would love to incorporate more ideas that bridge environmental stewardship and especially synthesizing and connecting our historical study to environmental or social justice advocacy. This article seems to offer an excellent jumping-off point. 

[Johnny Walker]

I really enjoyed “Zang Han’s Essay on Merchants” included in the excerpt from Ebrey, Ming Commercial Activities. It is a 16th century treatise on economics. It describes the wealth of the merchant class, its resistance to taxation, negotiations to create a more just tax structure, and explains differing motivations for China's trade with neighboring nations.  Because I have taught European history, the primary sources I have used about economic thinking during this time period are Thomas Munn’s articulation of the principles of mercantilism in England which offer striking similarities to Zang Han. 

The article following it, “The Biography of Zhu Jiefu” relates a story of a merchant whose generosity accompanies his great wealth. His hard work, resultant wealth and generosity, and belief in the righteous functioning of human beings under the “Heavenly Majesty” reflect a similar notion of Smith’s “invisible hand” two centuries later. Rather than use Adam Smith’s critique of mercantilism to introduce capitalism, I would much rather use a non European source.  I have always chafed at the deification of Adam Smith’s theories as being somehow unique and brilliant. Both philosophies of mercantilism and capitalism are simply two sides of an argument about government regulation. Likewise in the American history narrative, the “taxation without representation” argument has been elevated to a quasi-religious status. Such arguments are not uniquely American, and are important to dispel especially in an age of hypernationalism in the United States. I’m curious what kind of parallels we can draw between resistance to the Mongol rule of China or the Manchurian rule of China with American resistance to the British Empire’s rule of American colonies. How similar are the Chinese arguments to imperial rule as the ones articulated by Paine, Jefferson, or Madison?

Since I began teaching eight years ago, I have been searching for content that undermines the notion of American Exceptionalism as well as content that debunks the singular genius of European Enlightenment Philosophers. While I believe it important to teach students how the American Constitution and particularly Jefferson’s writings are simply a greatest hits or mixtape of French, English, and Italian philosophes, I wanted to further deconstruct and demystify the “genius” of European Enlightenment philosophers to find examples in other parts of the world that demonstrate the universality and parallel reasoning common to any human being who strives for justice, freedom, and fairness. I believe that the content within Ebrey's "Ming Commercial Activities" does just that.

 

[Johnny Walker]

I’ve really gravitated toward the aphorisms and big ideas presented in these classes. Specifically, I’ve appreciated Professor Dube’s reminder that “History is not inevitable.” And, that “we must guard against inevitability in teaching.” Whether we teach non chronologically, engage our students in research projects, or use simulations and debate, I really enjoy the challenge to place our students in a frame of mind that engages them in argumentation and exhorts them to invest their passions and action in politics of the past, so they can realize the importance of their own duty and responsibility for determining our future through investigation and action. 

In considering the weaving of the threads of fates, I realize that another subject consistently brought up in World History curriculums is the history and evolution of textiles. And, too often in 10th grade World History, it involves England to the exclusion of other locations. I understand that this is in service of demonstrating how the evolution of textile development was a significant factor in the Industrial Revolution. However, it is the only textile example I use in class. While I have used British sources to demonstrate the cottage industry, complementary gender roles in the division of labor, and subsistence farming and textile-making are inter-related in Western European history, I am looking forward to supplementing these now with Chinese and Japanese examples. In the powerpoint deck, there are images from the Song of women working a spinning wheel. 

Likewise, in teaching the Agricultural Revolution and development of mills, I had previously used Dutch and English methods of harnessing wind and water. I’m eager to challenge my students (as I have been challenged) to incorporate Chinese (as well as Native American and African) examples. I realize that the Chinese should be the first example I use to demonstrate the technology humans created to manage water. I liked the powerpoint slides where Professor Dube introduced a primary source drawing of a village (like a Where’s Waldo of the 12th century) and circled three different examples of the utility of water- milling of grain, transportation, and cultivation. I’m going to adapt that into a peardeck slide where students will circle and explain why they circled a particular scene.

 

[Johnny Walker]

I really appreciated the graph depicting the popularity of Christianity in China that Dr Ma created for the lesson. It serves as a fascinating example of the ebbs and flows of foreign influence in China, Chinese political and economic policies, as well as cultural changes within China. I'm thinking about using it to review 20th century China with my AP World students. It would be interesting to place another chart of China (perhaps GDP over time or foreign trade over time or the amount of Chinese students studying in the United States over time) to coincide with this Chart. 

And, while the growth of Protestant Churches over time is heavily involved with attitudes toward the United States, I'm curious about what other nations influence China through the spread of Protestantism. For example, do Korean Protestant Churches also evangelize in China? I would imagine that along with KPOP, the Korean Christian community has likely made similar inroads in China. And if so, do they also espouse the same political philosophies as the fundamentalist American Protestant denomenations?

 

[Johnny Walker]

Miguel, I absolutely agree with you that these "zombie" depictions would make for excellent student engagement and a place for serious analysis. I also loved the scrolls that depicted the "Hungry Ghosts". I think that we can expose students to the humor and engagement of these depictions, but also bring in complex analysis to research and decipher the broader cultural, social, economic, and political implications of these "zombie" portraits. The scenes of hungry ghosts usually take place where there is refuse, waste, or "unclean" images of people's lives. As students look at the different locations depicted in the hungry ghost scrolls, they could describe and analyze how Japanese culture during the time period viewed certain professions, evaluate the technology of the era and describe methods of sewage, describe attitudes toward pregnancy and birth, and describe the treatment and attitudes toward the dead.

In addition, as a synthesis, it would be interesting to analyze American attitudes and the intention of artists related to creating zombies whether they represent mindless consumerism, the threat of communism, environmental catastrophe, or any other of the many societal or political critiques in which zombies occupy a central yet changing role as avatars for satire and criticism.

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