[Johnny Walker]

Jonathan, I agree that the One China Policy as well as economic prosperity are responsible for the aging populations in China. I'd also like to propose that greater education for women also factors into the decreasing number of births. I think it would be money better spent on population control if rather than having had restrict women's reproductive rights, if the Chinese government had rather offered them all opportunities to pursue PHD's. Of course, I'm exaggerating, but also, greater medical technology, health care access and nutrition allows a population to survive longer. I'm curious to see if this aging population encourages China to tap into African or Latin American nations' younger populations to search for a greater labor supply. And, I wonder how the aging population will strain the needs of greater government spending to support a larger welfare system. 

[Johnny Walker]

As I'm preparing to review for the AP exam, I'm looking for contemporary material about globalization that my students can connect to our previous studies. The Brautigam article, "Chinese Geese in Africa" about China's current role in Africa, connects to previous eras of Sino-African engagement. And, specifically in Tanzania and Ethiopia, I've been interested to think about China's connections to East Africa. In considering continuities, China and East Africa were on opposing ends of the Indian Ocean Trade Networks.  At the turn of the 15th century, the explorer, Zeng He sailed there via India and the Arabian Peninsula to project China's power and establish diplomatic and economic ties during the early Ming Dynasty.  While the Ming closed off their sailing expeditions and international diplomacy outside of its borders, and Africa and Asia later fell to European imperialism, Chinese laborers did continue to migrate internationally, although not in the service of the Chinese state. To see the 20th century Chinese government be active in Maoist revolutions in Africa, and now establish various "Chinese geese" which Brautigam defines as Chinese corporate and state entities with various motivations including those searching for raw materials, those seeking to establish a foothold in the global supply chain, those looking to take advantage of African markets, as well as other more small scale ventures, the Chinese economic and political footprint in Africa are more established than they have ever been. Likewise, articles and video here on Chinese food and agriculture imports from Africa underscores the evolving policy and focus of China from providing its own agricultural self sufficiency in the mid 20th century to becoming reliant and exerting pressure on foreign nations to supplement and complement their own agricultural production and feed a wealthier population with more cosmopolitan tastes. Now, as African states become a necessary trading partner for China, it's interesting to compare this relationship with the interdependent commercial nature of the Indian Ocean Trade Networks from over half a millenium ago. And, it is interesting to evaluate whether China's expansion into the African market reflects continuities of European imperialism but now with a Chinese flavor.

[Johnny Walker]

 

I really appreciated Professor Hube’s statement, “America’s future is intertwined with East Asia.” As my students untangle China’s past and familiarize themselves with unfamiliar names, geography, ideology and content, my hope is that students realize how our past and present have been braided with China’s history all along. And, as we examine contemporary China, my students will gain confidence and curiosity to further explore and find future opportunities linked to China.

I’ve already incorporated books, posters, graphs, and articles into my class from my experience here, and I plan to use many more resources next year. For example, I used a propaganda poster from Dube’s 1b lecture video on Communism that served as a research focus for my students.  I also used an excerpt from a book he recommended during a lecture, Chen Village Under Mao and Deng, to further illuminate the role of peasants during the Communist Revolution. I’d like to incorporate more scholarly articles into my lessons to expose students to higher levels of academic discourse and realize the importance of interdisciplinary skills. For example, I was absolutely fascinated and inspired to read Song and Bugard's article that gave a direct relationship between a mother's education level and decreased infant mortality. Throughout my curriculum, I make an effort to focus on both feminism and public health. The One Child Policy will also spur discussions on family planning: an issue that affects my students, and to be able to have a forum where students can speak about their reproductive health in an academic way is a great opportunity. These discussions would serve as excellent end-of-the-year reflections or culminating assessments that allow students to extend and synthesize feminism, totalitarianism and 21st century demographic challenges. 

There are also opportunities to involve mathematics in analyzing many of the graphs, charts and data sets that we’ve accessed through this course. Cause and Effect, Continuity and Change, and Comparison are historical thinking skills that I emphasize in my course, and to be able to use data and math in order to illuminate and analyze is a wonderful opportunity. I really appreciate the myriad of resources we have that are data-based. 

 I’m also fascinated about the hukou system and am looking forward to introducing this concept to my students in the lens of migrations. Many of my students are DACA eligible, and this could be a good way to relate and remember the hukou system as well as analyze and reflect upon our lives and unjust systems. Likewise, I’d be curious to explore with my students what limits they believe should be placed on internet free speech and the role of the government to regulate and police it. 

I teach students who are the first to graduate high school and attend college. And while there are a variety of factors, many related to poverty, that tether them to a smaller world, I am grateful for this course for challenging me to further expand my own world, so that I may present it to them.

 

[Johnny Walker]

Your father broke the law. It’s an important law. A serious law. You know he broke it. What should you do?
 

As a legalist, my father must be held accountable for his actions. It is also up to me, his son, who lives in this great society, to report him to the authorities. He is a criminal, and must be held to the same standards as all of us. Because the law is just, the punishment is just. If he is unable to find the courage to turn himself in, I would be obligated to do so. If I do not turn him in, then I would be breaking the law, and I am a law-abiding citizen. Goodbye Father. I hope the axe doesn’t sting too much when it passes through your neck.

 

[Johnny Walker]

Richard, your final exam is amazing! That is quite a feat for any student to accomplish no matter the grade level. To have such a longitudinal historical understanding along with that many supporting paragraphs that trace the evolution and continuities of such a specific strand is an incredible accomplishment for both teacher and students. I'm also in agreement with how debate or role playing or other novel activities that support inquiry and performance/presentation are extremely effective ways to differentiate content as well as scaffold for more traditional writing assignments used as a final unit assessment. 

During the year, I’ve done mock trials where students make decisions of justice from the perspective of the Catholic Reformation, the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror, or from the Soviet Politburo during Stalin’s regime. For example, students in small groups assume the position of radicals on the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution, then they look at the dossiers of Queen Marie Antoinette, Georges Danton, Marat, Lafayette and others to determine what punishments or rewards to give to the person in front of their judgement. (Usually, it ends in the guillotine. But, they need to give evidence and reasoning to support their punishments) Then, at the end, the different committees in the class compete with each other to see who made decisions that were closest to the historical record.

 

I've found it to be an effective strategy to support analysis that the role of ideology has in state or instituttional decision-making. It would be interesting to also have students make decisions of how to prosecute crimes based on these different philosophies as well. A daoist, confucian, legalist and mohist judge certainly would have differing perspectives on how to treat different defendents.

 

[Johnny Walker]

While the application of Legalism does seem to go hand-in-hand with notorious Machiavelian characters such as Gordon Gecko, abhorrent totalitarian censorship practices like burning books and purges, in addition to inviting persecution of dissidents and intolerance, I was also reminded of more enlightened concepts and ideas during the description of this philosophy. My students study Enlightenment philosophers and some of those fundamental concepts seem to apply to legalist teachings as well. 

 

Too often, the ideas of liberal democracy are attributed solely to the progenitors of Western Civilization and then extend to the 17th and 18th century European Enlightenment philosophes. I would love to extend these concepts to Chinese origins as well to reflect their universal appeal to human beings throughout space and time.

 

First, the concept of the rule of law, as articulated by Rousseau or the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen contains “all citizens being equal in the eyes of the law” relates to legalism. Where the idea of natural rights or freedoms does not seem to apply here, the purpose is also similar in some respects where the goal of the law is “forbid actions which are injurious to society”. 

 

Secondly, Italian jurist Cesare Beccaria, whose writings directly influence some of the greatest hits of the American Constitution with “innocent until proven guilty,” trial by jury, and admonitions on cruel and unusual punishment, nevertheless supports the legalist concept of certainty of justice. “Crimes are more effectually prevented by the certainty than the severity of punishment.” Therefore, rather than be punitive, punishments should promote deterrence where the fear of punishment encourages law-abiding behavior. I'm curious as to who is expected to create or interpret the law in legalist teachings.

 

[Johnny Walker]

Based on the lecture in this lesson, I checked out Chan, Madsen, and Unger's book, "Chen Village: Under Mao and Deng." It is organized into sections within chapters that are excellent to use for high school students for a shorter reading assignment. Whether you'd like to use it to illuminate "struggle sessions" following the revolution or illustrate the division of labor within peasant villages, the writing is clear and accessible. Also, the photographs and captions are provocative and informative such as a black and white image of a young boy holding a baby which is captioned, "Storage Room: Children regularly are left in charge of their younger siblings."  I'm sharing an excerpt that reflects a skill we are exploring in sourcing a document concerning the limitations of perspective and historic memory. Here's an example of text that I scanned where the author accounts for the differing memories of the state and reputation of the village of younger villagers and older former residents of the village, "Tales of the Chen Lineage," that I plan to share with my students 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_NX2dIF22MbtlFlKBaYleKLA_HS-WtIA/view?usp=sharing

[Johnny Walker]

The content I teach for AP World History: Modern begins with the Song Dynasty and continues to the present day. While I was initially skeptical as to the value of reaching back before this time period, I really appreciated the parts of the lecture that focused on The Mandate of Heaven, discussions about evaluating what historic evidence constitutes a centralized state, and an examination of "The Five Classics." All directly relate to my content.

 

I think that a  discussion of The Five Classics in particular will give my students a greater chance to visualize the challenges of passing the later civil service exams, and an understanding of its content. Likewise, the reliance upon and veneration of these traditional texts can explain the inability of later Chinese Dynasties to reward innovative thinking or encourage scientific progress. Furthermore, I appreciate the discussion of communication technology, and how standardized writing as well as the invention of paper as an alternative to bamboo scroll technology was revolutionary. As Chinese students were encouraged to memorize the 5 Classics which encompass poetry, laws, songs and divinations, as well as famous discussions concerning these texts, I'm reminded of Jewish and Christian traditions that also encouraged memorization of texts but held under the imprimatur of being sacred. I'm curious about the differing concepts of secular and sacred in western and eastern thought. And, as Christianity challenged scientific progress during the Scientific Revolution, can we also make the same connection to the continuance of using rote memorization and a lack of observation and mathematics to China's lack of technological progress under later Administrations that rewarded loyalty, memorization and fealty to old ideas and systems over the skills of innovation, logic, reason and observation? There are discussions about the so-called "Great Divergence" between west and east that account for the supremacy of European powers in the 18th century. Does a reliance and veneration of these ancient texts in China relate to its relative lack of progress during that time period?

[Johnny Walker]

The Scientific Amerian article concerning the effects of deforestation in North Korea was particularly alarming. In harvesting forests, the temporary need for cheap fuel or building material undermines so many vital needs including agriculture production and shade, and exacerbates topsoil depletion and (un)natural disasters such as landslides and flooding that result. Whether we turn our lens to California and western states' wildfires, monoculture palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Africa that destroys habitats and ecological diversity, or the continued destruction of the Amazon for Brazilian cattle grazing and timber interests, forest management seems to be a crucial international issue for both climate change, human rights and prevention of disaster and economic distress. While an incompetent totalitarian state like North Korea naturally fails to maintain a healthy environment, other democratic or enlightened nations are likewise culpable for grave resource mismanagement.  And, this management falls directly to governmental and political responsibility. In seeing the divided approach of North and South Korea to forest management and its resulting stark effects, it reminds me of a similarly mismanaged border in our backyard. One of the most distressing examples of the failure of government to manage the health of its environment and increase suffering of its own people is in Haiti. Images of the border of Haiti and the Domincan Republic reflect the similar stark difference and asymmetric environmental management as seen in North and South Korea.  However, as the following article from the UN Environment Programme observes, Haiti and the DR are now working to "jointly counter environmental degradation and boost food security in the border zone." Perhaps a similar joint effort could be made between the Koreas. Likewise, I hope the US Federal Government increases its leadership role in supporting Western states to communicate and jointly manage forests, especially given the severity of the last two fire seasons. The collective need for more effective forest service couldn't be more dire.

 

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/haiti-and-dominican-republic-jointly-counter-environmental-degradation-and

[Johnny Walker]

I really enjoyed the "Growing Rice" video. Not only does it provide soothing sounds of nature and pastoral views of a beautiful village and countryside, but it allows me to especially appreciate the continuities in Chinese peasant-life. To see that this kind of agriculture is still done by hand as well as seeing the importance of clean water as a vital natural resource is a continuity that has existed for centuries. Our class learned about the significant effect of the introduction of champa rice to China in our first unit, and to see this example here is fascinating. I would ask my students to identify such continuities as well as changes (e.g. western style clothing).  The website for the full film, "Watermarks" delves into contrasting scapes of an industrial park, crowded cities, and a drought-stricken northern village.  It seems like a great resource for students to witness the contradictions, beauty and challenges of Chinese life. https://gobetweenfilms.com/en/films/watermarks-2013/

[Johnny Walker]

Hello! My name is Johnny Walker, and I teach 10th grade World History and AP World History in Sylmar, CA. I've just transitioned from AP European History to AP World History this year, and my intention is to de-Westernize my historical narrative. I just finished taking the USC Contemporary China course, and am really looking forward to continuing my studies of East Asia here. I'm looking forward to applying what I learn here to my classroom, and I'm looking forward to learning with and from all of you!

[Johnny Walker]

Ray, I agree. In my undergraduate classes (taken in the 90s), I was taught by many Cold War historians that normalization occurred under Richard Nixon. One of Kissinger's crowning acheivements (according to Walter Isaacson's biography) was opening a US-Chinese relationship in order to engage in "triangular diplomacy" in order to undermine the Soviets. And, at the state-dinner, Nixon brought the California sparkling wine, Schramsberg, to the table. I suppose this might be categorized under the term "raprochement" rather than "normalization." I'm not sure what "normalization" actually means and if it's an official designation. I recall annual debates since the 90's when China's status as a "most favored nation" trading partner would come under criticism in Congress. But, I also agree that it is strange how the historical narrative of Nixon opening China has changed here to Carter normalizing China which could both be true. It seems like the death of Mao in '76 likely played a large part in China's shift from revolutionary government to one that engaged and participated in global affairs. And, as that coincided with the Carter Administration, perhaps the absence of Mao rather than the actions of a US President played the more decisive role in changing the relationship status.

[Johnny Walker]

Ray, I was struck by your statement, "I wish I were a bit younger..." and imagine embarking on a life and career that incorporates China. I feel like my career decision-making was extremely American-centric. It's fascinating to rethink our individual life decisions and aspirations in a more China-centered world.  Maybe it's because I'm married with children and over 40, but there is something about studying modern China that is also forcing me to reflect, comtemplate and imagine what the implications global forces have on our individual decision-making, and in realizing the gargantuan momentum of China and somehow reconcile my place and those of my own family and students within this frame. I'm also musing about the decline of American leadership in the world. I've also been so focused on modern American politics for the past four years to the exclusion of major worldwide events and larger trends and developments.

I teach sophomores, and many of my students come from families where they are the first to graduate high school and attend college. Occassionally, other teachers express frustrations that even some of our top-performing students lack the confidence or imagination to leave home after high school or to apply to colleges outside their own zip codes or face family resistence to those decisions. And while there are a variety of factors, many related to poverty, that tether them to a smaller world, I also am so grateful to be in a place where one of my charges and challenges is to expand my students' world and also to give them opportunities to imagine themselves in a larger world with exceptional skills. It would be a fun synthesis or project to have students study a modern facet of China and then imagine themselves within a business that relates to a China-centric world and then determine the skills they would need to acheive that position.  

[Johnny Walker]

As I'm looking back on my notes from our discussion concerning the Great Firewall, I'm also brainstorming ways in which to teach about contemporary China as well as review past content for my AP Modern World History course. I loved hearing the anecdote about a Chinese student whose subversive poem was published by the People's Daily following Tianenmen even though by reading the characters diagonally called for the President to resign. I was thinking about engaging students in discussions about how they subvert or go around our own school's internet censorship and blocked sites. And, I'm interested in seeing how students would feel about a government collecting data and tracking their movements as opposed to engaging willingly a private app that they regularly give their data. A couple of years ago, I used an article about Peppa Pig being banned in order to introduce the power of the Chinese government and relate it to the demonstrations of 1989. We also studied Stalin's erasing of people he had purged in photographs and official history, and we related the modern historical cleansing methods that erase Tiananmen within China to the more rudimentary Soviet attempts.  If anyone has any good media, film or articles about Tiananmen Square, I'd really appreciate you sharing them. I was surprised to hear during our discussion, how the democracy movement was not just restricted to students in Beijing, but included journalists and other sectors of society outside of the capital.

I'm considering China's historic concern of balancing protection from and engaging with the outside world. Whether it was restricting foreign merchants to walled-off ports, walling-off and defending from Mongols, or restricting foreign penetration of the minds of its citizens on the internet, China seems to have a continuing pattern of successfully stemming and restricting the flow of outside influence until that deluge becomes overwhelming. Whether that influence has been Mongol, Manchurian, European, Soviet or American, China seems to first control those forces until being overwhelmed and then imprinted upon by those outside elements. In just using language of "flow" and "deluge", I similarly think of China's experience with nature itself. From The Great Canal to the Three Gorges, China's relationship with shaping its environment relates to massive forces that can be managed and harnessed as monolithic engines for power, economic growth and sustainability, yet casts an ever-present and looming shadow of potential threat to stability. 

[Johnny Walker]

Jonathon, as a first-year AP World History teacher, I'm finding that it is a struggle to cover the vast breadth of content in the curriculum (even though it has been trimmed considerably in the last couple of years). I'm planning to incorporate the skill of "continuiity and change" throughout our final semester as a tool to both review and continue to incorporate new material. I am planning on adapting the 2014 DBQ, "Analyze the relationship between Chinese peasants and the Chinese Communist Party (1920-1950)" to bridge the gap between the struggle against imperialism, WW2 and the Revolution. Here's a PDF of the original document in case you haven't seen it. I'm planning on using it to write my lesson plan for this course.

That's also wonderful that you spend 2.5 months on modern China in your World History class! Until a couple years ago, I was restricted to CA State History Standards, but now have carte-blanche to branch out and de-westernize my curriculum. I'm curious how you determine what topics to explore in your Honors class, and how much of that relates to scaffolding to prepare those students to succeed the following year in your AP World class. Thanks!

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