[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I'm not a fan of Science Fiction, and I chose to read the short stories, but I now want to read "Folding Beijing," which sounds more dystopian than SciFi to me. (I love Dystopian YA.)  I did really appreciate the discussion of themes and their connection to contemporary issues and events. I think my middle school students could definitely connect to this literature- it almost makes me wish I taught a Humanities block, but not quite.

I read the You Jin short stories from Singapore. They are written by a teacher or former teacher, and I found them poignant because each (well, I read 2 of the 3) deals with kids who are seen as troublemakers, but the teacher/author/narrator sees deeper and learns what is making them break the rules of school.  Although on the one hand it might be a little trite or savior-esque, on the other it is a good reminder to get to know our students better and remember that there are ways to help students be their better selves once we understand what their struggles are and why they are acting out.  I am a big believer in giving kids chances while being firm on consequences, but trying to help them break barriers in their own lives so they can excel.

Something I found interesting in these stories was the school rules not being seen as the problem, which they might be if these were written in the U.S.  If I were the teacher, I would've taken issue with the rule against students dyeing their hair, but she didn't.  At my site, I am the one who refuses to enforce dress code because our dress code is unreasonable, sexist, unenforceable, and in violation of Title IX.  But in these stories the teacher seems on board with the rules, but is helping the students to follow them and change their ways, partly through building up their self-esteem, and partly through finding financial assistance for them- two ways a U.S. teacher might also try to help a student.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I really enjoyed the film clips and the stylistic aspects, and now I want to see the film all the way through. What I find really interesting in terms of story and perspective, is the mix of modern and traditional, Western and Eastern- how "old" ideas and ways are combined with "new" ones.  I feel like this must really reflect the struggle of mid-20th-century Japan specifically, and more generally, the mid-20th century globally. Older women dress and act traditionally, younger women sometimes do, too, but other times dress and act according to modern expectations or what is deemed acceptable in the West and to the younger generation. I wonder how much of this comes with the occupation, and how much would have happened reagardless just due to changing times and increased global contact.

I found the smiles to be awkward and uncomfortable. In one scene, Noriko is smiling as she tells her father's friend that he is "filthy" and "indecent" for remarrying; the constant warm smile feels misplaced.  In another scene, her father smiles and smiles when the dialogue is kind of sad, regarding Noriko leaving him alone as she will be married off.  I couldn't figure out why there was this disconnect, at least to my interpretation.

I would also really be interested to see his earlier films from before or during the war for comparison. I'm trying to understand what Ozu really wants to say, and what he was forced to leave out or spin due to the pressures of censorship.

In terms of teaching, I'm not sure how much I can use these films because my focus is on Medieval Japan, but I'd like to recommend them as possible extra credit, or maybe start a monthly movie event after school. I also might look for ways to use clips to reflect some issues of culture and change.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I also was surprised by this and found it the most applicable part of this session to what I actually teach, though I found everything fascinating. There is a lot of interest in Korea but I have very little knowledge about it. Teaching 7th grade I am now supposed to include history of Korea from roughly 500-1500, as part of a unit that also includes China and Japan. This gives me a way to connect how those cultures influenced Korea's culture (to its detriment, in my opinion) but first teaching what Korea was like earlier on and showing the contrast.  I need to do more research on the 3 queens of the Silla era.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

In a society where women have been oppressed for a long time and the gender distinctions have been very strong, I'm heartened that the #MeToo movement has arrived and is gaining traction in S. Korea, because these things happen everywhere, and that women are finally being heard there is great to hear, though sad to read about the backlash. Similarly, that the accusations have hit K-Pop I actually find to be a positive for the same reasons: it is there as everywhere, but the money in the industry could easily silence the accusations. The fact that people have gone to prison for sexual assault is impressive.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Thank you!

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Eva, now we know you are a rebel! I also found this to be really interesting and you know my students will love that! I always enjoy bringing in what is non-standard, unexpected, created by "regular" people or using "regular" language. They will love that.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Marcos, I now teach Japan before Europe, so we don't do that comparison until later- in any case, I am liking maybe comparing men's and women's roles in medieval Japan instead... I don't like looking at Japan through a Euro/Westerncentric lens any more than we already do.  Maybe another thought is comparing Japan to China, I do that a lot to try to get students to learn to see them as distict cultures that have influenced each other, yet held onto their own unique identities.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Professor Miyake was great and I learned a lot from this session. She is really engaging and interesting! So much of it correlates directly with what I teach in my Asia unit of World History. This session gave me more depth on what I've been teaching in terms of daily life during the Heian period and differences between men and women based on gender norms.  However, I realized I've been lumping all the art forms into the Heian period, and this is not correct. So I now need to think about a way, maybe a timeline, to put the different art forms in the context of different eras- maybe not focus too much on the specific eras themselves, but rather on the evolution of the different art forms over time, for example, from Tanka to Renga to Haiku- I don't have a lot of time to give it that much attention, but I think showing the change reflects changes in cultural and political priorities. Great instructional ideas of drawing, writing poetry, manga, etc will help engage a wider range of interests among my students, which I always appreciate.  For example, if my student creates a manga of samurai life, they will remember it forever, whereas they will not remember the questions they answered from the book.  I am excited to teach this! I just need to figure out how to readjust my pacing so I can fit it in.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Very good ideas for use at that level! And any level... I also think I would use those same questions with my 7th graders.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Article 8- a woman can become part of the man's family OR HE CAN BECOME PART OF HERS??? Does that ever happen?

Article 15- children whose parents are supporting them sufficiently can sue their parents? Does this ever happen?

The rest of it looks like laws here. Although the infanticide wording is odd.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

One point that stood out to me from the afternoon session was regarding a lack of individual identity for some women, which is different for men. This came up in the point where Liu is only known by her surname and where a husband calls his wife "the woman in the kitchen" or "the mother of my son". What surprised me was not the lack of identity, but the individual identity attributed to a man in a society that is supposedly centered on family or communal good.

From the filial piety reading activity the story I read seemed the most powerful and interesting to me, about the boy who defends his cruel stepmother to save her and the family, when he has been suffering her harshness without complaint.  On the one hand, I hate this story. But on the other, it is a powerful illustration of self-sacrifice, filial duty, responsibility of a child to a parent AND of a father to a child.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I just cannot get past how bizarre this was to me. All these pictures of model-types in fashionable clothing holding their babies just looked so terribly unnatural and not motherly at all.  I get it, but I don't get it. I understand the desire to have one's own life and own body back after having a baby, and I'm all for a woman losing baby weight and looking and feeling good about herself, but what I saw and read in these pieces did not say "feminism" to me- it said, "we will continue to opress women by making them think they need to look a certain way and not even becoming a mother will be good enough."  That, to me, is the opposite of feminism.  Likewise, in the articles about the Japanese feminists, I find it all not convincing.  I do believe they want equality for Japanese women, but I don't believe their concept of what that would look like is anything like ours, and I can't really grasp or envision what it is they are fighting for.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

It's basically the instructions given to Mulan when she's going to the Matchmaker.  I agree that having instructions will be better than not having instructions, but it's very difficult for me to wrap my head around how this all can be a positive in a society.

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

Right?! I had the same exact reaction to this. Thanks for expressing it so clearly!

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

First I found the articles really interesting, especially the one about "Being the Right Woman for Mr. Right," but I was disappointed in the end where she gave up her career and ended up living with her in-laws and trying to be Super-mom.  Not that it is exclusively Asian- there are lots of women around the world in this position, but this story frustrated me more than others.  I have various Asian mom friends in the US and one in Japan, and they ALL work, and none of them live with their in-laws.  They have fought to keep their careers and to raise- and yes- push, their kids.  I know it is always a challenge to balance it all, and the cultural norms of millenia are hard to fight. Were Ban Zhao's writings influential? I think they were. Even if they were based on Confucian and other ideas, these were written directly for and to women, and the fact that we're having this conversation illustrates to me that yes, they were effective.

I enjoyed every minute of Dr. Yan's lecture and, like others, wish we could have heard more about his own experiences.  One of the points that really stood out to me were the concept of reproduction ensuring one's eternal life as an ancestor and the concept that the individual doesn't really exist apart from our ancestors and our descendents.  Another was the idea that "a person is a process," and that one is not "finished" until having grandchildren. Really interesting. It made me think of the blue bar on the computer when a new program is being installed.  A third fascinating point for comparison is that lack of a concept of rights: Fulfilling obligations earns you privileges, but your are not born with natural rights.  This would be a great place for me to connect this information to US History when teaching the Declaration of Independence and how big a contrast the concept of "unalienable rights" would be.

As for my 7th grade curriculum, I see lots of opportunities to give depth to Confucian and Buddhist teachings with examples and explanations of "familism."

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