[Marcos Garrido]

I loved Dr. Kim’s lecture, as it was full of information that is of interest to my students. It was very interesting to learn about the androgyny phenomena that has taken place since WWII, and how the concept of masculinity has changed. Some of my 7th grade students are so fanatic of BTS, and I figured that I made assumptions about them. As I mentioned in class, most of my male students make negative comments about this k-pop band as this contrasts with the concept of masculinity. On the other hand, it is even more interesting to hear the counter arguments made by my students who like bts, and they essentially say that those who hate bts are jealous of how handsome and popular they are.  In addition, this lecture enriched us with knowledge on chain migration, and some of the consequences of having military bases in Japan and South Korea. More than anything, knowledge of this kind can help us better understand South Korean culture, in order to break away superficial stereotypes.

[Marcos Garrido]

I am very interested in this session, particularly the Kamakura and Tokugawa  periods because I teach 7th grade social studies. For our Japan unit, I have my students compare and contrast Samurai vs European Medieval Knights in order to compare and contrast their armor, codes of honor and training but my students have always been interested in the role of  women were as part of the Samurai warrior class. It seems that Japansese civilization has gradually changed throughout different time periods, and that women have also gained more independence and freedom with this change. On the other hand, I find interesting the amount of influence that Japan has inherited from China, especially the use of classical language for the noble classes. Professor Miyake mentioned that the use of Classical Chinese language can be compared with the use of latin in Medieval Europe. One of the things I learned today that I plan to have my students do in class is to create their own kyogen drama play using academic language.  

[Marcos Garrido]

Ban Zhao wrote this document because she was not feeling well, feared for her life, and most importantly, feared that her daughters were not properly trained for marriage and would bring shame to her family and dynasty. As I read the document, it seems that Ban Zhao is very concerned, and speaks from the heart with humility considering her position. I was very interested in the following quote: “Let a woman modestly yield to others; let her respect others; let her put others first, herself last.” It seems that the main idea in this document is to remind women that the necessities of the family comes first, and a sacrifice must be made in order to achieve harmony at home. Harmony will come with everyone understanding their status at home and in society. Another aspect that I observed is that this document implies that a woman that can be humble, and fulfills her duties is what every woman should aspire to.  Overall the four qualifications of a woman summarized can be rephrased into: controlling emotions, waiting language, cleanliness and housework. I would have to make an assumption to say if this document was successful or not, and I would have to say yes for the most part as this values and virtues were seen in Chinese history for centuries.

[Marcos Garrido]

Familialism has been challenged by modernization in China in the last century, especially after the establishment of communism. It seems that the centralized government of China has broken up this cultural way of life by creating and enforcing policy that directly affects the household. I was especially interested in the comment that Professor Yan made about Chinese citizens from rural areas not being able to move to the cities without some kind of permit, and that they are essentially treated as second class citizens in their own country. I find this very interesting because most people in the world now live in cities, and it seems that the Chinese government wants to control demographics in certain areas. I wanted to ask Professor Yan about some reports coming from the XUAR region where Chinese muslims are being forced to re-educate in this mass internment camps, but due to the lack of time I wasn't able to. 

 

[Marcos Garrido]

Hello Everyone, 

My name is Marcos Garrido and I teach Social Studies at Mark Twain Middle School in the LAUSD. This is my first time taking this seminar and I’m very excited.

 

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