[Matthew Hurwitz]

I found Professor Jung-Kim's presentation fascinating, and was especially interested in the period of Japanese occupation in Korea. The various levels of social control, cultural oppression, and political censure in the early 20th century, and the modern day repercussions of that period on the modern power dynamics and relationships between the two countries was insightful. The fights over naming, geographic control, and spheres of influence takes on a new meaning in light of historical events. It made me think about how I can make the themes of Imperialism and Colonialism I teach in class more universal, decentering the European mindset towards conquest in World History, and instead focusing on Imperialism, conquest, social/political control, and oppresion as more of a universal experience that is seen and felt globally. This might help students in my class connect more with the late 19th/early 20th century unit that we cover, which student say they find interesting, but also feel disconnected from. I don't have any Korean or Japanese students, but expanding outwards from these periods of history in a particular part of the world, to see that they were happening all over the world, may help students see it as a more relevant topic to be studying, especially since the effects of Imperialism and conquest can be seen all around us today.

[Matthew Hurwitz]

The Economist Article on the protests in Hong Kong made me think about how I can more fully integrate news from different parts of the world into my classroom. I make my AP Government students listen to "The Daily" podcast and discuss how the politics they're listening to connect to what we're studying in class every Friday. Since a number of the recent episodes have been on Hong Kong, students have been making interesting connections in their group discussions about what we're studying in our unit (The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, the Enlightenment Thinkers) with the current political unrest in Hong Kong. I'm thrilled that my students are making these connections, but I've felt a little frustrated with my lack of deep knowledge of the politics in Hong Kong, and how those politics interact with mainland China and the countries around them, since I feel like I haven't been able to scaffold those particular discussions or connections as well as ones that connect to American politics. One of the things I'm hoping to learn more about in the coming weeks is the modern political dynamics between the various countries of East Asia, not just the historic political dynamics between Asia and "the West", which was the only lens through which I learned about modern China at all in school (and even that "modern" only went up to the end of the Cold War). As we learn more about the region, I'm hoping it'll allow me to structure discussions involving Government and Asia more effectively for my classes.

[Matthew Hurwitz]

I found the articles on the debate over the name of the Sea of Japan/East Sea and the discussion in class around names to be facinating. Having taught Geography in the past, and being a current World History teacher, I often go over certain naming controversies with students, looking at issues of how former European colonies grapple with the names of cities and countries that were imposed on them by others. But in class this last week, I realized that I've made one of the mistakes I often tell my students not to make: of taking the map at face value. Since I'm less familiar with the history of East Asian countries, I use the map to inform my understanding of the region, based on what the mapmaker decides to draw it as. It was interesting to read about the struggles going on between countries in the region over who has naming rights to things that on the surface seem trivial, but which carry a ton of weight and meaning. Someone in class (I don't remember who) remarked in our discussion about what constitutes "East Asia", that Australia is now including itself to some extent in the category of Asia, after spending decades separating itself off as "Oceania", which I thought was a striking shift. I'm looking forward to learning more about these kinds of struggles over names, narratives, and history in East Asia over the coming weeks!

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