[Thomas Pineda]

Throughout the lectures, the information was insightful into the development of cities and aesthetics in East Asia. Particular emphasis on Western influence and colonialism on the development of design in architecture around Asia also enlightening. As a Math and Science teacher in California and regarding the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards respectively, the topics that I would like to apply to my classes center around Geometric figures in design and also sustainability in design of art, spaces and marketplaces.

Some of the visuals presented in a lecture about interior design in Japan (“Aesthetics and Symbols- From Yin-yang to Wabi-sabi”) compared distilled illustrations of interior spaces to Mondrian paintings. For a lesson regarding the identification of Geometric shapes, students could look at a picture of an interior wall and compare the shapes seen or used in the design. This can be later translated onto a coordinate plane or the area or each shape found as an assessment. Then students can use a view of their own room and draw the main shapes found (rectangles, triangles, quadrilaterals or freeforms). With these drawings, we can compare different shapes used in design for different rooms and buildings across Asia- paying particular attention to comparing them to the rectangle-heavy design in Japanese interiors. This lesson incorporates art and drawing, comparison of forms and shapes and can be applied to CCSS 6.GA.1 or 6.GA.3 Geometry standards.

Shifting focus to NGSSs and Science class, we can look at East Asian approaches to sustainability in design by comparing the use of natural elements in Zen gardens and other temples. As one of the standards in NGSS looks at human impact on environment (MS-ESS3-3 & MS-ESS3-4), we can use examples presented in the lectures of how natural materials were exclusively used in the construction of Kiyomizu Temple. Though the original intent may not have been for sustainability, it gives examples of engineering principles that can be obtained when specific goals are set. Another example of sustainability, or lack thereof, can be presented with the Ise Jingu Temple that is rebuilt every 20 years and what the effect is on the environment to source those rebuilding materials. Students can research changes observed over time in terms of land usage, amount of natural resources or pollution levels to present as data points of human impact in different areas. Specific local examples can be provided of new housing or infrastructure developments and evaluations can be made on the impact to the environment. They can then choose their own examples around their home areas and make evaluations of specific impacts these developments or how they could be improved.

 

[Thomas Pineda]

These are all very interesting questions and I appreciate your deep dive into this cultural exchange/practice. Google searching for this ukiyo-e print brought up a lot of other woodblock pictures that featured Victorian fashion- but focusing on this one particular example and imagining what the entire scene must have sounded like and what the food could have smelled like really is an interesting jump off point for a research project. That would be interesting to fill in all the other sensory details for a woodblock print and explain what that snippet of time was like. 

This history of ballroom dancing in Japan is also interesting- it just coincidentally reminded me of the "Shall We Dance?" movie where a Japanese business sneaks away to learn this practice and the way its viewed (or at least in the late 90s).

[Thomas Pineda]

 I thought about this persepctive as well and have very little knowledge in teaching Economics, as my subject matter is usually Math & Science in middle school. But in terms of a symbiotic relationship, thinking about temporary markets or food stands outside of permanent businesses- the stands depend on the permanent business to attract foot traffic, but if they directly compete with the business, they would both suffer? I'm sure someone with a better understanding of Econ could use that idea- I'm thinking of looking more at comparisons to interdependent relationships (competitive v. mutually beneficial). That could be studied in students' neighborhoods in dense areas.

[Thomas Pineda]

Being able to take part in the daily rituals or unique festivals of a place you are visiting are always special experiences. I suppose as teachers, we have the benefit of longer vacations, and I’ve been fortunate enough to stay in places long enough where you can develop your daily routine throughout the week, visiting the same shops, markets and parks to view and take part of that flux of life. Or our trip could be changed and planned around a local festival that happened to be occurring that week, such as the Gion Matsuri or a fireworks festival- where we could take part in the surrounding markets and peripheral events. I think a big part of all of these travel experiences had to also do with food and that seems to be like an explicit way to experience a city, more viscerally than taking in its external veneer. A lot of the most memorable experiences were around those informal markets or street vendors. Like I remember visiting the Taipei 101 each time I visited, but I will keep going back to have this one particular type of pepper pork bun I’ve only found in the night markets there.

[Thomas Pineda]

An exact spot in San Francisco, right across from the Ferry Building, is a concrete park filled with stairs, ledges and gigantic fountain. It offers space for a ice skating rink in winter and is at a huge intersection at the end of Market Street where it meets the Embarcadero. This whole architectural concrete plaza was a mecca and playground for skaters. It even ended up in a Tony Hawk video game when those first came out. Around early 2000, a lot of the ledges had gotten capped and parts removed, more security guards chased away skaters. But I remember how this place was an amazing spot to skate and was a large part of the 'informal' skate culture in the Bay Area, something it probably wasn't originally intended to be.

[Thomas Pineda]

I think that would be a nice comparative lesson for Life Science standards in science, where different types of symbiotic relationships or availability of resources could be compared to real-life locations of “temporary urbanism” in students’ neighborhoods. They could also relate it to competing design solutions of maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services- When do community members begin to offer products or services that are not readily available or consistently available to a community in need? How does these pop-ups help maintain the diversity of a neighborhood or economically help a neighborhood sustain its population?

[Thomas Pineda]

The article gave a great description of some of the liveliest or unique urban areas in East Asian cities that would attract most tourists- save for Shinjuku’s housing of the homeless. I think the article ties together with the previous lecture regarding the architecture of the Bund in Shanghai, that some of these cities are defined not by the permanent structure on their facade, but the resilient cultural practices that exist between them. This seems to reflect nature, in terms of the symbiotic relationship these locations and pop-up events/markets have. The location expands the times of its daily use and purpose, and people’s livelihoods depend on balancing an appropriate unintended use of the space. Looking at examples of this phenomena, other examples of street vending and the balance between legality and regulation can be found in streets of LA or in many places around the world. As mentioned in this nice, long and summative quote of another article, “Performed by ordinary citizen actors, these activities constitute a form of insurgent planning, a set of counterhegemonic practices by marginalized groups, which serves as a counterpoint to the institutional practice of citizen participation under neoliberal governance (Miraftab 2009)”, pop-ups/street vending/temporary urbanism work when they don’t step on the toes of structure of society too much.

[Thomas Pineda]

I think an activity that could be done in class is to have students create images for encouraged behaviors based on a certain theme. The way the images are simplistic and a multitude of messages can be expressed in one deck, people could learn about topics of the students’ choice. It could be something like routines or classroom expectations at school or another topic like environmental stewardship or healthy eating habits.

[Thomas Pineda]

After the discussion, there was a lot to think about in terms of diversity, assimilation and cross-cultural influences. From travels, the countries like Japan and South Korea appear very homogenous ethnically throughout. It was interesting to hear about other native groups that existed in Japan, either in this lecture series or another. But the confluence of both Japanese and Western culture provides those beautiful examples that Prof. Bharne was referring to in those gray areas. I think of something like coffee culture that is a Western idea brought to Japan, but the design of cafes around Japan or the invention of slow-drip coffee brewing towers if something that comes from a marriage of those two cultures that is now celebrated around the world. So I do notice a Western obsession in a sense, but one now that has also been molded into its own narrative by Japan.

[Thomas Pineda]

An issue that students could relate to amidst their educational careers is the practice of tracking into different courses. They could argue the merits of having tracking and also the downsides or inequity of it. It can also be looked at from not just the students’ perspective, but also the school/admins motivations for tracking students. Would there be benefits to having these types of levels and would students be allowed to move through the levels. This could be practiced in a debate form with students presenting data or cases where tracking has helpedhurt students’ performance ro opportunities. And they could then relate this to larger social situations such as socio-economic levels in America or the Household Reg. System in China.

[Thomas Pineda]

Students can look at ways the two different governments are structured, where there is a top down structure, “the pagoda”, of authority in the CCP compared to the system of checks and balances between Deomcracy’s three branches. Another way they can look at the differences is to look at the way different things are enforced by the separate political systems. As mentioned in the CCP, members can be punished for corruption, dissent from the norm and also shady lifestyle choices (such as affairs). There doesn’t seem to be the same weight of consequences in terms of lifestyle or political choices in America- the things politicians get away with here... And there are other freedoms protected by our Bill of Rights for all.

[Thomas Pineda]

 In the 11 of Spades it is a haunting scene, a village neighbor is taking the guard to point out someone in the middle of the night who may be opposing or doing something against the CCP. For example, as mentioned in the one of the readings, being a cello teacher could cause one to be singled out during the cultural revolution. There are other cards that portray Mao as one with the people, uniting them and sharing moments and joy with them in their workplaces and farms. Everyone is gathered around him as the exalted leader, but he is sitting at their level, doing something ordinary like having a cigarette or examining the crops.

[Thomas Pineda]

Both parties had wanted China to belong to Chinese and lessen the foreign influence over them and re-establish sovereignty, particularly Japan. Both groups also had ties to the Soviets were fundamentally Leninist, however the Communists were more supported by the Soviets while the Nationalists were backed by America. Once Communists took control, I would think that the party would try to fix issues in the Nationalist party such as inequality and corruption around the nation.

[Thomas Pineda]

Having visited and lived in some of these megapolises such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai, the argument that the future of urbanity is something between Pudong and Puxi seemed very apparent in those cities. These cities are filled with steel and glass highrises on top of subterranean shopping centers connected with efficient railways. You can step into one of those complexes and be able to have a sauna, eat, watch a movie or play games, party and sing karaoke and then sleep all on separate floors of the same place. Then further away from these bustling Shibuya Crossings and Causeway Bays, you can take a subway to a remote mountain like Bukhansan that rises above the Blue House or royal palaces. The development of these Asian cities eclipses the kind of urban growth we see here in the US. However, living a life fully encapsulated in an urban environment would sound terrible, and a sustainable model that balances humanity, urbanity and the natural landscape around it is hopefully something we see more of in the future.

[Thomas Pineda]

In response to this perspective, and the videos, that colonialism is subjective- it still sits weird with me from a social justice perspective. Having very little experience teaching architecture or history, I am definitely not in the best position to talk about this. But if we look at the products of colonization, we see buildings, monuments, meldings of cultures and the end results which we can enjoy. Would I think my students would understand them better or appreciate them more if we knew about the native history of a place? Most likely they would, and they would have a clearer picture of the resiliency of the native culture in place and how it managed to survive, or not survive, the influence of colonization. I suppose, rather than explaining the history from a place of anger or blame, there is an apsect of accountability that is ignored in just painting it all in positivity- as you said, "never forget the lessons."

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