Session 2 w/Dr. Dube

In our session, Dr. Dube talked about the growth and development of Shenzhen in China. I wanted to ask but didn't have a chance: how would this city compare to a place like Brasilia or even Las Vegas? They, too, are cities that developed quickly more or less out of nothing.

I really liked all the geography and how it relates to the US. It will be interesting to show my students the pictures.

In this session, we focused on the geography and development of Japan, China, and Korea. I was surprised to learn that city Shenzhen was built primarily on migration. If anyone from China traveled to Shenzhen and internal passport was required. It was also interesting to learn that the Japanese tea ceremony which is very structured and rigid brought a ritual of freedom for the Japanese. The professor explained that since people knew exactly what to expect in a tea ceremony there was a comfort level which brought a feeling of freedom.
The most shocking image that I remember from the session was the satellite
night image of East Asia which depicted North Korea as completely dark while most of East Asia had lighting and use of electricity. Although North Korea is slowly advancing in technology, there still seems to be a restriction to the outside world.

the lecture for the Oct. 17th consisted of Japanese, Korean & Chinese geography and philosophy. Japan is considered an affluent country with a high standard of living and healthcare. Tokyo is the world's largest city. Rice and tea are important components of Japanese agriculture trade along with their cultural significance of tradition and the ritualization aspect of each. Castles, Mf Fuji and the bullet train represent the important cultural aspects of Japanese technology and sites. An interesting point about the Japanese is that between the years 1720 and 1850 the Japanses willingly regulated their population through abortion and contraception - it was not a governmental policy - individual families chose to regulate sex and spacing. Currently Japan has a huge "graying population and their population as a whole is declining thus they have become technologically advanced in the robotics technology.

China is roughly the same size as the United States with 16 neighbors bordering and have had disputes with all 16 of them during their history. The majority of China's population lives in the east however most of the land is to the west. Linguistically their are 50 different ethnic groups. There are 4 primary rivers in China; Yellow River, Shanghai (Long River), Yangzi River and the Pearl River. China interestingly enough does not have enough water. For further research Dr. Dube suggests that we view the DVD - Up the Yangzi, which was made before the damn was completed.

Korea, geographically their is North and South Korea. Between 1905 and 1945 the Japanese ran Korea the rule was fierce and many Korean sur names were lost. I will definitely read the book "Lost Names", I find this historical fact fascinating. North Korea is the only world communist monarchy. Neither the north or the south acknowldege the legitimacy of each other. Most Koreans live in Soeul.
edited by CathieDR1 on 10/31/2011

One of the posts mentioned the idea of Japanese tea ceremony being "freeing" in its repetitiveness & said that was hard to understand. I would have agreed with you a few years back, but I was fortunate enough to spend time studying the tea ceremony while I lived abroad. It really is meditative -- almost like yoga in a sense. You know exactly what to do but have to try to perfect the gestures, which do vary a fair amount from season to season. There's not a lot of chit-chat, and you focus, as yoga devotees might say, "on your practice." I know I'm mixing cultures with this comparison, but they do give a similar feeling.

A key tool I appreciate is the use of visuals, such as, superimposing the many countries of the world that would fit in China. These constant comparisons of China to other parts of the world shows the immensity of the geographical size of the country of China and it reminds me why it has played and continues to play such a crucial role in the world.

It will be interesting to see Japanese innovations grapple with Japan’s aging population. Can technology compensate for an elderly population or will the Japanese have to turn to other sources for man/woman power such as opening doors to immigrant populations as part of a series of possible solutions? Also, does the Japanese government compensate couples with tax breaks or other incentives for procreating as some Western European nations have started to do to promote childbirths? In either case, as the world quickly moves beyond the 7 billion people mark, it would be interesting to ask our students to pose solutions on what can nations can do to deal with increasing populations and its burden on available resources, while on the other hand what can nations do to deal with aging populations.
For several years now, I have held a fascination with Bonsai trees, and now I’ll be able to explain to my guests how overcrowding give way to this wonderful tradition of miniature trees.

And yes, how tradition driven we all are! I feel almost feel silly thinking about my own daily rituals.