December 16 - Dube - East Asia Since 1900

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hello everyone,

Please share your thoughts about our December 16 session with Clay Dube on "East Asia Since 1900" by replying to this post.

-Miranda

[Anonymous]

The Phelan quote about segregating the Japanese reminded me of the book Farewell to Manzanar. Has anyone taught that? there used to be a excerpt in the 10th grade Lit book. That story might be a vehicle to bring Asia into the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Hi Clayton,
As always, I enjoyed listening to you tonight. Also, as always, I learned a lot that I did not know. I did know about the two atomic bombs dropped (I went to Nagasaki in 2004 on a Fulbright Program and went to the museum there), but I did not know that the war actually ended because of the Emperor and that his famous quote, "We must bare the unbareable and concede" was a quote from his grandfather.

I also did not know about all of the offensive cartoons about the Japanese.
I will miss this class and look forward to seeing you and Miranda on the 27th. Until then, Happy Holidays to you and your family.

[Anonymous]

I also found the political propaganda interesting, and it reminded me of the Nazi propaganda I use when I teach Night.

When I teach my nonfiction unit to my freshmen, I use a piece on the holocaust and one on Japanese internment. I'm thinking I might use some of the primary source information and cartoons from tonight's readings along with the personal account I am already using the next time I teach that unit. I'm always surprised by the number of students I have every year who have never heard about the Japanese internment camps.

[Anonymous]

I might be totally off on the title, but I think Snow Falling on Cedars in about Japanese internment too.

There is still a small monument at Manzanar--it is in Independence, by Bishop, on the way to Mammoth.

[Anonymous]

Some of my 6th graders read it. I usually introduce it with Eve Bunting's haunting picture book "So Far From the Sea" and Ken Mochizuki's "Baseball Saved Us."

There are also some good websites with archival photos:
http://www.nps.gov/manz
http://www.manzanar.com/ href="http://www.manzanar.com/">http://www.manzanar.com/

Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

I very much enjoy the way that you engage the class with questions and leave time for discussion. I also liked the slides you shared. There is nothing like a visual aid to help us understand a different culture!

Thank you for an incrdible calss and wonderful books. I will enjoy perusing themand finding the pieces that will work for my students. I love using primary source documents and you have provided us with a tresure trove.

Hope you and your families have joyous holidays!
Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

Once again, nicely done Clay. The propaganda machine of the US press was certainly in full bloom well before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Throughout history the dehumanizing effects of propaganda worked their magic in allowing public opinion to turn against enemies. The more people can show differences between people, the easier it becomes to unleash brutal reprisals upon enemies in the name of loyalty to ones’ nation. The cartoons were effective in accomplishing the goal of instilling animosity and hatred towards the Japanese.

[Anonymous]

Dottie,

One thing that wasn’t mentioned in our last class was the fact that the United States, after dropping the second bomb on Japan, was then out of bombs. A great question of WWII is what would have happened if the Emperor had not surrendered at that point but had continued to fight. Untold numbers of lives would have been lost had this happened. As horrible as the bombings were, it was the reason the war with the Japanese ended. Thanks for reminding me about the words of the Emperor because the war would have continued without his input.

John

[Anonymous]

I thoroughly enjoyed our last class. As usual, Clayton was able to take history and present it in an interesting and informative manner. This class will allow me to take much knowledge and break it down into lessons form my Special Education students.
Having been to Japan a number of years ago with my daughter, I only wish I had taken the class then. It would have added so much to my trip ad allowed me to more fully understand the impact of history on Japanese culture. It was news to me the way the
people of Japan followed the instructions of the Emperor in all matters. Such loyalty and devotion is difficult to understand, but commendable. Certainly it is a culture far removed from ours in many ways, yet so closely connected in an economic way. Thanks for the class, thanks for all the classes. It was a most enjoyable experience for me and it will allow me to share this new-found knowledge with my students.

[Anonymous]

As usual, our last lecture was very eluminating, educational and I certainly am sold on the idea of visiting East Asia after all these sessions. I am convinced that the cultures we have been studying about are richer and more advanced than the western civilization would ever care to admit and that we are losing out on not actively including them in our modern day curriculum. What I mean by that is that had I not participated in the East Asia Studies, I would have ignorantly continued to exist in my little cocoon without ever exploring all the intricate things they have to offer. Now, my students and I have been given new factes to explore-especially since my students are so into Asian video games, ninjas, warriors, fire benders and anime- I have just been made a better teacher-I think! I certainly have recommended these studies to my colleagues and one of them is going to attend the spring session.[Edit by="lizatieno1 on Dec 29, 12:36:58 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Has anyone noticed, there were snippets here and there on CNN and other business/money networks on how people spent Christmas in East Asian countries such as China, Japan and they are all experiencing the same economic stresses as we are on this side of the world although not to such a extreme degree. A friend just came from there and passed by my house on the 27th and all he kept saying was that China is a place to visit. It is very advanced and organized - a power to carefully watch in the future. Anway he says its a "must visit once in a lifetime" place. I hope everyone had a blessed week despite the fact that we get payed only once a month and therefore Christmas shopping for the kids was pretty challenging.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Susan for the cool websites. I think students are shocked to learn that this happened to close to home. My grandmother was born in Independence so my family visits every once in a while. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but next time I go I'll take pictures of the site and show the slides to my students (inspired by Clay and his slides!).

[Anonymous]

Dottie, my colleague at Grant just left for Hawaii with her family for a two-week vacatiaon. With all the information we have learned linking Hawaai to the Japanese and the war, I have asked her to go and get as much information,visit as many post-war sites and talk to as many locals as she can regarding their views about Japan, the war, their involvement in the wars and any history that we might use when she comes back, for our Asian Studies. Because I teach social skills in my school, I have asked her first of all to see how kids behave in Hawaii- if they are more influenced by the western culture or if any Asian especially Japanese influences are evident in the way they relate to adults. I am also curious to hear how the Hawaiin women carry themselves. I know I would love her to interview one of each - male, female, child. I would like to compare her findings with what we have learned these past two months to see to what extent the Hawaiians have retained infuences from Asia. Finally, I'd like her to find out how Hawaiian kids respond to Japanes anime, video games and all the other things that my students enjoy. I will have her give a presentation about her visit and her findings in two of my social skills classes and hopefully she will have pictures if not a video or slide show.

[Edit by="lizatieno1 on Dec 29, 1:46:30 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Thank you for yet another informative session. I enjoyed how Clay opened with a kind of "catch-all" summary/intro - this really helped me to put the documents, images, and information that we addressed into context. Also, I really liked the balance between images and documents - what a great way to engage students (and adults!) I also appreciated the direct suggestions for passages to use with students. At times during this seminar, I have been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of knowledge and resources we have gotten, so it was nice to have a few more specific suggestions for passages to look at. Also, as an English/History teacher, I am always looking for ways to incorporate more document analysis into both of my classes.

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