dube, 1/29 session (orientation, geography)

[Anonymous]

While looking at the images Professor Dube showed us the covers of Economist (“Turning Japanese”) and Bloomberg (“Property of China”), I was reminded of our global society. As a global, interconnected society, it is necessary to move beyond the Eurocentric California World History standards. The other day I asked my students what goods did European countries want from China and they answered, “rice and pandas.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised to hear they automatically picture Panda Express when asked about China. When referencing other East Asian countries (Korea, Japan) they sometimes will describe them as Chinese as well. Obviously, the students need more exposure. I liked Professor Dube’s advice of getting the kids to latch onto what they know, but wouldn’t expect, to reveal the Asia connection.

[Anonymous]

The first session was very interesting and it got me thinking about the many ways East Asia influence our country and culture in general. I often discuss with my students the fact that it is important to have an open mind and to try to learn as much as we can from other cultures. Needless to say at this point in time it is more important than ever due to the fact that everywhere we look we can find something that was made in China or Korea. We have a global society and it is important to keep up with the times and I guess it will be a good idea for our students to learn more about East Asia in order to understand the culture and the countries that provide us with a great deal of the products we use everyday. Also, it is important to be aware of the role East Asia plays in our lives.

[Anonymous]

My interest was piqued when Clay brought up the US oil embargo against Japan in the months before Pearl Harbor. I remember hearing about this a few years ago in a documentary. When I checked one of our US History textbooks (McDougall Littell--The Americans), sure enough the trade embargo is mentioned as a significant event leading up to the Japanese attack on Hawaii. Although it may have been perceived as provocative by the Japanese, it was a direct response to Japanese aggression in Southeast Asia. I'll be sure to emphasize it from now on when covering America's entry into WWII!

I found these links to related primary sources which you might find useful when going over this episode in your US or World History class:

Text of Executive Order 8832
History.com Blurb about the Embargo

Below, I've also pasted two articles from Time Magazine, August 4, 1941 covering the embargo:

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Time, Monday, Aug. 04, 1941
WAR FRONT: Loaded Gun
When he froze Japanese assets in the U.S. last week (see p. 11), President Roosevelt did not automatically put an end to U.S.-Japanese trade. Neither, except oratorically, did he put an end to the U.S. State Department policy of appeasing Japan with U.S. oil. There were plenty of official loopholes in the freezing order through which that trade could be carried on. What the President did was to load and point an economic gun at Japan. But it was a big-caliber gun, and it was ready to fire at any moment.
The gun crew is a three-man "policy board": Treasury's Ed Foley, State's Dean Acheson, Justice's Francis Shea. Theirs is the job of determining the policies under which the Treasury will issue licenses for the export of U.S. goods and for the transfer of Japanese assets to pay for them. The State Department credits its own oil policy with having kept Japan out of the East Indies for two years. If this policy is influential with the board, licenses will no doubt be freely issued and the trade will go on. Asked about the board's policy last week, Ed Foley remarked: "I don't know, we haven't met since the freezing order was signed."
Whether the gun would be fired depended chiefly on Japan. But its very size and power were enough to scare many U.S. businessmen—to say nothing of Japanese businessmen—last week. In combination with similar British and Dutch weapons, it might lay the Japanese economy low in six months (see col. 2). But it also had a kick that would jar 200,000 silk workers in the U.S. (see below).
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Time, Monday, Aug. 04, 1941
THE PRESIDENCY: The Last Step Taken
When President Roosevelt cracked down on the Japanese move into Indo-China by freezing credits, he moved far. The whole U.S. accepted his act as a step just short of war. But the U.S. reaction was quiet, solid agreement, in which even most isolationists joined. His second dramatic move, folding the Philippine defense forces into the U.S. Army (see p. 30), left no doubt of how much further he was ready to go. The two acts were more than a warning to the Japanese of war to come—they amounted to a declaration of economic war with military war to follow soon unless the Japanese decided to reverse their course.
That fact could not be mistaken. Day before the freezing order the President had explained why in the simplest vernacular. Talking off the cuff to a group of civilian-defense volunteers he made them a little homily so saltily effective and lucid that the critical Baltimore Sun allowed: "There was a bit of Lincoln in it." Said the President:
". . . One of our efforts, from the very beginning, was to prevent the spread of that world war in certain areas where it hadn't started. One of those areas is a place called the Pacific Ocean—one of the largest areas of the earth. . . . There happened to be a place in the South Pacific where we had to get a lot of things—rubber, tin, and so forth and so on, down in the Dutch Indies, the Straits Settlements and Indo-China. And we had to get the Australian surplus of meat and wheat and corn for England.
"It was very essential from our own selfish point of view of defense to prevent a war from starting in the South Pacific. So our foreign policy was—trying to stop a war from breaking out down there. . . .
"All right, and now here is a nation called Japan. Whether they had at that time aggressive purposes to enlarge their empire southward, they didn't have any oil of their own up in the north. Now, if we cut the oil off, they probably would have gone down into the Dutch East Indies a year ago, and you would have had war.
"Therefore, there was—you might call —a method in letting this oil go to Japan, with the hope—and it has worked for two years—of keeping war out of the South Pacific for our own good, for the good of the defense of Great Britain and for the freedom of the seas. . . .
This was the frankest, simplest statement on foreign policy that Franklin Roosevelt had ever made—of the foreign policy which the U.S. has now abandoned.
Action. Having spoken, the President went to Hyde Park, read, played with his Scottie, Falla; hashed things over with Mrs. Roosevelt as they sat on the porch at Hyde Park. Behind the diplomatic scenes wheels ground steadily. At the end of a baking-hot day, after the last stock exchange (San Francisco) had closed, the curtain lifted to disclose the President issuing an order freezing all Japanese assets (probably about $131,000,000) in the U.S.
In five swift hours freezing orders crackled in from all parts of the Anglo-Saxon world. Now no Japanese could spend a dollar more than $500 monthly per person in the U.S., move a ship out, sell a pound of silk—without a specific Treasury license. Importers Mitsui, for instance, could still buy oil from Standard Oil on dollar credits exchanged through the South American branches of National City Bank, for instance—but only with a license. Hints came down that the license business at the Treasury would be as indefatigably polite as Japanese statesmanship, but also just as reluctant to redress wrongs.
A sample of U.S. politeness had already been given. The Panama Canal had been closed to Japanese ships. Ten Japanese freighters heading for the Canal's Caribbean entrance hove to offshore, hung idly in the thick July heat. Other ships went through but their turn never came. To protests the War Department said: so sorry (taking no chances on one of them blowing up in a lock), but the Canal was undergoing repairs. Finally the Japanese freighters gave up, plowed south on the 19,000-mile voyage around Cape Horn.
The new U.S. attitude gave the Japanese the same dreadful kind of surprise that Adolf Hitler felt when the British decided to fight if he moved on Poland. Poland was the last straw— to the British; French Indo-China looked like the next-to-last straw to the U.S. The impact on Japan was immense (see p. 21).
The impact on U.S. business was not so marked (see p. 61). The U.S. woman, it appeared, by 1941's end would have a choice of 1) going barelegged, 2) buying Nylon stockings which might be unprocurable, or 3) wearing cotton stockings.
But with unusual unanimity the press and the public upheld the President's act, illustrating several facets of the U.S. feeling about foreign policy: 1) the U.S. can probably lick the Japanese; 2) this would be a Navy job primarily, and the U.S. is prouder and surer of its powerful Navy than of its half-equipped Army; 3) many isolationists are rabidly anti-Japanese. Even Montana's acidulous, 100% critic Burton K. Wheeler said: "I think the President did the right thing. You may say for me that I agree with him—for the first time."
Forty Japanese ships, radios blacked out, hove to in the Pacific, well offshore, awaited developments. In San Francisco's and Los Angeles' Japtowns there was no excitement; press photographers had to cajole Japanese into posing in groups around bulletin boards. The switchboards of Japanese newspapers and banks jammed with calls, but they were mostly from U.S. newshawks asking whether anything was cooking.
At the specific request of Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek, the freezing order had included Chinese assets, to prevent their use by Japanese owners, and to facilitate the Chinese exchange problem. Big chore ahead: to close the entire Hemisphere to the Japanese. Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles this week intimated that the U.S. would welcome parallel economic measures by other American nations against Japan. Mexico's President Manuel Avila Camacho warned that an attack on any other American country might lead to Mexico's entry into the war. The Hemisphere was apparently falling into line behind U.S. policy. The U.S. and the Japanese were now face to face at the shortest distance yet. Each had encircled the other in the South Pacific (see p. 20). The next major move on either side would mean war.
edited by gberhitoe on 1/30/2013

[Anonymous]

Thank you for following up with some research to provide to a resource for teaching. The second article you posted (Aug 4, 1942 "The Presidency" is rich with information. I think this could couple nicely with the words of FDR in his famous "a day that will live in infamy" speech where he mentions all of the other many places (in the S Pacific) that were also attacked when Pearl Harbor was targeted. It is a good reminder of how powerful (and provocative) economic sanctions/embargoes can be--especially in light of the debate between more militaristic tacks and advocates for economic and diplomatic strategies with regard to Iran today. Thanks again! Hopefully, in class we will examine World War II in East Asia more fully.

[Anonymous]

Introducing students to East Asia and engaging their interest in the matter is not very difficult to do. I believe all of the students are aware that there are Asian countries and many of our students are appreciative of the entertainment and products that come from there. I have worked with many students that are interested in Japanese anime, Jackie Chan movies, Japanese video games and many of them enjoy the Chinese fast food restaurants in their neighborhoods. Therefore, further engaging their interest with the facts learned in this seminar will provide me with a great deal of material that will give my students the background knowledge to initiate discussions about East Asia. An added benefit will be an enhancement of their cultural literacy.
These were intriguing points that were brought up in the lecture. Using these aforementioned topics as teasers and introductions to delve into deeper points are things that I can definitely do to engage in deeper study and discussions on East Asian topics.
Last week’s discoveries of tense Chinese elections, Korean gavel wrestling and continuing Japanese attempts at domination, whether belligerent or not, stimulated my interest. I also enjoyed learning about the Chinese claims of ownership over thousands of square miles of ocean. I believe that students will also find these to be interesting topics of discussion.
edited by pperez on 2/2/2013

[Anonymous]

Excellent research on the pre-Pearl Harbor articles. In order for our students to be better critical thinkers, primary sources are a great tool. Thank you for the links.
edited by mcastillo on 2/3/2013

[Anonymous]

The picture of the Chinese flag on the ocean floor reminded me of the Russians planting their flag on the ocean floor of the Arctic Ocean. In this case to claim future oil drilling rights as the polar caps recede/melt. Dr. Laurence Smith's The World in 2050 goes into detail concerning future raw materials that nations like the U.S. are already staking a claim to.

[Anonymous]

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(I apologize for the jibber jabber above. Any tips on how to get rid of it?)


I found the comments regarding the lack of transparency in China, especially in relation to Clinton’s recent attempt at holding a live an open dialogue, to be especially fascinating. While I do every once in a while question the the stories we see—or do not see—on the news, I wouldn’t describe myself as a conspiracy theorist and don’t think we (yet) live in a world completely dominated by Big Brother—despite Mark Zuckerberg’s various attempts at building a screen that sees into the privacy of our homes. That being said, the world of 1984 is not completely divorced from our reality. I find the idea of media censorship very disconcerting. The notion of banning an entire news organization, especially the NY Times, from the internet evokes a certain feeling of claustrophobia in my mind. I wonder how the people living in China feel about the staunch control that is held over what they are allowed to know. There have recently been a number of stories in the news about protestors taking to Twitter in reaction to various acts of censorship, so it’s clearly that some people have had it.

[Anonymous]

Hi Nicole,

The coding above is a result of the copy/paste function from a Microsoft Word document. This forum is a bit clunky in that sense (and a bit tedious). I recommend either writing straight into the textbox on the forum, or you can copy and paste by wiping the rich text in a Word document. This you can do by pasting your reflection into Notepad (if you have a PC) or TextEdit (on a Mac) and then onto this forum.

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

As the world is getting smaller and more interconnected, it makes sense that many of the issues faced by East Asian countries today (i.e. dwindling native populations, the subsequent need for immigrant labor, shortages of natural resources, slower economic growth, etc.) are the same ones that North American and European nations are facing--as these articles make very clear.

It was interesting to read about how Japan is dealing with a shrinking population--by creating a consumer robot industry to provide cheap labor around the house and by slowly opening up to more immigration (at least with immigrants of Japanese descent from places like Brazil). I've always thought that there was a consensus that the overall population of the planet needs to get smaller, and yet we seem to be totally dependent on the idea that a prerequisite of economic well-being is constant growth. Maybe with their decreasing population, technological ingenuity, and aversion to allowing mass immigration by foreign ethnic groups, the Japanese will find a way to economic well-being in an environment of negative population growth. On the other hand, they've had 20+ years to try, and seemed to be bogged down in an interminable economic malaise.

I was surprised to read that the total area of the United States is larger than that of China (by about 250,000 square kilometers). I guess we have William H. Seward to thank for that.

[Anonymous]

I’m looking forward to discovering more a bout the colonial interactions of the past two hundred years, especially from the British and French perspective. Orientalism was quite the craze for certain gentlemen explorers of the nineteenth century. I hope to find the time to research the biography of at least one eccentric French sinologist, or to learn about the early attempts of Europeans decoding East Asian languages in their quest to unravel vast cultural treasures. Additionally, I am keen to learn more about the events leading up to the Revolution of 1949. Does the China of today reflect the values of that massive social transformation? How is class-consciousness manifested in East Asian cultures? Is there a spirit on Internationalism (Workers of the World Unite!) or do petty national differences continue to prevail? Stormy disputes in the South China Seas would hint at the latter.

[Anonymous]

Snake farming is a big business in China. Demand for snake parts is on the rise for medicinal use. Zisiqiao, in the Zhejiang province of China, is home to three million snakes, over sixty varieties, many of them are believed to be poisonous. The snake farmers are anticipating a boost in sales with the coming Year of the Snake. Rather snakes than rhinoceros horns. For more hissstory on this peculiar enterprise see BBC news video link below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21331649

[Anonymous]

0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;} Obama’s interest in China caught my interest. The word choice of “pivot”, “re-engaging Asia”, and “re-balancing” state a general shift of national interest in China. With 60% of weapons and soldiers leaving Afghanistan and shifting towards a focus on the Pacific, China interprets this as confrontational. This led to China blocking the live conference and blocking any reports. How does China’s perspective of America influence their choices? China has socialism with Chinese characteristics???? This stayed with me. Our world perspective is so influenced by the media. How are the Chinese influenced by the lack of media?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, I enjoyed seeing familiar faces and new people last week. I just wanted to say how cool it was to have a refresher on some recent US-Chinese relations. I loved learning about the how our Secretary of States had always visited Europe until recently. I am a PoliSci person, so the gov stuff is cool for me. Interesting to see how Hilary is viewed in that part of the world. Also found it quite amusing how childish diplaomacy can be. It's like two kids on the school yard hitting each other saying te othe rone started it. The Impeccable incident was also interesting just how delicate relations are. Many of the incidents I remember reading about in the news, but honestly hadn't realized the implications of every incident. It's like walking on eggshells.

Also love that the group has a lot of informed educators. I was very impressed with the wealth of knowledge you all bring to the class. I can't pretend to know a lot about the region (even though I took the first class last year), but you guys rock. Looking forward to Tuesday

[Anonymous]

I found the readings for this week to be very interesting. Reading about Asian beliefs, robotics, and earthquakes were topics that reignited my interest about Asian culture. These are some of the topics that I believe students will find intriguing. Most of the articles from the reading allowed me to realize that there are many similarities that Chinese and Korean people have with Latino people. Moreover, the article on the low birth rate in South Korea and the impact it has had on the population growth is something that I never really gave thought to. It is scary to realize that women have the responsibility of raising children and the fact that their occupations keep them from investing the time they need to their families. Furthermore, there are many social issues that are present in China, North and South Korea that are affecting the future of people and that need to be taken into consideration. I would like to add a multicultural unit to my lessons in which students conduct research and read articles that pertain to a different culture than their own.
edited by dcoronel on 2/5/2013

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