General Discussion Forum for the Class

[Anonymous]

I second that!

All the guest lecturers have been outstanding, with a wealth of information I find highly beneficial.

This is what I anticipated when I signed on earlier this year.

Troy

[Anonymous]

I agree. Each speaker has been wonderful. They are knowledgeable and obviously love what they do. I loved learning about Chinese poetry, painting and calligraphy. As a lefthander, though, I wonder if there were no lefthanded calligraphers at all. I didn't think to ask Professor Ye. Probably because I have no plans to take up calligraphy any time soon. I was intrigued by the Chinese attitude toward color and realism. Where is the art in painting a brown horse with four legs?
I thought the professor's explanation of the phrase "playing the lute" was beautiful.
The afternoon session turned out to be very helpful. I was very excited that I was able to create my own webpage with live links!

[Anonymous]

I also agree that the speakers have been excellent. I'm particularly impressed with their range of knowledge--they aren't singularly focused which makes the discussions that more interesting. Thinking of the poetry and the literature comparably is interesting and entertaining.

I am very interested in art so the slide show was of particular interest. Does anyone remember the title of the Keanu Reeves movie that Professor Ye referenced?

[Anonymous]

I was hoping that we would have had more time to debate, but that was not the case. Nonetheless, it was interesting to hear the different perspectives. Having been stuck in the legalist camp, I must say that it was difficult for me to "warm up" to the ideals of that school of thought. I find the basic tenets of legalism to be morally repugnant. Any hardline philosophical school of thought invariably leads to extremism- Robespierre's Jacobins during the French Revolution spring to mind, as do the National Socialists of Hitler's Germany. Many people who can't find a way to embrace the ideals of these draconian philosophies are to often willing to suspend their own personal ethics due to the fact that, 'Well, at least the trains run on time'. During times of national strife and regional conflict it is easy to see why these philospophies take root, but to what extent and for how long is the question that must be asked. Order is necessary, but at what cost?[Edit by="gjones on Mar 5, 11:53:01 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This evening's class was very interesting. Professor Yamashita was quite engaging. The way that fingerprints and noodles and genealogy are all related is fascinating.
I'm sure that my seventh grade boys would enjoy all the sword talk.

Each speaker in this class has been excellent.

[Anonymous]

Prof. Yamashita was a very engaging, pleasantly inspiring speaker. Clay's remarks concerning the Prof's pedagogy was right on the mark- I also picked up a couple of bona fide methods I can use in my classroom. The use of the artifacts was a very logical way to hook an audience, set a framework, and keep a brisk pace (a must with today's students). I see no reason why this approach wouldn't work in an English classroom. In fact, I am going to try something very similar next week with my 8th graders (we are studying poetry at the moment).
I agree that all of the speakers have been absolutely top notch. My only regret is that the class ended up sprinting to the finish line during the Tokugawa period, which is one of my great interests in Japanese history. Of course, if I hadn't asked so many bloody questions....(Note to self: shaddup!).

[Anonymous]

This is the first time I am jumping in to our online forum, so I have skimmed through the last few posts.

Going back a couple of weeks to the philosophy debate, I have spent some time pondering the legalist standpoint. I think that perhaps the legalist group painted themselves into a corner, because although the legalists were extremely particular about following the law, I do not believe that that would necessarily make them entirely without mercy. Perhaps I am wrong, but even the legalists must have had a benevolent side.

As for this last lecture on Japan, I also thoroughly enjoyed it. The professor was engaging and I also liked his method of contextualizing different facets of the culture. I realized I do this to a certain extent, but he gave a much clearer method for doing so.

I do have to say, however, to the two gentleman who got a bit crazy with 120 questions at the end there.....why??? He was absolutely fascinating, and we could have spent the entire 3 hours on warfare, but one of my absolute favorite things about Japanese culture is the gardens (I love to garden) and it left us with no time to discuss that aspect of the culture at all. So any pointers on where I can get more information on Japanese zen gardens?

And hopefully you will not force me to disembowel myself at the next meeting for criticizing you!!!

See ya!

Christine

[Anonymous]

This will be my second post, but something I remember every time I look at our Asia notebook!

At our very first meeting, Prof. Dube had shown a photo with people in Korea (?!?), which had signs that said "Decamp Now" in reference to wanting a politician to leave, and he made a comment about the expression. What dawned on me, and if there are any other French speakers in our group, is that there is a French expression/verb, "decamper", which means to leave in a hurry. It implies not only leaving in a hurry, but under dubious circumstances, sort of packing up in the middle of the night, and disappearing forever.

The signs implied that the politician should get the heck out of there, and fast.

This is how my brain works - does anyone feel sorry for my students?

A la prochaine,

Christine

[Anonymous]

Christine,

Do you also prohibit or mildly rebuke your students when they feel compelled to ask you questions? Ouch! While your interests may reside elsewhere, I have always had a strong interest in the samurai and their activities. Should I not use this time to ask an authority on matters that I wish clarified? How often does the opportunity arise? I could have asked a lot more questions, but I did not...and certainly nowhere near 60 (that being 1/2 of the hyperbolic reference to 120). If you feel the need to ask a question, then ask away. If you wanted to get into Japanese gardening, then would it not be incumbent upon you to ask questions that lead our speaker there? Some like ferns, some like swords...deal with it. You can't lead the horse to water and expect it not to drink.

Concerning the Legalists narrow-mindedness. The debate did not do any of the groups justice, as we barely scratched the surface due to time constraints. To simply use the equation of Legalist= 'ancient Nazi' is far too simplistic and misses other key philosophical elements espoused by the leaders of the movement. In no way am I a fan of the legalist philosophers, but at the same time, I do strive for context...unfortunately, we were not given time to develop that contextual framework, nor were we even able to answer certain questions to my liking. All of the groups suffered, not just ours. I guess I don't understand part of your argument: you criticize the Legalists for being in favor of law and order. That is akin to criticizing a leopard for having spots, isn't it? We were clearly supposed to adopt the mindset of our school of thought.[Edit by="gjones on Mar 20, 5:26:04 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="gjones on Mar 20, 5:31:01 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting discussion. As for me and my Mohist mentality, asking questions is the most important thing that stimulates learning, so in my class, my students don't hold back. However, I have to constantly keep on point to make sure the subject matter is covered. I try to indulge my students tangents if possible, because some of the best class discussions come from them.

Second, I may be shot down on this, but I would like another debate, one that does the various schools of thought justice. I think these generalizations would be fewer if we, as a group, are able to explore these collective philosophies together.

Troy [Edit by="tstevenson on Mar 20, 6:30:45 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I was lucky enough last week-end to attend a fundraiser for the LA Philharmonic at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Each year the international committee showcases one country's music and culture, and this year was Korea's turn to shine.

Not knowing what to expect, as I have not heard Korean music since middle school, I was really enthusiastic about the presentation, which included court music, folk songs, contemporary folk songs, a jin-do drum dance, A-ri-rang (?), and dancing by flower girls.

I have to say my ear is not attuned to Korean court music or singing. Having a European background, the Korean sounds very highpitched, and I would have to spend a lot of time learning about the timbre and melody of their music. Not understanding the language to know what they are singing about doesn't help either.

I really enjoyed the Jin-do drum dance. It was a troupe of about 5 women in traditional costume (burgundy skirts, mustard yellow blouses, and emerald green waistbands, with all colors coming together in a beautiful bow in the back), dancing, playing the drums, and singing at the same time. I have to say that I had never thought of Korean music as rythmic up until that point, but I really enjoyed it. It had a tremendous sound, just the deep beating of the drums, and human voices singing - it gave me chills!! I really enjoyed that portion.

But the ones that stole the show were the flower girls, ranging in age with the youngest about 5, and the oldest in their teens. They were also in traditional dress, but brighter and more spring-like colorswith patterns on the skirts rather than solid colors. They also had flowers in their hair, and parasols which they used during their dance. Their full length dresses flowed behind them as they whirled around, but the youngest ones stole everyone's heart. They were clearly so concentrated on doing a good job that sometimes they would forget to smile, but they were simply adorable and so proud of themselves at the end of the performance.

It was a wonderful evening, and I know some people were filming, so I wonder if I could get a downloadable version of the evening. It might be a perfect introduction to Korean culture in our classrooms, as the performances were fairly brief. I will keep you guys posted!

In the meantime, if anyone else can fill me on Korean music, I would appreciate it.

Christine

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

There was a segment on PBS' Life & Times yesterday about an exhibit going on at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. I don't know if any of you can still get requests in for field trips, but the link to the museum is here. OK, my link is not working, so here it is in regular format.

http://www.bowers.org

Looks fascinating

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed Professor Miyake's lecture on the Saturday class (Apr 14). We could have spent the whole day talking about just the Heian period. It was interesting to learn about how the women rose to power during Heian (through literature and the arts since they were highly desired). I would have never known that if it wasn't for Saturday's class.

[Anonymous]

There was an article in Saturday's LA Times about a new Bill that passed in the lower house of the Japanese Parliament and supported by the Prime Minister. The Bill would change the Japanese Constitution which was required by the Americans after they lost WWII. Specifically, the Allied imposed Constitution limits the size of their military, does not allow them to wage war, and doesn't allow them to use force to settle disputes. In addition, the change would prohibit public servants and teachers from participating in campaigns for or against the proposed changes. The Times reports that the upper house is likely to approve the changes by Summer and that most people in Japan are "ambivalent" to the matter. In recent months, Prime Minister Abe has pushed through other changes that reflect a conservative and "nationalist spirit." It seems that Japan is being pushed to the right with a militant stance. Of course, this could be explained by the problems in the region, such as North Korea's nuclear and missile testing and China's military spending increases. However, one hopes that the Japanese changes are not somehow leading to a repeat of the 1930's military and nationalist take over of Japan.
John

[Anonymous]

Shades of the Treaty of Versailles and the mess that followed. Japan certainly does not have an easy go of it, what with pressures from the US, China's incredible growth as an economic power, and North Korea's chest-thumping.[Edit by="gjones on Apr 16, 10:20:54 PM"][/Edit]

[Author]

Posts