November 18 - Yamashita - Classical and Warrior Japan

[Anonymous]

Last night as I lay on my bed pondering on renting the movie 'The Last Samurai" (this is the second time I will watch it)but this time will be watching from a more informed perspective), I was wondering; "Why are Samurai's a thing only of the ancient civilizations? Are Samurais only able to be a thing of the past? Can't there be modern day Samurais? I was just pondering this because I thought the Samurai was more a life style, qualities instilled in certain warriors, a way the selected Samurais were trained to be.Surely weren't some of these characteristics passed on to later generations? Just wondering since they seemed to have played an integral part in ancient Asian history.

[Anonymous]

I would like to echo the comments of others on this thread and acknowledge what a wonderful time I had listening to Professor Yamashita. He has a delightful sense of humor and an incredibly engaging method of instruction.

I am especially grateful of his way of using "puzzles" to guide discussions. Since the session, I have incorporated that strategy in my classroom. I have students exclaiming, "I think I've figured it out!" Whether they are right on or way off, it makes students think and they enjoy it because they see it as a game. I'm sure that I have a long way to go before perfecting the strategy, but I do enjoy refining it. This goes to show that one of the many benefits of this seminar includes learning new and improving old teaching strategies. It's not just about the content (and there is A LOT of content)!

[Anonymous]

In addition to his use of "puzzles," I also enjoyed Dr. Yamashita's use of "artifacts" to guide class discussions on the puzzles. By having students examine artifacts, develop questions based on them, and be able to answer those questions, I can better assess their learning in an informal setting. Another benefit of this is that students who are visual learners can better understand concepts as opposed to merely listening. Depending on the type of artifacts used, kinesthetic learners will benefit if they can actually hold something, like a piece of jade when discussing the use of jade in Chinese history for example. As an added bonus, I find that using Powerpoint presentations with little text and a good visual helps my students figure out what is important in the information I'm trying to present.

[Author]

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