Perceptions

[clay dube]

How have the images Americans and Asians have had of each other changed over time?

In this section of the forum, let's discuss how these questions can be raised with students and share resources that will help students explore these questions.

The classic work on American perceptions of China and India is Harold Isaacs, , reprint edition, Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe, 1980. A digital version is available from Questia at:

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=66023257

In 1999, the Luce Foundation commissioned a study by Opinion Dynamic Corporation. An analysis of the results is at:

http://www.hluce.org/images/usasia_report_1099.pdf

[clay dube]

In December 2002, the Pew Global Attitudes Project published a report entitled "Global Gloom and Growing Anti-Americanism" detailing the results of a 44 nation survey. We've extracted the Asian responses to the survey. You can check them out at:

http://international.ucla.edu/asia/article.asp?parentid=2748

[clay dube]

In 2004, RAND published "Ambivalent Allies? A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S." by Eric V. Larson, Norman D. Levin, Seonhae Baik, Bogdan Savych. The report is available at

http://www.rand.org/publications/TR/TR141/

[Anonymous]

I teach students who are (mrm) in my classroom this question would be very difficult. With lowel level kids I think I would start with this question by first discussing what they think people think about thier culture. Maybe I would also provide an answer to your question and then discuss it.

[Anonymous]

This piece of research about the mindset of Asians is really interesting and I think, perhaps, that the success of the particular group that immigrated to America, as a whole, is a large factor. For instance, the Philippines has very high regards of the United States because of the success of the Filipinos here. Filipinos have acculturated somewhat smoothly. On the other hand, the Bangladeshis here are fewer,hence the statistics....just thinking out loud.
Evangeline

[Anonymous]

I'm sure the students would enjoy whatever is being studied as long as it's done with enthusiasm. Let me know how you start to work with your students and the culture of East Asia. I still do not know what to do on my webpage, unlike my colleagues who are so specific. See you Saturday.
Evangeline

[Anonymous]

The web page is no different than any other lesson. You just have the additional task of typing it into netscape communicator. Don't let the net or technology intimidate you!
Good luck,

Larry

[Anonymous]

Lynne Miyake’s presentation was indeed stimulating. Thinking some more about Heian period (esp. The Tale of Genji) and the reasons for it’s obscurity in the Western curriculum brought to mind that there is little attention paid to two other great periods for prose - Old English literature-the age of Alfred and the Benedictine Renaissance. Both, Heian and Old English literatures (fascinating similarities and differences that can be discussed with our students) merit full consideration in its own right, both for its intrinsic value and for its pleasure content. However, the attention to high level of aesthetics in Heian era is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Hello,
As I said before I teach students who are mrm at the high school level.
I have started talking about Asia during our World history class. I must
say I found it a little hard getting them to follow. I realized I needed to
make the lesson simple. I decided to start the discussion with customs
and by offering some web sites that they can explore. This worked out
well because they started asking me question which made everything
easier.
Good luck in the classroom!

[Anonymous]

Article reaction: Asia Institute
What do Asians think? Pew center survey

I just read the article describing some data reflecting Asian feelings about various topics. A couple of things came to mind as I was reading it. I was curious about what North and South Koreans would have said if asked these questions, especially how they felt about Americans. Another thing that occurred to me was that the the people had similar worries to ours here in America. The economy was their biggest problem as is one of ours. We are always hearing about how unemployment ans recessions and how Americans feel they are doing today. The same is true for the Asians. Another issue was that Asians were not happy about family life. What does that refer to specifically? When I think of how people here are unhappy with family life I think of how people complain that they work too much and don't get to see their kids. Or mother's complain that they have to go back to work instead of staying home to raise they kids. Is this the same reason why Asians are unhappy as well? One more thing that occurred to me as I was reading the article was that it was funny that China and Vietnam didn't allow questions about their government and military. Are they afraid of what people might say? If the questions were asked I'm sure you couldn't get a reliable answer from people for fear of what might happen if they did say negative things about their nation. Interesting.....

[clay dube]

In March 2004 RAND published a study examining South Korean public opinion toward the US. "Ambivalent Allies: A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S." can be downloaded from the RAND website at:

http://www.rand.org/publications/TR/TR141/

The researchers concluded that unfavorable attitudes toward the US have increased, but that there was a recent and slight moderation in the views of many.

[Anonymous]

http://www.csus.edu/bulletin/021003bulletin.pdf

CSUS Bulletin: Study tests Japanese views on California Rice

Here's an article I found on rice! I thought it would be funny to put this link up considering we just finished a lecture on Asian food. We all heard how important rice is in Asian food and culture. This article is about a study that was done to test Japanese views on California rice. Someone actually did a blind taste test to see if Japanese can actually taste the difference between our rice and theirs. Although they claim that they can tell a difference and identify CA rice, the study actaully proved that the majority of the people could not do that. This article is simply fun to read...[Edit by="apeel on Aug 11, 5:43:24 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

just read the post you wrote regarding rice. last spring i took a class on southeast asia and the professor had an entire lecture on the miracle of rice for the asian countries. it was totally fascinating and i appreciate it definitely. the fact that there exists a Rice Institute is, to me, exciting.
Evangeline from Whitman

[Anonymous]

hey there corey!

i just spent a week in san francisco delivering and picking up my 6 year old niece from chinese school. it was really wonderful and i was surprised how quickly she learned. before a week was up she was counting to 50 in mandarin and knew at least 28 animals. i only know that "lowhoo" means tiger. it was quite wonderful. no matter how i slaughtered the language, she so patiently yelled the correct pronunciation. in any case, there was a day that the parents had to go to the classroom and participate. i know the answer to teaching any toddler, SING IT ! and do motions. they seem to love it and they learn as well. i am writing this because i thought, maybe you could do that in your class. but you'd have to learn a chinese song first. a web-page could be a bunch of songs or links to songs. just an idea

evangeline from whitman

[Anonymous]

This is a well known fact... that learning through song or rhyme is very effective. The whole field of Mnemonics is based on changing the context of what needs to be remembered so that it becomes something else more memorable. How many of us still do the months song to remember whether it's 30 or 31 days in november?

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