Session 1 - East Asian Geography and Early Thought

[Anonymous]

Subject: Pre-Imperial china

The topic that most held my attention at this lecture was that on the "oracle bones". I find it interesting that the Sheng dynasty used Oracle Bones to answer questions. By heating the bones; drilling holes and reading the cracks they received answers to pressing questions. The bones spoke to their ancestors; who, in turn, spoke to their God. Did this practice precede or run parallel to that of the Oracle of Delphi?

[Anonymous]

The readings of this week were very interesting and I enjoyed the modern topics of how the demography of the different countries are changing. In particular, the Vietnamese brides were fascinating to see how a country integrates a new cultural class into the society. The implications go both ways, what is Vietnam doing to encourage this practice, and why, and on the opposite end, why is South Korea allowing this to happen and what effects it is having on the economy and society. I would love to bring in this case study to my human geography class that would analyze the changing migration patterns and population graph to see why it is happening and how this could be one solution to population decline as countries enter the 5th stage of development.

[Anonymous]

Prof. Dube frame the importance issues of why East Asia is important today very well and planning to use the materials with the geography class next school year with 9th graders. This is the first time I will be working with 9th graders (the ones coming after middle school years). yikes.

[Anonymous]

In the classroom with my 6th graders, I can implement a debate lesson on the topic of women at home vs. women in the work force. I would split my male and female students into two groups. Both genders would have to discuss with their groups their beliefs on whether women should stay home and bear children or start a career first. Students would choose group leader and have a full debate arguing their position. This activity will allow students the practice for argumentative writing.

[Anonymous]

China's economic growth is coupled with environmental crisis. Air pollution is a serious problem that threatens public health. Coal is one of the culprits. Clean and green energy are most needed in urban China. What should be the priority, industrialization or public health? I would encourage my students to debate on this issue in class.
edited by Lin ZD on 6/15/2017

[Anonymous]

The bride school trade was getting momentum. The mail-order wives in Vietnam crammed to learn Koran language in the bride school before meeting her future husband in Korea introduced by a broker. This was very similar to the arranged marriage in old China when a husband and wife never met until the wedding day. Some of the marriages were arranged by parents, others by match-makers. I would share this article with my students and they'll appreciate their freedom today!
edited by Lin ZD on 6/15/2017

[Anonymous]

[font=Times, "Times New Roman", serif]These are some good questions you raise. I also wondered about divorce and children. What happens if the bride doesn't want to "assimilate" to the degree that the government wants them to? What sorts of attitudes to they face when they arrive? I also wonder, since watching Handmaid's Tale, I wonder if this is bride program is Handmaid's Tale light? Perhaps its too drastic of a connection. [/font]

[Anonymous]

I think you bring up a good questions about how the young people see the future in response to increased robot use. I wonder what government training programs are in place to help young people find jobs outside of industries that are increasingly mechanized. Japan has to know the impact increasing automatization has on the job market. I hope they have seen the future and are planning ahead, and if so, I hope there are lessons we can learn from them as well.

[Anonymous]

The reading about the demographic changes was very interesting. What was especially interesting was term "cultural lag." I knew that Chinese men had a hard time finding a mate but the projections for 2070 were startling. I wonder how the Chinese economy will change as more and more women enter the workforce in more professional settings given that more women than men attend college.

[Anonymous]

One of the solutions for the demographic crisis in South Korea is mail order brides. Cultures all over the world have different customs related to marriage and maybe this is the new trend given that the world is so connected. I saw a story recently about people being tricked into being domestic workers in the middle east or in Persian gulf countries though misleading job ads. As the world becomes more connected, there will be a range of arrangements that people from different countries interact.

[Anonymous]

This session opened my eyes to the lack of knowledge that I have on East Asia and especially the relationship between China and the United States. I did not know about all the covert operations and am really glad I am going to take this seminar to learn more to teach my students. This reading material also opened my eyes to the crisis with the lack of brides in Korea. There are some major cultural differences between the United States and East Asia that I am very interested in understanding.

[Anonymous]

I read this article at the beginning of the seminar, but I feel as though it is extremely important, even more so now, that the current President has decided to withdraw from the current environmental council. The environment affects everyone in the world, not just China and the US and it is so sad that some countries do not understand what implications decisions that they make have on others. We live in a global society and our decisions affect others, not just ourselves. We do not need Coal and these countries need to understand that clean energy sources, whether more expensive or not, are much better for the world. It is so much more expensive to clean up the mess than to just prevent the problem in the first place.
edited by kvillegas on 6/21/2017

[Anonymous]

I find this article interesting because the issues concerning of the environment effect everyone and it should really be approached as
a world problem and not specific to individual countries. The articles quotes Elizabeth C. Economy, Council on Foreign Relations, “China’s current environmental situation is the result not only of policy choices made today but also of attitudes, approaches, and institutions that have evolved over centuries.” This statement is true for all of us and our current administration as well as its constituents should learn from the past as well as the present.

[Anonymous]

The major take away from our first session for me was the United States long existing connection with East Asia. We, as Americans have been connected with that part of the World through trade and cultural exchange since the very beginning of our nation. It seems as though many Americans do not have a deep understanding of our ties to Asian and as teachers we need to be a vehicle to promote/explain that long lasting connection. This was an excellent primer for the rest of the course.

[Anonymous]

The first class was an eye opening experience that showed how vast East Asia. The discussion was based around the different issues that surround East Asia and dived into modern day issues such as hte closure of a popular Korean shopping store. It set the table for what was to come and was very interesting. It also demonstrated how America has had a long history in Asia that has been advantageous for both parties.

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