session 3 w/Dr. Clayton Dube

[Anonymous]

This summer I was introduced to a fantastic travel narrative (as was custom during the time period) The Travels of Sir John Mandoville It starts out totally normal, but to get more readership the author took other people's travel accounts an expands on them until the people get described more as creatures. It might be an interesting way to explore Marco Polo's journey as the narrative being a story that is much more about European perceptions of unfamiliar societies.

The story can be found here: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/tosjm10.txt and includes cannibals and humans that are more like creatures than human beings.

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, last night was my first class and I must say....this class rocks! Thanks Dr. Clayton.

Asia is still a whole world unknown to me and I find myself a bit intimidated by the vast difference between my own culture and theirs. I hope that taking this class sheds some ignorance on my part and prompts me to one day travel there.

I can't wait to hear more!

Maritza

[Anonymous]

Finally I am able to log in after many trial and errors. Thanks to Xin for her patience and help.
During the third session, Dr. Clayton gave us a bundle of information for us to digest. Everything is so interesting! Learning through the major philosophical traditions from Confucious, Mohism (Mozi - Mo Tzu), Daoism, Buddhism, and do not forget the Legalism. During an interesting debate held during the session, I siided with the philosophy of Mozi. To run such a vast and powerful country throughout the ages requires the highest levels of wisdom in government. Looking forward for discussions on the economical life of the country.

[Anonymous]

I was so happy after this session. I actually had some context for our discussion/debate. I have taught units on Buddhism and Hinduism and we are now studying the Russian Revolution and reading Animal Farm. I felt so much better that I could contribute to the conversation. My affective filter was lowered and I am actually looking forward to our next meeting because I don't feel so "out of the loop".

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I am so excited to be back in a classroom learning about History. I have been teaching four years now, and most of my professional development has been in pedagogical teaching practices. It is so nice to be involved and engaged in content matter.

[Anonymous]

I read "Liang Qichao on his Trip to America," and I thought it would be a great addition to the primary sources I have for the turn of the century. I thought Upton Sinclair and Lincoln Steffens were critical of American society until I read Liang Oichao. It is amazing to see a primary source that so critical of the U.S. at a time when China was under the control of European countries and the U.S. who had helped put down the Boxer Rebellion. I think next year I will take excerpts from Liang Qichao and pair them with excerpts of some of the muckrakers of the Progressive era for my students to analyze in my AP U.S. HIstory class.

[Anonymous]

A month ago we studied Imperialism in my class and we read the Treaty of Nanking, in fact I had my students do the following assignment: Explain whether this treaty of Nanking is unfair to China. Mention at least three conditions of the treaty to support your opinion. Rewrite these three treaty conditions to make them fair to the Chinese people. Another assignment I had my student do that is related to the Opium War, was I had them write a response to Lin Zexu’s letter to Queen Victoria from her perspective. Most of my students were surprised by the fact that Queen Victoria never responded to the Lin's letter.

[Anonymous]

We're reading Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" where a town stones one of its members every year. Students are comparing this allegorical story to historical events. Some are looking at the Chinese Revolution. I've encouraged them to read Lisa See's recent Dreams of Joy, set during Mao's revolution, when individuals were ruthlessly "sacrificed" for the good of the movement. When a powerful tradition takes control, the individual who questions it is swept aside or removed.

[Anonymous]

The LA Times reports that Obama called on China to "halt their export restrictions of rare earth minerals". These natural resources are used in U.S. products such as hybrid vehicles and smartphones. Apparently, the U.S. is asking the WTO to help settle this, adding its force to make China loosen up their "treasure chest" of vital resources. My question is, if I read this correctly, what kinds of past issues led to this claim that a country has to export its precious resources? Also, why is China balking?

[Anonymous]

Liang Qichao took a trip to America in 1903. He spent five months traveling and observing at American society with one question set in mind: In what ways might America provide models for China in its quest to become strong and modern? Although in favor of democratic institutions, he did not see the American republican system as appropriate to China. He was not impressed by the way of life in New York nor the way Chinese had organized themselves in Chinatowns such as San Francisco or Los Amgeles. He met with personalities such as J.P. Morgan, the king of the capital market. Among many things, Liang was impressed by Morgan's practical philosophy such as: "The outcome of any venture depends on preparations made ahead of time; once it is started, its success or failure is already decided and can no longer be altered". After Liang's death in 1929, many of his written observations from his travels in America were adopted to constitute the government of modern China.
edited by virecalde on 3/18/2012

[Anonymous]

While reading this post I thought of the thematic unit that we are getting to about utopias versus dystopias. Is ignorance bliss? Should the ideology of the masses usurp the ideology of one person?

[Anonymous]

I learned a lot in our round table interactions and think this is a valuable strategy for getting students involved and thinking about how to express their ideas in a group setting.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hi All,

Please share your thoughts about the third session with Dr. Clayton Dube.

-Xin

[Author]

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