Session 5 - discussion

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed the political Cartoons. It is interesting how the Asian's perspective makes fun of FDR, yet they make their point. The Japanese and others feel like the U.S. and Britain are taking advantage of them through their war policies. I will like to use this cartoons in the classroom, but I teach Middle School. Some day
edited by juanae on 10/7/2015

[Anonymous]

The Peasant Movement in Hunan, I enjoyed this reading, mostly because it was easy to read. The peasants who once were at the bottom of the social scale, have risen and taken over the peasants' associations. They now are bale to reject members, even tough they criticized for taking it to far.

[Anonymous]

One of the articles that interested me the most was Xu Zhengkeng's "Things About America and Americans" as we mentioned in class is always interesting to know how other people perceive you and even more interesting when that perception has not change after a century. I’ve have lived in different countries and I remember hearing similar opinions about Americans delirium for money, we’re portrayed as cold and money hungry, people who work endless hours to just accumulate a fortune. There is also this idea of Americans living in paradise with amazing Victorian houses and brand new luxury cars. All this of course, we owe it to Hollywood and the media.
One opinion that I do share with the writer is the disapproval of our societies’ appreciation for college professors and their salaries. We have great people dedicating their lives to education and what they (we) get in return money-wise is absurd. An educator is as important as a doctor or a lawyer and should be recompensed in the same manner.

[Anonymous]

The image gallery in Throwing off Asia is very rich. I have already borrowed a few for my lessons in World History. The three panel format, which is used extensively by Japanese artists identify the source, and my students are trained to look for the format. Its an excellent source of non-western art and history, which is rare in textbooks and ancillary resources

[Anonymous]

Wow! What a wealth of information! I really enjoy how Dr. Clayton Dube weaves together the readings and the lectures. The theme of nationalism stood out to me the most in both the readings and the lecture. I really enjoyed the "Generalissimo Jiang on National Identity" reading the most. I think I liked it so much because it reminded me of when I was first learning about the formation of the country of Mexico. My whole life I have been surrounded with family that have been extremely proud of being from Mexico. I felt the nationalism early. But when I first started learning about Mexico I realized that it was not like that always. Similar to China, Mexico had a period "Warlordism," or "caudillismo" as they called it in various latin american countries. When Mexico officially became Mexico, people did not really have an allegiance to the country of Mexico but to their local villages and "caudillos" as was seen in China. As I learn about the nation formation of China, it is fun for me to draw the parallels to what Mexico went through as they became a country. Cool stuff!

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the tips that we get in class on other articles and films to watch that will round out our learning for the week. Finding the time is the hard part! We had a science/tech field trip this week, plus our Long Night of Arts and Innovation that was a non-mandatory field trip for my students. I realized that if we have the 'long night' again, next year, I could possibly sign up to do a booth with some kind of craft or art-work from what I have been learning, and advertise that to all third grade teachers in my district. Anyhow, back to the main point. The lecture led me to the Boxer Rebellion. I had heard this title before, but I had no idea what it pertained to. It became very clear how the true beginning of WWII was actually in July of 1937, when Japan invaded China. I could see how it all tied together after six hours of learning about Japan last Saturday, and the lecture tonight. It is a very difficult thing to piece together when so many countries were fighting on so many different fronts at the same time. The connection I made to the current day, is that it really is important to know what's going on in the world every day, or at least every week. We are all tied together, and our actions have an affect on others around the world, and vice-versa. I became poignantly aware of that when I was reading for my homework on Sunday, and watching the news. I saw a map of Afghanistan on the screen, which caught my attention because my son is working in Afghanistan. Then I saw that a hospital had been bombed, and it suddenly felt so close and personal to me, since my son is there. Even though I don't know how close he is to Kunduz, it still felt too close. So I have been reading the N.Y. Times every day, trying to glean more and more details about the area where my son is working. I am much more aware of the impact that a battle on July 7, 1937 at the 'Marco Polo' bridge, between the Chinese and Japanese can have globally.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this past week's session. I especially appreciated the discussion on Hu Shih, and his work in changing the language to make it more of a "language of the people." I thought it was cool how he was connected to John Dewey, and how this connection inspired his work. I also found the discussion we had regarding the MIT website that showed images on the Sino-Japanese War very interesting. I definitely would want to find ways to use these images in class and have students analyze them through the different point of views from each side. It would be interesting to see what connections the students can make between the content taught and the images. I would also want to share the back story about the politics behind these images and website, in that it would provide a better context for students to understand their importance.

[Anonymous]

Lots of great info, was not aware of China's tie to Los Angeles in the 1930s (pretty cool). The political cartoons were awesome... really loved the "Oatmeal with Old Man On The Box" (i.e., Quaker Oatmeal), lol! I have two pages of great notes (which, of course, are at home where I cannot access them to buttress my failing memory) that I'm thankful to know now, and plan to work into my World History class spring semester... thank you so much.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe how much common knowledge I lack. The thing is that like me, most Americans lack knowledge about world history. When thinking about colonization, I always thought about the Americas and Africa, but never crossed my mind that this occurred in Asia as well. I had not idea about Korea being colonized by Japan. Makes me very sad about our educational system. Textbook writers and publishers do not consider that American students should know world history not just American and European history. Thank you for this class, hopefully we as teachers, will take this knowledge and share it with our students to start a change at least locally in southern California.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed learning about this fundamental time in Chinese history. The topics discussed in this class have always been of interest to me and I felt like many of my questions about the age out of imperialism and into republic were answered. I particularly enjoyed learning about Sun Yatsen and the three principles. One big take away from his reading was the influence that the American constitution had on his ideas and how the different Chinese governments portray him as a revolutionary. I would like to know more about modern day Chinese government and the similarities that may exist with the American government system. I really enjoyed learning more about Mao and discovering his beginnings. I would love a suggestion on an un-biased biography about him. If anyone has heard or read anything I would appreciate feedback.
edited by creyes on 10/16/2015

[Anonymous]

Learning about the peace treaty between Japan and China in 1895 really helped me better appreciate the ongoing battles for power and domination in the region. The Westernization of Japan depicted in the two woodblocks at the MFA in Boston really capture a glimpse into the shifting tides at the turn of the 19th & 20th centuries. The idea of Westernization has always fascinated me and the willingness or adaptability that some cultures possess vis-à-viz others is particularly interesting. The question of what it means to be "civilized" feels inextricably linked to the definitions of this term from a Western perspective. Barbarism or savagery are frequently ascribed to non-Western cultures because they are thought to be inherently uncivilized, by Western standards. What I didn't realize is the extent to which this need to conform to a non-native standard helped in some way to determine which of these two great nations of East Asia- China and Japan would declare themselves victor in the quest for power over the smaller and ostensibly less powerful neighbors. The fate of Taiwan has hung in the balance of this contest and I am beginning to better understand the quagmire in which these immigrants to America find themselves when interacting with ethnic Chinese, Japanese and Koreans in the Los Angeles area.
edited by niruparmar on 10/18/2015

[Anonymous]

I’m just beginning to teach my students a unit about the Declaration of Independence. In fact, today was the first day of the unit, and I introduced my students to the unit through reading about different protests in California history (LA Walkouts, LA Riots, Chavez Ravine) My unit is focusing around three essential questions: What rights should a people in a society have? What should the relationship between a people and government be? What drives people to protest? As we went through today’s lesson, I saw a lot of parallels between my essential questions and the material we were learning about China (particularly in 1911). I think that it would be really interesting to use this parallel to introduce China as a case study for students to research along-side learning about the American Revolution. It would allow my students to make connections between the US and other countries’ move to democracy. I would particularly be interested in having students compare The Three Principles to the Declaration of Independence.

[Anonymous]

Of course Mao Ze Dong would promote the peasant movement, being that he grew up as a poor, "self-educated" boy from a farming family. My young and educated Chinese friends today who brave to talk about him and his movements definitely speak about his ideas and changes with remorse. They did not experience Mao's Communist China, but grew up in homes where every elder (that survived) lived it and never spoke about it. The older generation who experienced parents expelled and castrated from society don't speak much about those terrible times. They would rather forget about it. It was definitely luan, a time of complete utter chaos, where the country was turned upside down, intellectuals thrown out on streets, publicly scorned, wealthy landowners kicked out of their homes and treated like peasants. This was a time where peasants were given power and authority, having had little or no experience of governance.

[Anonymous]

Professor Dube's lecture on China was very informative. I appreciated the information on the Chiang, Han, and Manchurian Dynasties.

The making of the Republic of China, and later the People's Republic of China was very thorough.

I also found the information about Sun Yat-sen to be very valuable.

I would be excited to share this information with my students as part of our unit on The Red Scarf Girl. This background information will help students build an understanding of China, its history, politics and mentality.

[Anonymous]

I personally do not know much about Korea, nor have I encountered opportunities to learn about its history, but I was most intrigued by the role of Christianity in resistance movements. In my experience learning about religion I have noted that Christianity has often been used as a tool of colonization. There have been a few cases in which religion has been used by minority groups as a tool for revolutionary organization, but I feel the role of religion in Korea is different from the role of Christianity as I have seen it in previous social movements. For instance, as opposed to the use of Liberation theology as used in El Salvador during its civil war, Koreans did not utilize religion for its philosophic value. It seems that Koreans turned to Christianity for more pragmatic reasons. For this reason, they did not rely on Christianity so much for its belief system but because it provided a framework for Koreans who were seeking for liberation to unite.
edited by nramon on 11/5/2015

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