[clay dube]

It's great to have S.Gregg's review -- please also post it in the contemporary China thread in the Asia in My Classroom forum. I think many will appreciate it.

http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/showpost.aspx?PostID=6185&PageIndex=4

Please be sure to put "James Tong on Falungong suppression" in the subject line.

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
Some may be interested in a just published graphic novel from Japan. It's in English and is probably too massive to use in its entirety, but some might want to use a selection (perhaps even the pdf sample that's available). The novel is A Drifting Life and was discussed in the 5/10/2009 Los Angeles Times.

Please go to the language arts thread in the Asia in My Classroom forum for more info:
http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/showpost.aspx?PostID=387&PageIndex=4.

[clay dube]

Today's (5/10/2009) LA Times features an article by Susan Carpenter on the novel A Drifting Life by TATSUMI Yoshihiro. Tatsumi's novel was 11 years in the making. It is set in Osaka after the end of World War II in 1945. Carpenter writes that the novel "represents the 'dramatic pictures' (gekiga) for which Tatsumi is best known -- emotional and realistic renderings of a hard-knock life told from an underdog perspective. Rather than jokes and action, the emphasis is on character and narrative."

The full story is at: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-yoshihiro-tatsumi10-2009may10,0,4667068.story

It's an 840 page novel. Here's the publisher's page for the book: http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/shopCatalogLong.php?st=art&art=a41e32e169aff2. The publisher's page has a link to a sample pdf from the book.

Has anyone used Japanese graphic novels in class? I'm fond of the Japan, Inc. novel and have used it with undergraduates and frequently include it among materials we provide teachers. Please share your experiences with using such works.

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
I love all these contributions -- please keep them coming. To help those scanning the subject lines, please take a moment to put the name of the film you are discussing in the subject line. Also, please post film posts to either the film festival thread or to a thread for the particular subject (e.g., contemporary Japan) or grade level (e.g., elementary school ideas).

You can change the subject line by just deleting whatever's there and typing in your own subject.

[clay dube]

Prof. Pitelka mentioned the Tokugawa status system in his recent lecture. In the Asia in My Classroom forum, the teaching about contemporary Japan thread includes a post on how Google Earth has received attention for sharing old maps of Japan that identify districts where outcasts, the burakumin lived. Go to http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/showpost.aspx?PostID=12213 to learn more and to respond.

[clay dube]

An interesting controversy that has emerged regarding Google Earth and maps showing burakumin areas. In 2006 and 2008, teachers on the California NCTA study tour visited a museum in Osaka dedicated to remembering the discrimination of the past and fighting for equal rights today.

Here’s an Associated Press article on the controversy:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h1ON4xXZci7XWpI8IxdZNg86ZYlAD97U56SG0

Here’s a bit from the article:
“Castes have long since been abolished, and the old buraku villages have largely faded away or been swallowed by Japan's sprawling metropolises. Today, rights groups say the descendants of burakumin make up about 3 million of the country's 127 million people.
“But they still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived. Moving is little help, because employers or parents of potential spouses can hire agencies to check for buraku ancestry through Japan's elaborate family records, which can span back over a hundred years.”

Responding to complaints about the old maps and the discrimination they facilitated, Google Earth has censored them.

Yuki Ishimatsu of the Berkeley library commented (on H-Asia):

“Over ten years ago a Japanese map collector, Takashi Otsuka, made an agreement with Buraku Kaiho Domei (Buraku Liberation League) to publish a book of collection of old Kyoto maps without erasing those names. Since then most Japanese publishers started publishing reproductions of old maps without alterations. The largest among them, Kashiwa Shobo, whose VP, Hiroshi Tobe, has told me that it is important to clearly state their position to recognize the historical facts as they are to solve social discriminations in the preface of book.

“We have followed this policy with our online maps that we host and control. Google, because of its position, felt that it had to take a different approach.”

Here’s a January Japan Times column about burakumin:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090120zg.html

Would it be useful to use this debate from today’s news to discuss with your students issues of discrimination, reconciliation, and the role of government and education?

[clay dube]

Jack's focused on diaspora and multiple entities, but any history of China's foreign affairs would be improved by drawing on the insights of many authors, including these works (some of which are aimed at general as well as academic audiences):

Harding, A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China Since 1972 (1992)
Ross, Negotiating Cooperation: The United States and China, 1969-1989 (1995)
Johnston, Cultural Realism: Strategic Culture and Grand Strategy in Chinese History (1995)
Kim ed., China and the World: Chinese Foreign Policy Faces the New Millenium (1998)
Lampton, Same Bed, Different Dreams: Managing U.S.-China Relations, 1989-2000 (2001)
Shambaugh (ed.), Power Shift: China and Asia's New Dynamics (2005)
Shirk, China: Fragile Superpower (2007)
Lampton, The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money and Minds (2008)

(Let me apologize to the many authors I've neglected here and encourage others to address this deficiency.)

Others have focused on how China's economic rise affords it greater soft power, though a recent study by the Chicago Council on World Affairs and the East Asia Institute show that China's gains in this realm have been more limited than some imagine.

[clay dube]

Frontline World, one of PBS's signature documentary series includes two Asia segments this week (April 14, 2009 9 pm in most places). The first looks at Afghanistan (Children of the Taliban) and the second looks at South Korea - described as the most wired nation on earth. The website offers the program and a look at "professional videogaming" and "internet rescue camp" (for the addicted.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
The attached program is not specifically geared towards teachers but looks interesting nonetheless. It is a 10 session program conducted in English by a former Long Beach State professor. The first session is APRIL 11, 2009. The sessions are in Little Tokyo. Please contact the Aurora Foundation with any questions.

[clay dube]

There were standards that warriors were expected to live up to. But these were domain specific. Sam Yamashita likely made some reference to them in his discussion. Translated examples include Lu, Sources of Japanese History. Some online resources are available:
http://www.samurai-archives.com/code.html (the keeper of these pages has not cited her/his sources).

Note that business writers love the notion of "the code of the samurai." Can you find business books that somehow draw on these supposedly deep cultural foundations for strategies that they think you could (should?) use today?

[clay dube]

GAO Xingjian 高行健 is the only Chinese who has thus far received the Nobel Prize for Literature. There are other remarkable Chinese authors who might also be recognized for their contribution to world culture. If you'd like to read Gao's official Nobel biography, it is here:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2000/gao-bio.html

On the right side of that page are links to Gao's Nobel-related speeches and interviews.

You can buy Soul Mountain 灵山 and other works at Amazon and other retailers. The Amazon site includes an online sample.

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Mountain-Gao-Xingjian/dp/0060936231

When Gao received the award in 2000, he had been living in France for years. Within China, his award was not celebrated. Here's a NY Times article about a visit he made to Hong Kong in 2001.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/31/world/exiled-writer-finds-politics-hard-to-avoid-in-china-visit.html

Here is a selection from a 2/11/2001 Associated Press article about how Gao's work was depicted in China.

****
Breaking with the official silence in Chinese media over Nobel prize winning author Gao Xingjian, a state newspaper Sunday called him an ''awful writer'' whose honoring with the prize was ''ludicrous.''

The Yangcheng Evening News' attack marked a rare discussion of Gao in the Chinese press. China's communist government, which considers Gao an exiled dissident and bans his works, all but ignored his winning of the prize last October and no mention appeared in the entirely state controlled media.

In a lengthy criticism of the novel ''Soul Mountain,'' considered one of Gao's signature works, the Yangcheng assailed Gao's writing as simplistic and disappointing.

But the paper urged readers to buy the book so that they might know ''what kind of a joke the Swedish literature academy is playing on the Chinese people.'' The Swedish Academy is responsible for awarding the prize.

....

The article did not explain how to purchase the outlawed book, which is unavailable at bookstores.

Stunned by the Nobel committee's conferring of the prize on Gao, China's Foreign Ministry scorned it as a political maneuver by foreign enemies of China.
********

[clay dube]

Below is part of Anna's note and my response.

From: Sarnoff, Anna
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 12:09 PM
To: Clayton Dube
Subject: lesson plan

Hi Clay,

......

On another note, will we get to do any evaluations of the trip? I do have one suggestion that I really think will benefit the next group of NCTA travelers.

Clay, everyone got so sick on our trip, and I think it was because of the break-neck pace that didn't allow us to recover our strength. I remember older John was REALLY sick, and he wasn't allowed to go back to the hotel and rest - I think we were in Kyoto. There were some things on the itinerary like the Maritime Museum (where everything was in Japanese) and the cave home visit that could have been eliminated in order to give us some much needed down-time. I am a very healthy person, and that trip literally brought me to my knees. To this day I am still very ill, have been to the doctor half a dozen times and have to take prescription drugs to relieve me of the symptoms caused by the tour.

So much of traveling is discovering things on your own - unexpected shops, places, etc that are off the beaten path. I definitely understand that you want to give us the most on our trip, but people need a bit of free time now and then, especially in that oppressive summer heat, to relax and wander at their own convenience. Some of my best memories are the things I did on my own time, like when Mimi and I at 10PM found an Internet cafe in X'ian that had like 300 computers and seemed to be the social scene for the city's youth. Perhaps it was the repetiveness of the things we did see which made me forget the name of the temple in my powerpoint - we saw so many shrines and temples that after awhile they all tend to blend together and lose their power and distinctiveness.

I am so appreciative of all that you, Venus and Miranda did to plan the amazing trip that I was lucky enough to experience. I just hope that next time you will take into consideration that maybe a bit more free time would be beneficial to the mental and physical well-being of your group. We're teachers - most of the time that means we're pretty responsible and are trustworthy enough to be given some free time with the understanding that we WILL make the most of it and won't take it for granted. I know you alluded to the fact that past groups were only concerned with shopping - well, our group was not like that. Everyone was in earnest about learning and experiencing China and Japan, and I know that if given the opportunity, they wouldn't have wasted any extra free time given to them.

.......

**************
From: Clayton Dube
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 2:44 PM
To: Sarnoff, Anna
Cc: Miranda Ko; Venus Saensradi
Subject: RE: lesson plan

Hi Anna,

Thanks for taking the time to write. I am sorry that you continue to be ill. I do look forward to reading your revised lesson plan.

As for the evaluation, please go ahead and post these observations to the forum. (You could just copy and paste from your email.) You've thought a lot about this and we value the feedback. I hope that your comments will cause others to offer suggestions as well.

It's hard to balance the needs of the group. For some who teach middle school and for whom the transmission of Buddhism is important, we didn't spend enough time in temples. For others, any time not spent looking at contemporary issues was wasted.

Anna, your observations are quite welcome. Please do post them and see if we can keep the discussion going.

Smiling,
clay

[Edit by="Clay Dube on Apr 7, 3:58:28 PM"][/Edit]

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,

The LAUSD board adopted on 10/28/2008 a world languages initiative. The complete text and the vote are attached (4 members voted for it, 1 abstained, and 2 were absent).

The proposal begins:

"Whereas, The Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District is committed to offering a world class education that equips all of its students with skills to meet the demands of the 21st Century;

"Whereas, In order to globally compete in the 21st Century, today’s students need to develop linguistic and cultural literacy and functional proficiency in one or more world languages;

"Whereas, The nature of our global economy requires 21st Century skills to include language proficiency in strategic languages and less commonly-taught languages such as Mandarin, Korean Arabic, Farsi and Hindi/Urdu...."

It pledges to have the superintendent report on progress on the initiative due in spring 2009, work with the Shanghai school district, and:

"2008-2009
Each Local District will review their current World Languages and Cultures programs (e.g.
Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, etc.) and develop strategies to increase PreK-12 opportunities for
studying languages other than English. This includes developing increased proficiency in a
heritage language.

"Local Districts will explore Mandarin, Spanish, and other World Languages, including
enrichment courses and programs for preK-12 students. Special emphasis will be placed on
expanding dual language programs and additional language learning opportunities in elementary and middle schools...."

"Beginning 2009-2010
Each year, Local Districts will collaborate with their respective schools and school communities
to create and implement new world languages and cultures programs at current and future sites
as well as early education centers....."

Have those of you teaching in LAUSD noticed any of this starting to happen?

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,

This is a great discussion of the Chinese American Museum. I think, though, that much more could be said regarding the flag issue. You may wish to do a search at the LA Times website to read articles about the struggle over flags. It's a highly sensitive topic.

2005: http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/25/local/me-flag25

In 1982, I borrowed a film about holidays in the US from the US Embassy to show my students at a Beijing college. I never got to see it (remember those pre-vhs days anyone?), but the college authorities screened it and decided I wouldn't be showing it. I was told that the film included a segment on lunar new year celebrations in NY. The parades included the Republic of China flag (white star on blue in the upper left, the rest red -- the flag used on Taiwan). And the authorities figured students shouldn't be exposed to such heresy.

To create a new thread (or discussion topic), please click on the "new thread" button. To comment within a thread (topic), please click "post reply." You can change the subject line if you want, to make it more appropriate. This is especially important in the Asia in My Classroom forum. There, for example, click on the film festival thread. To discuss a new film, click "post reply" and then replace the subject with the name of the film. You can do this in any of the threads.

Please don't click the "new poll" button.

Thanks.

[clay dube]

Susan's recommended this exhibition:
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/japanese_lacquer/

"Tales in Sprinkled Gold: Japanese Lacquer for European Collectors"

The exhibition just opened last week and runs through May 24, 2009. The website features a slide show of one box, details about the work to restore a particular chest, and information about the Tale of Genji images on the chest. It also has a terrific primer on the making of lacquerware.

The site is terrific and I'm looking forward to the exhibition.

[Note: please be sure to put your subject in the subject line. The system automatically inserts "re:..." but it's often helpful to put the name of the museum or exhibition in. THANKS ]

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