[Ingrid Herskind]

Kang Youwei proposed a utopian future world free of political boundaries and democratically ruled by one central government. In this scheme, the world would be split into rectangular administrative districts, which would be self-governing under a direct democracy but loyal to a central world government. This may sound outlandish to some, but as reformers, we must unite behind a common goal of boundariless democracy.

With this in mind, we must eradicate the capitalism that is working its way into our nation and drive toward socialist institutions. Kang welcomes any thoughts on how we should achieve these goals.  Write back any ideas you might have to strengthen our community and help us technologically and intellectually advance. Tech is the future!

[Ingrid Herskind]

I love this idea from an artistic and film history perspective. It might be fun to even add Pacific Rim to the agenda to show how these modern stories perpetuate and deviate from the original Ultraman and Godzilla storylines. I don't know too much about this area of study, but think you could maybe look at some Japanese manga like Ashita no Joe etc. Would it also be interesting to look at the questions of gender roles in these films and manga?  This is a fun idea!

[Ingrid Herskind]

Dr. Jung-Kim's discussion on the Period of Cultural Policy from 1919-1931 struck me as the calm before the storm of the loss of Korean Identity. I'd like to learn more about both the cultural nationalists and the radicals. Thinking about the goals of the Communist party all over the world, I'd like to know more about how the Korean Radicals worked with the Japese Leftist. Perhaps by investigating the Russian United Front and Comintern, my students and I could investigate how the Communists in Russia and Japan impacted the left in Korea.

I was also interested in learning more about Japanese censorship of Korean newspapers, radio, and other print materials. As Dr. Jung-Kim stated, there was too much for the Japanese to censor. It would be fun to look at newspapers, advertisements, magazines and posters of this era and see ways that the Koreans found loopholes in Japanese censorship. Looking at primary sources like this and maybe comparing them to censorship in Germany or other Eastern European countries could show great comparisons.

[Ingrid Herskind]

Sophia-

This is such an important question that we deal with constantly in International Relations and also in US History. I've attached an image showing the balance between the benefits and costs of globalization on economic growth. It's hard to talk about the benefits of globalization without really examining the costs. We often look at how MNC's (Multi National Corporations) use the developing world for their development-- both good and bad. Last year, we did a research project on the impact of MNC's on the developing world and globalizaiton as a whole. The students chose 1 MNC and had to look at 4 different perspectives, both positive and negative.  One student chose the Nestle Corporation--wow! Anyway, I agree that this is a difficult debate.

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[Ingrid Herskind]

Living in California makes Angelinos very aware of drought conditions and a lack of water. We talk about the impact of environmental conditions on international relations--especially issues of security. Many nations, especially in the Middle East and Africa, have been fighting over water for years. I hadn't realized that China was struggling for water and wonder how their quest for water will impact the security of the region.

When dealing with water conflicts, it's interesting to look at the types of conflicts:

• Control of Water Resources: where water supplies or access to water is at the root of tensions.
• Military Tool: where water resources, or water systems themselves, are used by a nation or state as a weapon during a military action.
• Political Tool: where water resources, or water systems themselves, are used by a nation, state, or non-state actor for a political goal.
• Terrorism: where water resources, or water systems, are either targets or tools of violence or coercion by non-state actors.
• Military Target: where water resource systems are targets of military actions by nations or states.
• Development Disputes: where water resources or water systems are a major source of contention and dispute in the context of economic and social development.

Here's a bit more on the security issues surrounding water in China:

China-India: The Brahmaputra River

The Brahmaputra River is a 2,900 km river that originates in Tibet and flows through India’s Arunachal Pradesh state before merging with the Ganges and draining into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It is considered an important resource in all three countries that it flows through: for China, it provides hydroelectricity; and for India and Bangladesh, a key agricultural lifeline in otherwise overpopulated and arid region.

The Brahmaputra River is particularly important to the agricultural industry in India’s Assam plains, and worries have arisen recently regarding a series of hydroelectric plants that China is in various stages of construction on its Tibetan plateau. Some experts believe that these projects will reduce the flow of the Brahmaputra in India, compounding an already tenuous water situation in the affected areas.

I was thinking about tying the California drought issues to the international conflicts.

Here's a video on Water Wars in California: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ts8PfO4KSk          

Here's a video on Water Wars between Israel and Palestine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZNxPRfZJnc

And finally a video on the water shortages in China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bAEr8Waffo

ih 🙂

 

 

 

[Ingrid Herskind]

I'm excited to meet everyone! I'm a high school teacher in La Canada, California. I teach 12th grade International Relations and AP United states History. See you soon!

Ingrid

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