Every few days you will write a short reflection related to this course. You will submit the reflection as a comment on the class blog. The reflection should be 250-500 words (1-2 paragraphs) and written with attention to grammar, spelling, and the fundamentals of good academic writing (which we will discuss in class).
Each reflection is worth 10 points in the homework/quiz/participation category.
Write on one of the following three topics. Write just your first name (not anonymous) in your comment:
1) Current event -- Provide a link to an article related to something going on in Asia. Then, write a brief summary of the article and discuss its relevance to topics covered recently in this course.
2) Asian Products -- Choose an Asian brand or product and write about your perception of the product as "Asian." To what extent do you associate the product as "Asian" and how does that inform your attitude toward the product?
3) China -- What do you know about China? What do you hope to understand more about the country and its history?
17 comments:
Georgia Kelliher
As I enter this Asian History course I am an open book. I am open to new ideas and new information to fill my pages. I am completely clueless to the cultures of Asia and as of right now I only have my stereotypes to help me understand. All I know is that they use chopsticks to eat, Japanese game shows are their main form of entertainment, and chow mein is a type of noodle dish served at Panda Express. Truthfully, I know more than this. I do know quite a good amount about the ways America has been importing goods mainly from their countries and how sweatshops have been formed in places like China and Japan because it is cheap labor. As you can probably tell I need a little more information than this to fill my blank pages though.
Through this course I hope to learn enough information about Asian History to become appreciative of their culture and be well in formed. Mainly I would like to know about modern ways of living and the traditions they might carry on till this day. I feel this will be most interesting to me because I could either relate to or at least compare my life to how they live. I would also like to understand more about their traditions because it is always fun to learn about strange or different ways people do things around the world.
Because there are so many different aspects and categories of Asian History, it is hard for me to simply list things I would like to learn without forgetting something important. By the end of summer I guarantee that I will leave the class knowing much more than I did when I entered because I am entering knowing practically nothing. I can’t wait to see what this class has in store for me.
Scotty Hamilton
I have already found out about Asia and it being actually the #1 country producing most of our stuff we sell in the United States. I was bewildered because I had no idea that Asia actually produced all of this stuff. For example, now and then I would stumble along something that would happen to say made in Taiwan or China, but I didn’t realize the amount of things that come from there. All of the clothing, supplies and electronics are something I use so often everyday.
I just looked at my football cleats today in class. I practically use them everyday now because of the summer conditioning starting up. I looked on the label and I saw how they were made in China. I think that this product is somewhat Asian because when you think about it, you don’t see to many Asian football players so the cleats are something people in Asia hardly use. I see that we use it way more and this product is not that much Asian. I see this as an Asian product and a product from our country because all of the raw materials are from Asia. For example, the rubber to make the cleat bottom, the string to make the shoelaces, and the padding to make the inside of the shoe. That is around 60% of the shoe. And only Asia has this stuff. They make it for us so we can use it for our needs, but they don’t need it for anything because they don’t play to much football. This makes me a little bit wary because the shoes are made in mass production and sometimes there might be faulty products, which tend to happen sometimes. So I must watch out for these simple items and check first to see if the shoes are worth buying.
Asian Products -- Choose an Asian brand or product and write about your perception of the product as "Asian." To what extent do you associate the product as "Asian" and how does that inform your attitude toward the product?
For an “Asian” product, I chose to pick my Live Strong band. The reason why I picked this product is because I never go anywhere without it, unless I really have to such as, dances, parties, et cetera. Anyways, I don’t actually view this product as “Asian” sure, it was made in an Asian country, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily Asian. Lance Armstrong, who is an America citizen, inspired the Live Strong band to be created. I wouldn’t even call this product “Asian” just because there is nothing to prove that it is significant to the Asian culture. The only way that it could have a relation to Asia is through the fact that it was made in an “Asian” Country.
To me an Asian product would be one that symbolizes the culture behind the factory or people making it. Such as an Asian product made in an Asian country that I would consider “Asian” would be a Kimono. My Live Strong band isn’t the only thing that is made in an Asian country. Contrary to popular belief most popular cities in other countries are pretty developed, they’re not all complete rural country towns anymore. Since most factories reside in busy towns the fact that my Live Strong band or a numerous amount of other products were made in an Asian country doesn’t really matter. There are many similarities between Asian Countries and the United States; the products that come from each country shouldn’t matter.
--Kacie Young
In this Asian history course i am looking forward to learning and exploring the ways and facts of China and other Asian countries. I don't know a whole lot of information about china yet, however i am planning on filling myself with everything that i will be taught in this course. I know that most Chinese are strong minded and try their best at what they do. Some are punished for minor things and others are taught to abide by strict rules. I know that the U.S. is very influenced by China and receives a large amount of products from there such as food, plastics, clothing, and much more. Throughout this course i am anxious to learn about how true some of the Asian stereotypes are and other examples of stereotypes. I am also hoping to learn a little more about how the U.S. influences Asia and maybe even why this is so. I am really looking forward to what this class has to offer.
Police have recently arrested those who have been rallying against the Olympic games in Nepal. Tibetan associations and programs that escaped China to spread their beliefs were holding the campaigns. Police said they were very aggressive and violated numerous state laws of Nepal. Because of the recent amount of Anti-Chinese activity, Nepal has frequently announced that any people or organizations that oppose the games or Chinese activity of any kind will not be tolerated. In China, Tibetans have argued with the games in Beijing since March, but only now have the authorities started making one-night arrests that sometimes result of beaten prisoners the next day. The Chinese ambassador has told Nepal officials to be harsher on prisoners that have been arrested.
In “Hero”, we talked about how Nameless warrior wanted the Qing Emperor to bring peace and unite China. Because Beijing is hosting the 2008 games, China isn’t united as it once was. This relates to what we are learning in Asia because it teachers us that different parts of China have their different beliefs which breaks their unity and the thought of them being a one, whole country. Also, the topic of how China has been treating Tibet and recent protesters has frequently come up in passing during conversations. The conflict between the government and protesters isn’t helping their advertisement for the Olympics and is creating an invisible barrier to peace. Officials have a tough case on their hands, but hopefully things will die down before August.
Here is the link the the article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7464071.stm
One type of Asian product I really happen to like is Japanese school supplies. I think that in general most Asian, mainly Japanese, school supplies such as pencils and erasers are better than other American brands. Japanese pencils have many more features than regular pencils do. For example, some have really nice gel grips. Another feature I’m particularly fond of in Japanese pencils are the ones that put lead out just by shaking them up and down. I’ve had good experiences with Asian school supplies, so when I need a new pencil, I would rather buy an expensive Asian one, in hopes that I can use it a long time, instead of a cheaper American brand.
When many of the Japanese products I like first came out, you could only get them in Japan, so I had to ask friends who went there to get them for me. As a result, I think of most of these types of Japanese pencils as real Japanese instead of American Asian such as fortune cookies are American Chinese. I think that many people want Japanese pencils because they are special if you have to get them in Japan. Now that they have some of the kinds of pencils I like available for sale in Hawaii, I am able to buy them whenever I want, but they still feel relatively special because they are very expensive. I like buying Japanese pencils because I’ve already seen that they have a good reputation, so when I need new school supplies, just the fact that it is Asian may persuade me to buy a more expensive product.
Ethan Dung
Coming into this Asian History course, I am ready for anything. I do not know much about China or the Asian culture to be honest. I know of a couple of important topics such as importing and the natural disasters that have occurred in recent months. I chose this class to better feed my knowledge what it needs to learn more about the Asian culture. I hope to learn in more detail about the geography, culture and what happened long in the past. I want to be able to use my soon-to-be new found knowledge and apply it to the live I live now. I am excited to see what is in store, and am willing to do anything it takes to get that knowledge and learn it well.
The monsoon season in China has started (May to October), and it has already killed 171 people and caused 52 to go missing. Last year, the floods (including resulting lighting and landslides), killed 700 people. The last big flood occurred in 1998, which killed 4,000 people. The rains are most concentrated in south; the provinces most affected were: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and the southern tip of Gansu. The floodwaters have caused highways and factories to close, damaged bridges and roads, and destroyed houses and farms. It is possible for the rains to cause the Yellow River to overflow, which would flood the central and northern parts of Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong. The floods have wrecked 9,000 miles of sugar cane and rice crops, which adds up to 27.7 billion Yuan, equivalent to 4 billion dollars. Some parts are even more prone to landslides because of deforestation, where there aren’t sturdy roots to anchor the soil. Also, since the hills are unstable they don’t keep the water level down. The heavy rains are expected to continue for the next two days, in the same areas that have already been soaked.
This story relates to what we are learning now because we learned about how Southern China is much wetter, especially in the summer. The article talks about the possibility of the Yellow River overflowing, which we saw in the Unruly Dragon video. However, the bad weather affects the people much more than just physical damage. Since the floods have ruined many of the crops, it causes the food to be more expensive. They also can’t make money if they export their crops to other places. Factories have been shut down, and as we found out earlier, a huge part of the Chinese jobs and economy come from making things to be exported. This could impact the Chinese economy. However, the floods occur in China every year, and they seem to be doing okay so far.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSPEK147190
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/world/asia/20china.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
This article talks about how the Chinese government is being pressured by environmentalists, and other governments to cut down on fuel consumption. Because of this, the gas prices in China rose very sharply. Diesel prices are up to $3.58 a gallon and gasoline prices are all the up to $3.83 a gallon! They think that if they raise the gas prices, then it will prompt workers and buisnesses to use less oil. Ironically, around that same time, world oil prices are only $4 a barrel. Because China is such a heavy oil consumer, it is greatly affecting the economy. Just a few hours before the fuel prices were raised, the market in Shanghai dropped 6.5% because of a falling market. China was the eighth country to raise it's fuel prices this past month because they could not sustain low retail prices.
-Kyle
Ryan Lloyd
Although I don't know much about China I want to learn about this country's history. I already know that many western products are designed or assembled in China. But I'd like to know how this country came to power and grew the way it did. We have started discussing this in class and I am happy to say that I am learning a great deal about this country. There is a certain number of stereotypes that the western world likes to use to try and understand Asian cultures. I myself have often referred to these stereotypes when trying to understand some of those very concepts. I hope to rid myself of this false knowledge and learn the true history and facts of the Asian cultures today. Of course the country's histories are important to make connections with their present status, so I am looking forward to learning about these countries in the past and how they rose to power, specifically China because it is rising in power still as we speak.
In addition to studying the country in general such as history and such, I’d like to try and focus on a specific topic on the countries we research. Although we may not do this in class, I may do a little research of my own if such a topic were to interest me. As far as China goes the Tibetan culture is of great interest to me. There has been some obvious tension between these two cultures and I wanted to learn more about why this feud exists and whether their there is really that much difference between the cultures themselves.
The article I found is about the Olympic torch’s journey through China. This article talks about the approach of the Tibet leg, which is anticipated not just because of the excitement, but also because China’s relations with Tibet haven’t exactly been friendly. Security is high, and foreign journalists are not permitted anywhere near the torch without extra security. So far, the torch’s journey throughout China itself has been smooth, though the most stressful part hasn’t come yet.
This actually relates quite well to what we’re talking about in class, because the relations between China and Tibet are sort of a world issue, or becoming one. People are actually boycotting Chinese products as a protest, and preparations for the Olympics are suffering as well.
The link to the article I used is here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080618/ap_on_re_as/olympic_torch;_ylt=AoYBkq9U1aBvm4kDmorar5UBxg8F
On May 12 there was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China. The earthquake left 87,000 people dead or missing. In Wolong where they held 64 pandas, one was recently found dead. They had originally thought that all of the panda’s had survived but it turned out that they were wrong. Mao Mao was the mother of 5 of the other pandas there. She was discovered under the rubble of a wall that had fallen and killed her. The only other panda in question is Xiao Xiao who is missing.
Pandas are an endangered species due to the fact that their homes are being destroyed by modernization. Pandas feed on bamboo, and when bamboo becomes scarce, they starve. There are currently 1,600 pandas living in the wild and 180 being bred in zoos and animal captivities all around the world.
The man that took care of Mao Mao cried for her, gave her a proper burial and promised to visit her grave everyday. This shows that even today, when China is very modern and electronic, they still have a strong connection to nature. They still have a bond with nature that they have had since the beginning of their civilization. The man said that he could share feelings with Mao Mao and that she understood his feelings. That kind of connection is strong and won’t go away even now that Mao Mao is gone.
When I think of Asia, I think of China and Japan. I don’t really even consider the other smaller countries as they aren’t talked about as often as those two. I know a fair amount about Japan but my knowledge of China is limited. I can tell you all about the food that I get at Chinese restaurants or when I learn kanji in my Japanese class I want to cry that the Chinese have such a complex writing system. I can probably tell you a tiny bit about the culture and history from what I have heard from family members who have gone to my family’s village in China or seen on TV but overall, I’m pretty clueless.
At the end of this unit I hope to have a much more extensive knowledge of the culture that is almost half of my heritage. I want to understand the culture and history of where my family came from. I never really realized how little I know about it until I began thinking about what to write for this essay. I feel uncultured and disconnected and I hope to erase those feelings by the end of the unit. It is always said that China will be the next powerhouse of the world so I want to understand their modern ways and culture since they will be so important in the world in the near future. I hope that by the end of this unit I can appreciate and understand the culture of China and their history in order to better understand myself and my history.
I don’t know much more about China than what we have learned so far in this course. I can see that I will learn a lot during this class. I have a good understanding about Chinese made products. Even though the tag may say that it is made in a different country, the many different of components of that very product may very well be made in China. I’ve learned about some geography of China, and some of the rulers and empires of China. I also know a few Chinese characters and the meanings behind them. My grandmother sometimes shares stories with me about her past experiences and knowledge of China, and her mother’s previous experiences there. From her stories I’ve learned a lot about the lifestyle of being rich. I learned about when the women bound their feet and what it represents.
So far, I do not know much about China. I’m really interested to learn more about China’s history. I don’t know if we’re learning about this but I’m really fascinated when I learn about different kind of wars. Since I’m part Chinese, I think it would be good if I learned more about their culture and their ways of living. I want to learn a great deal about their traditions and the history behind them. I think if I learn more about their daily traditions maybe I could incorporate some of their customs in my current life style. Also, if I learn the history behind China’s ways of life, maybe I could think about my grandparents’ rules and customs with more understanding.
-patrice baba
I don’t believe that I know a lot about China. I do know that China is a very large country located in Asia, sharing boarders with many countries including Mongolia, Russia, North and South Korea, and Vietnam. I also know that a great percentage of products imported into the United States is made or assembled in China due to the cheap, abundant labor. Rice, tea, silk and wheat are crops that flourish in China. I also know that China, because of its massive population, only allows families to have one child and has a large problem with pollution. The tap water, I also know, is unsafe to drink because the pollution is so severe. But other than those few facts, which I consider to be common knowledge, I do not know anything else about China or its history.
Over the course of this class I hope to understand the past dynasties of China. I really would like to understand China’s history because the Chinese value their past and countries history. I also would like to understand the various effects of the different regions of China and their direct effects on the development of the different groups of people’s cultures. I would also like to learn about Buddhism and its role in ancient and modern Chinese life. Lastly, I am very curious to learn about the philosophy of ancient Chinese scholars and how their ideas differed from the ideas of middle eastern and European scholars.
China -- What do you know about China? What do you hope to understand more about the country and its history?
Before entering this course I knew close to nothing about China or the Chinese people. Even so, I came into this course with an open mind wanting to learn about a whole other culture with different beliefs and ways of life. From just these past classes I have a small understanding of what the Qin and Zhou Dynasty are, although I hope to learn more about what life was like in the past and how it influenced the future. I also know what some stereotypes are of the Chinese people from class, and I hope that by the end of the course I will know exactly why those stereotypes are broken.
One reason why I want to learn more about the Chinese culture and history is because next year I will be taking Mandarin Chinese I. I chose to take another language because I wanted to learn about a whole other way of communication and a new culture. I was hoping that this course would help me in that direction of understanding the Chinese ways of life, not only in the past but also in the present. For example the in class discussions we had on items made in Asia. I thought that it was interesting in these past few classes how we have been discussing trade between the United States and Asia. I want to learn more about what the United States sells to Asia and how that balance is evened.
In this course I want to leave with an understanding of what it means to be Chinese and what China and other Asian countries have affect on the United States.
Diego
Reflection 1
My Mercurial soccer cleats are made in China. I am in doubt whether or not these shoes would be made in China, but also I am not surprised. These shoes were very expensive. I am unsure if the shoes were made with cheap material or if it was cheaper to have the Chinese people make the shoe. This makes me wonder if the shoes are as good as I thought they were, since they costs $100. Knowing that the shoes are considered an Asian product doesn’t make me feel bad because it’s from Asia but for the Nike Company that made the shoe. Maybe the shoe company could me making the shoes from a better material. Even though because it’s from China doesn’t mean that it is cheap material. I still love the cleats I bought. The cleats are nice and I play good with them. I don’t feel that an Asian product is worse then another country like a European country. I think that almost all soccer cleats are made from Asia unless they were specially made from someone. All of the big companies want the best deals, which China fits better for the shoe making companies. I haven’t had any problems with any products from China yet. I wouldn’t buy food or toys from China since I’ve heard bad things about it in the news. My parents could decide to buy a more expensive product from another country since they can afford it, but it’s fine with me to have Asian products. I also like Asian products since I know that there are millions of people in China that need jobs. I wouldn’t boycott Asian products unless I had too. I am very satisfied with my soccer cleats from China.
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