Teaching About Asia: September 2010

Teaching About Asia Newsletter

September 2010

 

Back to School, USC Students prepare for their upcoming year!

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The month of September calls for the return of school! It is that time of year where teachers and students are excited to begin a new academic year.  To better prepare teachers with their upcoming lesson plans,  USCI/NCTA will be hosting not one, but two professional development seminars for K-12 educators. 
One seminar beginning late September will take place at the UTLA building, the other seminar is scheduled to begin early October in the Pasadena area. Applicants are currently being accepted until seminar is full.  We encourage all teachers to apply, and if you have already participated in one of our past seminars, please encourage your colleagues to apply!

The seminars focus on "East Asia Pre 1800" and is for teachers seeking to learn how to implement East Asian studies throughout K-12 curriculum. The seminar offers resources and materials for teachers to use in their classrooms. Please share news of this opportunity with colleagues throughout California.  The schedule for our fall seminars is not yet out. For detailed information please visit  our Asia in the K-12 Curriculum page.

Included in this newsletter are free resources available to K-12 educators offered by the Asian Art Museum and the Getty Museum. Various organizations are also offering special grants for teachers. Global Exploration for Educators Organization also provides learning opportunities for teachers by encouraging and helping them to travel abroad. The organization provides resources to help teachers use their travel learning experiences and incorporate them in the classroom.

Please share this newsletter with your colleagues and encourage them to subscribe by visiting the USCI website`s newsletter subscription page and selecting the "K-12 Education" subscriber category.

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In this issue:

USCI/NCTA 2010 Fall Professional Development Seminars
USC Events
California Events
Asia in Los Angeles - Citywide events
Learning Opportunities  and Resources for Teachers
Museum Exhibitions on Asia

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♦ USCI/NCTA 2010 Fall Professional Development Seminars

⇒ USCI-No-Cost Fall 2010 Professional Development Seminar: "East Asia Pre 1800"

APPLICATION DEADLINE: FRIDAY, September 17, 2010, or until seminar is full

The USC U.S.-China Institute offers 36-hour seminars for teachers interested in learning more about East Asia and developing the tools needed to incorporate more of East Asia into their curriculum. Semester-long seminars are offered in various locations and districts in the greater Los Angeles area. For this upcoming fall term, we will be hosting two seminars, one at UTLA and the other at the Pasadena Unified School district.  We are currently accepting applications. The seminars of course are open to all K-12 teachers in any district.

Seminar Benefits include:

                            -$200 in East Asian reference and teaching materials 
                            -$200 East Asia-focused resource materials for use in the classroom
                            -$500 Stipend 
                            -LAUSD/ PUSD Salary Points or Six USC Rossier School of Education Continuing Education Units (CEUs), processing fee applicable

To Apply: http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=2045

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 ♦ USC Events

⇒ Last Train Home

                          Date: September 1, 2010
                          Time: 7 pm
                          Location: The Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre
                          Address: George Lucas Building, SCA 108, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
                          Cost: Free admission. Open to all.

Every spring, China`s cities are plunged into chaos as 130 million migrant workers journey to their home villages for the New Year`s holiday. This mass exodus is the world`s largest human migration—an epic spectacle that reveals a country tragically caught between its rural past and industrial future.

Working over several years in classic verité style Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Lixin Fan (with the producers of the award-winning hit documentary Up the Yangtze) travels with one couple who have embarked on this annual trek for almost two decades. Like so many of China`s rural poor, Changhua and Sugin Zhang left behind their two infant children for grueling factory jobs. Their daughter Qin—now a restless and rebellious teenager—both bitterly resents their absence and longs for her own freedom away from school, much to the utter devastation of her parents. Emotionally engaging and starkly beautiful, Last Train Home`s intimate observation of one fractured family sheds light on the human cost of China`s ascendance as an economic superpower.

Provided courtesy of Zeitgeist Films.
In Mandarin and Sichuan dialect, with English subtitles.
Not Rated. Running time: 87 minutes.

Contact: Alessandro Ago
Phone: 213.740.2330
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu
 

⇒ "China Bails Out North Korea: Implications for Washington and Seoul"-A Discussion

Date: September 10, 2010
Time: 3:00pm
Location: USC Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Family House
Address: 823 West 34th Street (CLH 101) University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free

A public talk that will feature Dr. John Park from the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Dr. Park`s discussion will focus on the following recent developments: (1) deepening Communist Party of China-Workers` Party of Korea interactions, (2) expanding Sino-DPRK joint ventures in key North Korean industries, and (3) unintended consequences of sanctions.

⇒ China-India Relations: A Lecture

Date: September 16, 2010
Time: 4:00-6:00pm
Location: University Club, Pub Room
Cost: Free

The lecture by Dr. Rong Ying will focus on the China-India relationship of the past six decades. Dr. Rong Ying got his Ph. D from Peking University, and was a visiting scholar at the Bush School for Government and Public Service, Texas A & M University from April to October 2000. Dr. Rong Ying’s major areas of interest include China`s foreign relations and US foreign policy, political and security issues in South Asia. He has written extensively, and recently co-edited two books: A Bluebook on International Situation and China’s Foreign Affairs and India’s Rise and the China-India Relations.

⇒ Shining a Light on Corruption: The Story of Two Journalists in the Republic of China

Date: October 1, 2010
Location: Annenbery Auditorium, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, CA 90089

Tao and Vicky Lee are broadcast journalists and media personalities in Taiwan who have been pioneers in the field, leading the way in the practice of journalism in their country. Tao Lee studied journalism at the University of Missouri where his experiences gave him a solid footing in the professional practice that was at odds with the way journalism was traditionally practiced in China. Shortly after martial law was lifted in the early 1990s, he started pushing the boundaries of censorship on the radio, and then on TVBS, a nationwide cable television network in Taiwan. His news program investigated Shui-bian Chen, president of Taiwan, and exposed his corruption on the air before the station could be shut down. As a result, Chen was removed from office and sentenced to prison for life. This insightful discussion by these two seasoned journalists will provide historical and current perspectives on the present state of media in the Republic of China. The program will be moderated by Geneva Overholser, Director of Journalism for the USC Annenberg School.
 

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    ♦  Asia in Los Angeles - Citywide events

⇒  The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China

Date: September 1, 2010
Time: 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Location: IEAS Conference Room, 6th Floor
Address: UC Berkley 2223 Fulton Street , Berkley , CA 94720
Cost: Free admission.

In The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China, Hsing emphasizes the centrality of cities in China’s ongoing transformation. Based on fieldwork in 24 Chinese cities between 1996 and 2007, she forwards an analysis of the relations between the city, the state and society through two concepts: urbanization of the local state and civic territoriality. Urbanization of the local state is a process of state power building entailing an accumulation regime based on the commodification of state-owned land, the consolidation and legitimation of territorial authority through construction projects, and a policy discourse dominated by notions of urban modernity. Civic territoriality encompasses the politics of distribution engendered by urban expansionism, and social actors’ territorial strategies toward self-protection. Findings are based on observations in three types of places. In the inner city of major metropolitan centers, municipal governments battle high-ranking state agencies to secure land rents from redevelopment projects, while residents mobilize to assert property and residential rights. At the urban edge, as metropolitan governments seek to extend control over their rural hinterland through massive-scale development projects, villagers strategize to profit from the encroaching property market. At the rural fringe, township leaders become brokers of power and property between the state bureaucracy and villages, while large numbers of peasants are dispossessed, dispersed, and deterritorialized; their mobilizational capacity is consequently undermined.

For more information: Phone: 510-642-2809

Website: http://ieas.berkeley.edu/events/2010.09.01.html

⇒  China, the Developing World, and the New Global Dynamic

Date: September 15, 2010
Time: 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Location: IEAS Conference Room, 6th Floor
Address: UC Berkley 2223 Fulton Street , Berkley , CA 94720
Cost: Free admission.

With China`s rise as a major player in international affairs, how have its policies toward developing countries changed? And how do those policies now fit with its overall foreign policy goals? This timely new book explores the complexities of China`s evolving relationship with the developing world.

The authors first examine the political and economic implications of China`s efforts to be seen as a responsible great power. A series of comprehensive regional chapters then showcase a quid pro quo relationship—variously involving crucial raw materials, energy, and consumers on the one hand and infrastructure development, aid, and security on the other. The concluding chapter illuminates China`s search for national identity in the context of widespread suspicions of its strategic motives. The result is a thorough, yet accessible, view of an increasingly important topic in global affairs.
 

For more information: Phone: 510-642-2809

Website: http://ieas.berkeley.edu/events/2010.09.01.html

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  ♦  Learning Opportunities and Resources for Teachers

⇒ Target Field Trip Grants

Target will be awarding 5,000 grants of $700 each to schools for the upcoming school year. Teachers can use a grant to fund a school field trip that connects their curriculum to out-of-school experiences. It’s a great way to engage and inspire students. You can apply any time before September 30, 2010.

To apply, please go to http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031880

⇒ Funding for Innovative Activities in the Classroom

Kids In Need Teacher Grants provide K-12 educators with funding to provide innovative learning opportunities for their students.

Teacher Grant awards range from $100 to $500 each and are used to finance creative classroom projects. The number of grants awarded varies from year to year, depending on the amount of the funds being requested. Typically, 200-300 grants are awarded each year.

For detailed information, as well as application, please go to http://www.kinf.org/grants/

⇒  Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) 

Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that helps and encourages educators to travel abroad. GEEO hopes to make America more outward-looking by helping teachers travel and then giving them an effective way to share these experiences in their classrooms. GEEO is now taking reservations for summer travel programs to India, Panama, Peru, Tunisia, Southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe) and China.

Educators can earn graduate school credit and professional development credit while seeing the world. Trips are designed for teachers and include activities such as school visits and homestays that give participants authentic exposure to local culture. Trips are also deeply discounted so as to be affordable to teachers. GEEO also helps teachers find funding to subsidize the cost of the trips.

Additional information can be found here: http://www.geeo.org/. 

⇒  Asian Art Museum- Educator Resources

The Asian Art Museum offers a variety of resources for teachers to use in the classroom. The museum’s resource collection includes resource packets, curriculum books, children’s literature, Asian art history books and educational videos. The museum has several packets prepared for teachers. Hard copy versions are available for purchase, but pdf downloads are free.

For more information about Asian Art Museum resources, please call (415) 581-3663 or email resourcecenter@asianart.org.

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♦  Museum Exhibitions on Asia

⇒  Bowers Museum- Lecture: The Liuli Collection - Preserving the History of Ancient Chinese Glass

Dates: September, 2010, 1:30 pm

Location: 2002 North Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92706
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm; open late the fourth Thursday of every month until 8:00 pm
Admission: Admission: Free with Paid Admission / G $8

Loretta Yang and Chang Yi, professional glass artisans.

Sponsored by the Chinese Cultural Arts Council

For more information, please call 714.567.3677

⇒  Pacific Asia Museum- China Modern: Designing Popular Culture 1910-1970

Dates: August 5, 2010 to February 6, 2011

Location: 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Admission: General $9; students/seniors $7; free every 4th Friday of the month

China Modern: Designing Popular Culture 1910-1970 demonstrates how political ideologies and cultural values are transmitted via everyday objects, with a selection of over 100 iconic pieces. The exhibition focuses on the creation of advertising images, along with commodities, and things made for the modern home in two main periods: `Cosmopolitan Capitalism: Shanghai Under the Republic, 1910-1949` and `A Revolution in Culture: Designing the People’s Republic, 1949-1970`.

⇒  Art Institute of Chicago - Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century  

Dates: July 25 to October 3, 2010

Location: Regenstein West, 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60603-6404
Admission: General $18; children, students/seniors $14

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) is one of the most original, accomplished, and influential figures in the history of photography. This exhibition of nearly 300 images is the first full retrospective devoted to Cartier-Bresson in three decades. It includes both his formally groundbreaking early images and his historically significant postwar work—in India and Indonesia during struggles for independence, in China during the revolution, in the Soviet Union following Stalin’s death—that redefined the field of photojournalism. It is organized by Peter Galassi, Chief Curator, Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition will then travel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (November 6, 2010-January 30, 2011) and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta (February 19-May 29, 2011).                                                                       

 

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 ♦  Teachers on Asia

Teachers of all levels and subjects are invited to join our "Asia in My Classroom" web forum. To become a registered user (enabling you to post to     the  board), please e-mail us your request along with your name, school, and the grades and subjects you teach. What teachers have been talking about:

⇒ On benefits of USC/USCI 2010 Summer Residential Seminar: "IWords can`t express how much thanks and gratefulness I have in my heart for having been part of this experience. I have been, I am, and always will be forever changed as a result of this experience. Whenever I see an Asian I look at them in a much different way than before. It has informed my teaching practice at the secondary and graduate school level. While I have been gone a short time it feels as if the Institute took place in a distant Place & Time. Despite that I am back in San Diego with many tasks at hand I can`t help but to be continually reflecting on the last two weeks."    - Rand Lorah, Abraham Lincoln Center for the Arts                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

⇒  On film screenings in USC/USCI 2010 Summer Residential Seminar: "Previous to this seminar, I was blind to the number of foreign/East Asian films that are available to me.  I have used To Live for several years now and I think it is a wonderful film.  I fear that I may be spending a good deal of my surplus budget this year on films and other materials that I was introduced to in this seminar."   - Mark Houchin, Nipomo High School

 ⇒ On films in class: "I enjoy all films recommended in the seminar. My district has a very restrictive film policy. Instead of watching an entire movie, just pick a segment and use that to springboard into your ideas. This way you can avoid any controversial issues that might occur and could get the movie approved more easily."    - Diane Paull, Educational Partnership High School

 

 

 

 

 

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 USC U.S. - China Institute
南加州大学美中学院
3535 S. Figueroa Street, FIG 202
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1262
United States of America
web: http://china.usc.edu/
e-mail: uschina@usc.edu
phone: 213-821-4382
fax: 213-821-2382

 

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