Eid Mubarak!--A blessed Eid!

Muslims celebrate today the holy day of Eid al Adha, which evokes the call of Allah to the patriarch Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. The Chronicle has a nice photo album of the celebrations here in the Houston area and around the world.

Among the Chronicle's reader blogs is an Islamic faith-oriented column by Ruth Nasrallah. In today's installment she has numerous informational links about this day of remembrance and commitment.

For Class #12, 12/1/08

A very simple agenda tonight:

1. Book project reviews/reports.

• If you haven't e-mailed your report yet, please do so before class time. As of 11:20 AM, there are still a number of reports outstanding. Thanks.

2. Brief Exam orientation.

3. Course survey.

Toward resolving your karmas--friendly advice from the Dalai Lama.

In a very recent comment that, for some reason, has gotten little media play, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made some significant remarks about relationships. Of course, they might be considered a little bit counter-cultural. That doesn't make them unwise, just challenging.

For Class #11, 11/24/08:

1. Rosters, etc.

• Calendar check: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5
• Graded movie papers on their way back to Victoria as of this afternoon. May be there tomorrow (?). If you want to know your grade sooner (out of 30 possible points), e-mail me.
• Here is the grading scheme:
• CHOP--
• Clarity of expression, 8 points;
• Homework on the topic, 8 points;
• Originality of your thinking, 8 points;
• Presentation (mechanics), 6 points.
• (When I went to reform school, that added to 30. If your paper has a LOT of my scribbling on it, it's probably the Presentation component that suffered the most.)
• Last-chance questions about book project. Have you sent me your choice of topic?

2. Japan's history and the culture of Shinto:

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_143cmnmhth9

Background information on the internet (Japan):

• http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_159cmzmnvgr

3. Maps of Southeast Asia:

• http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_162hr9jpncb

Outline of SE Asia's history:

• http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_161fcrbmkg6

4. For next week, 12/1:

• Presentations, summary, exam prep, and student evaluation.

For Class #10, 11/17/08:

1. Calendar and announcements:

• There WILL be class next week, 11/24. Please e-mail me if you will not be present.
• Calendar/assignments: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5
• Questions about book project. Have you sent me your choice of topic?

2. Review of Confucianism and Confucian literature (Novak):

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_110c4dcffhf

3. Taoism presentation:

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_120g7r5tvgd

4. As time permits, Taoist literature (Novak).

5. Next week: Japan's history and the culture of Shinto.

For Class #9, 11/10/08

1. Rosters, etc.

• Calendar review: : http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5
• Discuss requirements for book project.

2. Concluding points on Buddhism.

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_88cq4fg89r

3. Introduction to China, ancient and modern:

• http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_102fgds4zf8&hl=

4. Introduction to Confucian thought:

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_110c4dcffhf

5. As time permits, introduction to Taoist religion:

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_120g7r5tvgd

6. See calendar link (above) for readings for next week.

Book Analysis Essay Requirements

REQUIREMENTS FOR BOOK ANALYSIS ESSAY

You have already received the book list, and made your choice of reading.

The basic task is threefold:

1. Write a good synopsis or abstract of the story or argument in the book. This should be no more than one page in length, and is your lead-in to what will follow.

2. The body of your paper should be a dissection of the author’s moral point of view. In other words, what detectable stand does the author take? Is it recognizable in terms of the moral position that we have discussed aloud in class up to now? Sometimes an author’s stance is not stated outright, but is hidden in the characters and events that make up the narrative or “the case” the author is building. For example, if the sympathetic hero is a true scoundrel, and he gets let off from his crimes freely and easily, then you might suspect that the author doesn’t think much of the world’s justice. Once you explain how this works in this story, then it would be appropriate for you to discuss exactly whether you agree or disagree with that view of society, human nature, etc.

3. The concluding half-page (or so) of your paper might be some reflection on how the book and its thesis met your tastes and preferences. Did you enjoy it? What surprised or disappointed you? What troubled you? What did you find most challenging? Why do you think the author chose this particular topic? Etc….

Format:

Your paper will be 3½ to 4½ pages in length--in other words, 4 pages. As usual, it should be typewritten using standard size and style font, without a cover page or folder, double-spaced, etc. It should contain the bibliographical information about the edition of the book you have selected to write about. Remember to proofread, because the spelling checker in your computer is not always your friend. Better yet, have a literate human being proofread your draft along the way.

For Class #8, 11/3/08

1. Rosters, calendar, etc.
2. Buddhism in general:
1. Presentation: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_88cq4fg89r
2. Discussion of readings on Buddhism, esp. Novak.
3. Chinese origins and history:
1. See Mason, 5 through 9.
2. Presentation: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_102fgds4zf8&hl=en
4. For next week: Confucianism and Taoism.
1. See readings on calendar: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5

Reading Project List and Requirements

OK, here's the reading list. Plenty of selection, all readable. Follow your interests. I physically saw a good number of these at Barnes & Noble, but you can get them online and probably at other places, too. The links are to Amazon, where you can find reviews, but use your own judgment about where to buy these.

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson (Paperback - Dec 18, 2007)

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Hardcover - May 22, 2007)

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Paperback - Jan 30, 2007)

Staircase of a Thousand Steps by Masha Hamilton (Paperback - May 7, 2002)

Snakes and Ladders by Gita Mehta (Paperback - April 13, 1998)

Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman (Paperback - Oct 12, 1987)

Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now by Jan Wong (Paperback - May 19, 1997)

The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family by Duong Van Mai Elliott (Paperback - April 20, 2000)

Daughters of the River Huong by Uyen Nicole Duong (Paperback - Aug 1, 2005)

The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan by Eiko Ikegami (Paperback - Mar 25, 1997)

Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World (California Studies in Food and Culture, 11) by Theodore C. Bestor (Paperback - Jul 12, 2004)

The Secrets of Mariko: A Year in the Life of a Japanese Woman and Her Family by Elisabeth Bumiller (Paperback - Oct 29, 1996)

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple (Paperback - Mar 25, 2003)

I'll have the requirements for the written paper available for you when we meet on the 3rd, if I don't get them posted here sooner.

For Class #7, 10/27/08

1. Roster, calendar, other issues.

2. Movie projects and reports.

• Please make sure that you have sent me your written report.
• Present individual reports; discussion.
• Summary points.

3. As time permits: India and Buddhism presentation.

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_88cq4fg89r
• Some instruction, music and chant from Buddhist tradition: http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-library.htm

4. Discussion of readings due today: Fisher 4 and Novak 2 (Buddhism).

5. For next week, Nov. 3:

• If you have not finished: Chinese history--read Mason, 5 through 9. Reflection: Based on what you have read, why do you think Buddhism "exports" better than Hinduism? In other words, Buddhism is more like the Western religions in the way it seems to make converts in non-Indian cultures. Why do you think this is the case?
• Chinese religion/culture: Fisher, 6 and Novak, 3 and 4. Also, study the book list for the second project.
  

Update on Tonight's Cancellation (10/20)

Circumstances beyond our control--again. I knew when I walked by the Sugar Land office and saw the office staff, the facilities people and all the tech people sitting in a circle there was a problem. The network had gone down and the A/C was dead. They were waiting for Centerpoint to call back. At any rate, the best we would have been able to have was a phone/audio connection. I didn't think that was appropriate for you to give your movie reports, or for our discussion of Buddhism. I waited until they confirmed this diagnosis right before 7:00.

Here's your job between now and next Monday (27th)--

• I've received movie papers from a number of you, but I need the rest ASAP.
• Keep up with the reading. There is also a reflection question on the agenda for tonight (below). Do the best you can with it based on your reading, and get that e-mailed to me.
• I'll be posting the reading list and the requirements for the book project in a couple of days. Please begin checking out the territory on this.
• Next week's agenda will include your reports in a very quick fashion, the Buddhism discussion in a quick fashion, and a start, at least, on background to study Chinese culture.

See you then! Please e-mail if you have questions.

For Class #8, 10/20/08.

1. Roster, calendar, other issues.

2. Movie projects and reports.

• Please make sure that you have sent me your written report.
• Present individual reports; discussion.
• Summary points.

3. As time permits: India and Buddhism presentation.

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_88cq4fg89r

4. Discussion of readings due: Fisher 4 and Novak 2 (Buddhism).

5. For next week: Chinese history--read Mason, 5 through 9.

• Reflection: Based on what you have read, why do you think Buddhism "exports" better than Hinduism? In other words, Buddhism is more like the Western religions in the way it seems to make converts in non-Indian cultures. Why do you think this is the case?

For Class #7, 10/13/08.

1. Roster, calendar and other business.

• Calendar: Your movie project is due NEXT CLASS, the 20th. I need to have it by e-mail by the time class begins.
  

• http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5

2. Questions/points of interest from reading: Fisher (ch. 2) and Novak (ch. 1).

3. Continue with notes/discussion of Hinduism:

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_70fb6f8vwr

4. Introduce notes/discussion of Buddhism:

• http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_88cq4fg89r

5. Recap: Due next week--

• Film project: written report (e-mailed) and oral summary.
  
• Reading: Fisher (ch. 4) and Novak (ch 2).
  

For Class #6, 10/6/08

1. Roster, due dates, other business.

2. Questions about assigned readings.

3. Exploring South Asia's early history:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_69dmkpnxc2

4. Hinduism notes and discussion.

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df8n9qbt_70fb6f8vwr

5. For next week:

Read--Fisher 2 and Novak 1;

Short reflection question, here--
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_246dtdgtfct

Remember that your movie papers are due. E-mail the paper to me, but keep a copy to work from when you give your 5-8 minute summary at next week's class.

5. Summary and questions.

For Class #5, 9/29/08.

Agenda:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_243srqm28dn

Revised Calendar:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5

Presentation link is on the agenda for tonight.

Next Meeting--the 29th.

As it turns out, there aren't any ITV classes meeting until the 29th. This date seems fairly certain, given the power issues at UHSSL and the technology. I'll have a new agenda for that class and a revised course calendar posted shortly.

Meanwhile, please be thinking about your film selections for the first project. Here's the description again:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_241dfrmhdhr

Small update, Monday, 9/15.

Well, I guess we prepare to meet on the 22nd. I'll be posting some items here to help you prepare. Certainly, try to keep on the reading schedule. You'll have to have Lewis completed.

Hope all of you are well.

Preparing for 9/15 class...

I sincerely hope all of you are well and safe!

There ought to be some sort of update on either the university's website (http://www.uhvemergency.info/) or on the usual TV/radio sources sometime today. If I get any new information about class or no class, I'll post it here.

If we don't meet, I'll try to post a couple of small things you might look at to keep up with our schedule and discussions prior to next week's class. Feel free to use the e-mail address I gave you to keep in touch, especially if you get a solid line on an official update.

Course Information and Documents for 9/8/08

See here:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_240hkskrqdw


Film Analysis Project--requirements and choices:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_241dfrmhdhr

Course Information Documents 8/25/08

Class #1 Agenda--8/25/08:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_231hdvmnbcq

Syllabus--Course Description:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_46hdpb6zg2

Syllabus--Calendar:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8n9qbt_234gfgkcjf5

ASIAN CULTURE

Definitions:

Religion:

A religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally held by a human community, involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. ...

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power.

Source: oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth370/gloss.html

a system of beliefs relating to supernatural or superhuman beings or forces that transcend the everyday material world.

Source: www.anthro.wayne.edu/ant2100/GlossaryCultAnt.htm

Culture:

-a particular society at a particular time and place; "early Mayan civilization"
-the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group
-acculturation: all the knowledge and values shared by a society
-(biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar); "the culture of cells in a Petri dish"
-polish: a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality; "they performed with great polish"; "I admired the --exquisite refinement of his prose"; "almost an inspiration which gives to all work that finish which is almost art"--Joseph Conrad
-the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization; "the developing drug culture"; "the reason that the agency is doomed to inaction has something to do with the FBI culture"
-the raising of plants or animals; "the culture of oysters"

Source: wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate"), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ...
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture

a set of learned beliefs, values and behaviors the way of life shared by the members of a society.

Source: www.saa.org/publications/sampler/terms.html

The accumulated habits, attitudes, and beliefs of a group of people that define for them their general behavior and way of life; the total set of learned activities of a people.

Source: usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/geography/glossary.htm

is perhaps the most central theoretical concept in anthropology, and it is important in many of the other social sciences as well. The nature and role of culture are matters of controversy, but a quite general characterization will suffice here. ...

Source: plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/

the sum of ways of living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one generation to another.

Source: www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/C.htm

Values, ideas, and other symbolic meaningful systems that are transmitted and created by a group of people.

Source: www.edgateway.net/pub/docs/pel/glossary.htm

The collective body of understanding, belief and behavior among a given group of people; depends on the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge from one generation to another.
Source: www.apsu.edu/wet/OLD_PROJECT_WET_WEBSITE/whatis.html

The reflection and prefiguration of the possibilities of organization of everyday life in a given historical moment; a complex of aesthetics, feelings and mores through which a collectivity reacts on the life that is objectively determined by its economy. ...

Source: www.bopsecrets.org/SI/1.definitions.htm

A pattern of values, beliefs and behaviors shared by people with similar ethnic backgrounds, languages, religions, family values and/or life views, which provides them with their identities and a framework for understanding experience.
Source: www.promotingexcellence.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm

the sum total of the ways of life of a people; includes norms, learned behavior patterns, attitudes, and artifacts; also involves traditions, habits or customs; how people behave, feel and interact; the means by which they order and interpret the world; ways of perceiving, relating and ...

Source: www.tesol.org/assoc/k12standards/it/10.html

A set of shared norms and values which establish a sense of identity for those who share them. Typically applied at the level of nation and/or race.
Source: www.stile.coventry.ac.uk/cbs/staff/beech/BOTM/Glossary.htm

A specific set of social, educational, religious and professional behaviors, practices and values that individuals learn and adhere to while participating in or out of groups they usually interact with.
Source: www.diversityrx.org/HTML/ESGLOS.htm

Civilization:

-a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations); "the people slowly ...
-the social process whereby societies achieve civilization
-culture: a particular society at a particular time and place; "early Mayan civilization"
-refinement: the quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste; "a man of intellectual refinement"; "he is remembered for his generosity and civilization"

Source: wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

The term civilization (British English: civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ...
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization

a degree of human social organization marked by the continual acquisition of new truth from the unknown and right from the chaotic, which in the form of knowledge and ability become the property of all men. ...
Source: www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5179/Glossary.htm

Large coin hoards indicate the profits of raids and trade with the British Isles, Mediterranean, Byzantium, and Muslim Asia. Export of furs, slaves, arms (to eastern Europe), and mercenary services to rulers (eg, bodyguards of Ethelred, Canute, Slavic princes, Byzantine emperors). ...
Source: www.bartleby.com/67/426.html

A culture that has developed systems of specialization, a written language, arts, sciences, religion, and government.
Source: www.mdk12.org/mspp/vsc/social_studies/bygrade/glossary.shtml

An economic engine built on ideas.
Source: www.worldtrans.org/whole/wholedefs.html

Generally understood as a more advanced form of organized life; civilizations usually have more complex forms of social, political, military, and religious life. Writing and the use of metals are also features of many civilizations.
Source: www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/grade3/glossary.html

Societies distinguished by reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses; and existence of nonfarming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups. (p. 9)
Source: occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/stearns_awl/medialib/glossary/gloss_C.html

humans living together in an organized way.
Source: www.rwater.com/glossary/gloss_al.htm

a complex society that has government, social classes and cities.
Source: www.anthro.wayne.edu/ant2100/GlossaryCultAnt.htm

A society that has made advances in the arts, science and technology, law or government.
Source: myweb.tiscali.co.uk/temetfutue/glossary/glossaryC.htm

an urbanized society with a large very complex social
Source: mywebpages.comcast.net/tbrown117735MI/culturevocabulary.html

Term used to denote a society who has reached a level of development that includes producing excess food, building cities, establishing a government, and keeping written records.
Source: www.factsfortaks.com/10th%20Grade/10thGlossary.htm

A society in an advanced state of development characterized by permanent settlement, agriculture, scientific and medical advances, and sophisticated forms of government and economy.
Source: www.mrlambersky.com/terms.html

A highly developed culture, usually with organized religions and laws
Source: www.stegen.k12.mo.us/tchrpges/sgms/crice/documents/Chapter1VocabularyandIdentifications.rtf

Asia:

the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the ...

the nations of the Asian continent collectively
Source: wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.4% of its land area) and it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia

from the Akkadian root asu meaning "sunrise."
Source: www.nmhschool.org/tthornton/tignorterms.php

The first Asian transcontinental railroad was the Trans-Siberian railway (with connecting lines in Europe), completed in 1905. It is the world's longest rail line at 9,289km (5,787 miles) long.
Source: dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/Transcontinental_railroad

Tragedy and Hope at Bamiyan

An update from BBC about the ongoing archaeological work to learn what remains to be learned about the ancient Buddhist site at Bamiyan. The video suggests a number of interesting points:

1. The loss of the great statues is a cultural tragedy of incalculable proportions. This is reason enough to continue to resist the persistent attempts of the Taliban to return to influence in Afghanistan.
2. The hopefulness stems from two points: the opening up of caves containing the remains of what were beautiful oil paintings on Buddhist themes, and the possibility of a large--1000 feet long--reclining Buddha still buried under the accumulated river silt at the site. The paintings are possibly the world's oldest oil paintings.
3. The reporter stresses how the area was in ancient times at a convergence of major trade routes which joined the Roman world with the Indian and the Chinese worlds. We don't yet appreciate how much commerce, in the broadest sense, there existed between ancient cultures.
4. The video shows a very green valley stretching out before the Bamiyan cliff face. Here is another broken stereotype of Afghanistan as a sort of desert land. No place on earth is without its natural beauties; therefore, no place on earth that folks call home can be considered God-forsaken.
   

We're on a mission...

The purpose of this blog will be to publish announcements, handouts, web links, and course information for the Fall 2008 Asian Culture course. See you soon.