I attended the 2009 Masters Dance Concert on November 22 at the Frederick Loewe Theatre at 35 W 4th street. It was produced by Susan Koff, and directed by Debora Damast, through the Dance Education Program, Steinhardt.
This event was simply a dance concert consisting of Graduate students in different dance fields. I went primarily because 3 of my peers from my African Dance class were performing, and I wanted to show support for all of their hard work. The dances were all interpretive pieces, incorporating each dancers personal talents 0acting, tap dancing, ballet, jaz, hip hop, etc.).
One particular piece caught my attention. It was a composition of 1 male dancer and several female dancers. Themes that ran through the composition were stereotypes (both male and female), social issues amongst a gender group (girl accusing another girl of trying to start drama amongst people), and peer pressure/gender typed stereotypes (the one make trying to flirt with all of the girls and being rejected repeatedly).
I thought about interpretive dance and how novel the idea might be to students of elementary age. I feel that interpretive dance would be an amazing way for students who enjoy dance to express their beliefs, ideas, and emotions. Poetry is the usual art form to express emotions, but I think exposing students to this form of expression can be a very healthy way for them to learn how to use their bodies in a healthy way to express what they feel.
Friday, December 4, 2009
A Different Voice in Hapanese Culture: The Shôjo (girl) Phenomenon
I went to this talk on October 14th, 2009 at Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South.. It was titled, A Different Voice in Hapanese Culture: The Shôjo (girl) Phenomenon. The talk was presented by Professor Michiko Mae, Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Dusseldorf. Professor Mae is an expert on transcultural gender studies and world wide women's movements. The talk was organized by Carol Gilligan, NYU Professor of Humanities and Applied Psychology, Steinhardt.
The talk was about the increasing of popular Japanese magazines (ex. Anime) for girls, that introduced a new type of literature that was, on the surface, seen as a romantic and fantasy work of literature. However, it was actually a cultural self construct labeled Shôjo. Shôjo actually gave school age girls the opportunity to express their ideas about resistance to social constructs (gender based sterotypes) and to political decisions. It also became a very important and essential social networking tool amongst girls. It was an outlet for girls to explore any and all aspects of gender and gender sterotypes. Common examples are of either females behaving in typically male stereotyped roles (a brave knight saving a damsel in distress). These 'typical' roles are many times reversed in these stories, as well as many instances of lesbian relationships.
Although much of the content of this talk was new to me, there was a basic underlying theme in the talk about the Shôjo. This was the idea of speaking out against stereotypes, and having a persons ideas heard/read whether they follow the ideas of the norm or not. This reminded me of all of the different pieces of literature there is in New York. Walking down any street to get to class, there are magazine stands containing free magazines that discuss every topic possible. I always wondered why people would put in the effort to create magazine after magazine when they were giving it away from me, and why they were getting out of it. My theory is that the path is not their main concern, but rather getting their voices out there and to reach even a single person with their thoughts is their motivation.
During the talk, one specific event struck me as connected to the themes of our course. During the historical background of the magazines and the Shôjo, the social network met resistance during WWII. The government became much more restrictive, and they began to censor these magazines threatening editors not to print the resistance ideas in their magazines. The Shôjo were naturally angry and felt the government was being unjust, but what were they supposed to do if editors were being threatened? One editor, very creative, decided to follow the laws of the government and not print any article that was now restricted, but he created an editorial/reader section, where the Shôjo would be able to write their stories and express their ideas.
Although the topic of the talk was not a great interest of mine, it was encouraging to learn of yet another instance where people have met unjust resistance and found a way around it, particularly in a non-violent way.
The talk was about the increasing of popular Japanese magazines (ex. Anime) for girls, that introduced a new type of literature that was, on the surface, seen as a romantic and fantasy work of literature. However, it was actually a cultural self construct labeled Shôjo. Shôjo actually gave school age girls the opportunity to express their ideas about resistance to social constructs (gender based sterotypes) and to political decisions. It also became a very important and essential social networking tool amongst girls. It was an outlet for girls to explore any and all aspects of gender and gender sterotypes. Common examples are of either females behaving in typically male stereotyped roles (a brave knight saving a damsel in distress). These 'typical' roles are many times reversed in these stories, as well as many instances of lesbian relationships.
Although much of the content of this talk was new to me, there was a basic underlying theme in the talk about the Shôjo. This was the idea of speaking out against stereotypes, and having a persons ideas heard/read whether they follow the ideas of the norm or not. This reminded me of all of the different pieces of literature there is in New York. Walking down any street to get to class, there are magazine stands containing free magazines that discuss every topic possible. I always wondered why people would put in the effort to create magazine after magazine when they were giving it away from me, and why they were getting out of it. My theory is that the path is not their main concern, but rather getting their voices out there and to reach even a single person with their thoughts is their motivation.
During the talk, one specific event struck me as connected to the themes of our course. During the historical background of the magazines and the Shôjo, the social network met resistance during WWII. The government became much more restrictive, and they began to censor these magazines threatening editors not to print the resistance ideas in their magazines. The Shôjo were naturally angry and felt the government was being unjust, but what were they supposed to do if editors were being threatened? One editor, very creative, decided to follow the laws of the government and not print any article that was now restricted, but he created an editorial/reader section, where the Shôjo would be able to write their stories and express their ideas.
Although the topic of the talk was not a great interest of mine, it was encouraging to learn of yet another instance where people have met unjust resistance and found a way around it, particularly in a non-violent way.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Korean Peace Day!
I attended the Korean Peace Day event on 12/3/09.
Upon arrival to this event, I was immediately met with Korean food! One big thing about culture is the food that is eaten. In order to emmerce myself in Korean culture, I tried the food items that were provided. I ate Korean pork dumplines, Kim-bap (Korean-style sushi), and Jun (which, to me, seemed like a fritatta of some sort but crispy and cut into small strips). The food was delicious and prepared me to learn more about Korean culture and current events that are happening in Korea.
This panel/presentation allowed me to see not only the struggle between North Korea and America but also to see the tension between North Korea and South Korea. First, an NYU professor spoke about some important things happening in North Korea in the present. First, he talked about the perception gap between the US and North Korea. He talked about a "rocket" that North Korea fired into space right before President Obama's arrival in Prague. What North Korea called a "rocket" which initiated a satellite, President Obama (America) called a "nuclear weapon". Both countries perceived the item that was launched into space differently, which brought upon more fighting and anamosity between the US and North Korea. North Korea believes that science and technology is the "engine that will propell North Korea as a powerful country and improve its economy". For this reason, they launched the rocket/satellite into space to use as observations for a scientific development. They believed that denouncing the launch would have meant opposing an economic goal and the goal to become a prosperous country. Because the US considered this a "nuclear weapon," Obama spoke about the need for a world without nuclear weapons. This statement was directed to the launch from North Korea as it may have been a "nuclear missile". The professor also spoke about the consequences of the fact that North Korea has been the US's longest lasting enemy thus far. This animosity towards North Korea enables the US government to have an everlasting mistrust in North Korea. Finally, the professor talked about the importance of political leadership and a need for community activism to bring peace to the two nations.
Next, a Korean War veteran spoke about what is being done to support the desire for peace between the US and North Korea. He spoke abot the National Campaign to End the Korean War, an organization that promotes peace between the two nations. He also belongs to a program called Veterans for Peace. One of the main projects of VEP has been the reunification of families over the years (Korean-Americans and their families in Korea, adopted children with their biological families, etc.). He talked about the importance for veterans to work together (both Korean and American veterans) in the interest of peace; they do not discuss what happened but rather talk about what they can do to end the hatred between the two nations.
Finally, a panel of 3 individuals (Korean-Americans) who visited North Korea through the DEEP program. The panel answered a few questions posed by one of the trip leaders in order to provide us with the experiences of these travlers before, during, and after their trip. Before going on the trip, the travelers had fears and doubts about traveling to North Korea. They were worried about the stereotypical perceptions of the North Korean people and government. One of the panelists even said that she did not plan to tell her parents that she was going on this trip because she knew they would not support the decision. Her parents tried to stage an "intervention" and told her all of the reasons she should not travel to North Korea, especially due to recent events that had occurred in North Korea. She had thoughts of backing out of the trip, but decided she wanted to experience the culture and experience the lifestyle of North Korea in order to strengthen the ties between North Korean citizens and Americans. First impressions of North Korea made the travlers a little skeptical at first. One of the travlers remembered how the flight attendant was very cold towards them, not like the bubbly and helpful flight attendants we are used to. Once they were in North Korea, the travlers realized that not all North Koreans act in the way the media portrays North Korea as a country. Many people were friendly and helpful towards them, even after knowing they lived in America (and their families were from South Korea).
It was really interesting to hear about their experiences in North Korea. First, it was great to see how their anxiety/feelings about North Korea changed over the time of the trip. They started out apprehensive and then realized they had nothing to fear about the people of North Korea. I was aware of the problems between North Korea and America, but it was really interesting how much the Korean American families from South Korea reacted to the thought of their child going to North Korea. This really showed me the dynamics of the conflict within the country of Korea.
At the end of the session, we learned about some ways we can help to bring peace among North Korea and America and what we can do to end the hatred.
1. Go to endthekoreanwar.com and sign the petition for the peace treaty. The petition serves as a way to bridge the gap between North Korea and America and hopes to finally solve the anamosity between the two nations.
2. Sign up for the list serve to receive more information about the social change happening with regards to North Korean/American peace. [http://nodutdol.org/]
3. Attend the national gathering in Washington DC in June of 2010 for the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War.
4. Apply for the Spring internship. [http://nodutdol.org/]
5. Join the New York chapter of the National Campain to End the Korean War.
Upon arrival to this event, I was immediately met with Korean food! One big thing about culture is the food that is eaten. In order to emmerce myself in Korean culture, I tried the food items that were provided. I ate Korean pork dumplines, Kim-bap (Korean-style sushi), and Jun (which, to me, seemed like a fritatta of some sort but crispy and cut into small strips). The food was delicious and prepared me to learn more about Korean culture and current events that are happening in Korea.
This panel/presentation allowed me to see not only the struggle between North Korea and America but also to see the tension between North Korea and South Korea. First, an NYU professor spoke about some important things happening in North Korea in the present. First, he talked about the perception gap between the US and North Korea. He talked about a "rocket" that North Korea fired into space right before President Obama's arrival in Prague. What North Korea called a "rocket" which initiated a satellite, President Obama (America) called a "nuclear weapon". Both countries perceived the item that was launched into space differently, which brought upon more fighting and anamosity between the US and North Korea. North Korea believes that science and technology is the "engine that will propell North Korea as a powerful country and improve its economy". For this reason, they launched the rocket/satellite into space to use as observations for a scientific development. They believed that denouncing the launch would have meant opposing an economic goal and the goal to become a prosperous country. Because the US considered this a "nuclear weapon," Obama spoke about the need for a world without nuclear weapons. This statement was directed to the launch from North Korea as it may have been a "nuclear missile". The professor also spoke about the consequences of the fact that North Korea has been the US's longest lasting enemy thus far. This animosity towards North Korea enables the US government to have an everlasting mistrust in North Korea. Finally, the professor talked about the importance of political leadership and a need for community activism to bring peace to the two nations.
Next, a Korean War veteran spoke about what is being done to support the desire for peace between the US and North Korea. He spoke abot the National Campaign to End the Korean War, an organization that promotes peace between the two nations. He also belongs to a program called Veterans for Peace. One of the main projects of VEP has been the reunification of families over the years (Korean-Americans and their families in Korea, adopted children with their biological families, etc.). He talked about the importance for veterans to work together (both Korean and American veterans) in the interest of peace; they do not discuss what happened but rather talk about what they can do to end the hatred between the two nations.
Finally, a panel of 3 individuals (Korean-Americans) who visited North Korea through the DEEP program. The panel answered a few questions posed by one of the trip leaders in order to provide us with the experiences of these travlers before, during, and after their trip. Before going on the trip, the travelers had fears and doubts about traveling to North Korea. They were worried about the stereotypical perceptions of the North Korean people and government. One of the panelists even said that she did not plan to tell her parents that she was going on this trip because she knew they would not support the decision. Her parents tried to stage an "intervention" and told her all of the reasons she should not travel to North Korea, especially due to recent events that had occurred in North Korea. She had thoughts of backing out of the trip, but decided she wanted to experience the culture and experience the lifestyle of North Korea in order to strengthen the ties between North Korean citizens and Americans. First impressions of North Korea made the travlers a little skeptical at first. One of the travlers remembered how the flight attendant was very cold towards them, not like the bubbly and helpful flight attendants we are used to. Once they were in North Korea, the travlers realized that not all North Koreans act in the way the media portrays North Korea as a country. Many people were friendly and helpful towards them, even after knowing they lived in America (and their families were from South Korea).
It was really interesting to hear about their experiences in North Korea. First, it was great to see how their anxiety/feelings about North Korea changed over the time of the trip. They started out apprehensive and then realized they had nothing to fear about the people of North Korea. I was aware of the problems between North Korea and America, but it was really interesting how much the Korean American families from South Korea reacted to the thought of their child going to North Korea. This really showed me the dynamics of the conflict within the country of Korea.
At the end of the session, we learned about some ways we can help to bring peace among North Korea and America and what we can do to end the hatred.
1. Go to endthekoreanwar.com and sign the petition for the peace treaty. The petition serves as a way to bridge the gap between North Korea and America and hopes to finally solve the anamosity between the two nations.
2. Sign up for the list serve to receive more information about the social change happening with regards to North Korean/American peace. [http://nodutdol.org/]
3. Attend the national gathering in Washington DC in June of 2010 for the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War.
4. Apply for the Spring internship. [http://nodutdol.org/]
5. Join the New York chapter of the National Campain to End the Korean War.
Korea Peace Day and DEEP Reportback
I attended tonight's event, Across the Imjin River: People of North Korea, which was held at silver room 411 for two hours.
The event began with a professor of Korean History from NYU, who briefly discussed the existing conflicts between North Korea and the U.S. He informed the audience about the foreign policy-related events that have occurred within the last year. The recurring theme was that the tension between North Korea and the U.S. grew deeper as the perception gap of "what to call things" widened. For example, North Korea recently launched "a missile" but to the U.S. government, this act was targeted as "a missile launch for nuclear test" while the North Koreans saw this as an event of shooting a rocket into space that symbolized NK's growth in computer science, bioengineering, modern technology, etc. The professor ended on a hopeful note that with community activism, we may be able to help Washington readdress the issues at hand with NK, U.S government's "longest-running enemy."
The next speaker was a veteran from the "National Campaign to End the Korean War" and "Veterans for Peace." He spoke about how veterans often suffered from the after-effects of war, whether the person was a bombardier or or a soldier in combat. Many veterans were still troubled by what they had to do at war and what they had seen. The veteran also spoke about the war's effect on the involved countries' civilians. Especially in North and South Korea, there are families who are still separated from one another because of the war. He encouraged us all to be active.
Finally, a panel of four speakers who have visited North Korea this past summer spoke to the audience about their 10-day experience. The first speaker began by stating that there are 28 million various and uniquely different people in NK and that the U.S. media does not portray all these people justly. All the speakers explained their fear and doubt about the trip because of the media's portrayal of NK and their (biased) background knowledge about NK from the past. The speakers all stated that their conflicted feelings and personal turmoil disappeared as they spent more days in NK and with the people there.
According to the panelists, North Koreans had many similarities, despite media's portrayals and set images of dull, poor, uneducated, and starved people in NK. As I listened to the panelists talk about their experiences and tell stories, I felt myself feeling more connected to the North Koreans as well. It was very touching for me to be there, looking at all the photos of North Koreans on the projector and hearing about the panelists' experiences because my grandfather's family still live (hopefully) in NK. I felt a desire to go visit and try to find my roots.
After this event, I realized that every country has its different culture, beliefs, government, political system, and philosophy. It is wrong for us to label countries as "allies" vs. "enemies." Throughout my elementary education in Korea, I was taught to fear the Communists and North Koreans, but now I see that no matter what country, the people will always have common grounds.
Yes, the panelists probably did not see all parts of North Korea and only saw parts of the country that the guides wanted them to see, but how often does New York City bus tours go through the "projects" or the "ghettos" and talk on the microphone about the segregation and political racism that exist even in the most "liberal" and "powerful" country in the world?
Perception is key. There are always two sides to a story. This is an important philosophy to keep as future educators. I believe that as teachers, we should also be careful of what we teach in our textbooks. We must be aware of the bias and prejudice that exist in the textbooks we are required to teach so that we can show both sides of the story to our students. I wish that my Korean elementary teachers had not scared me so much about North Koreans. I wish that my teachers had told me that it was okay for me to have families in that country and that it was okay for me to still want to meet them.
This event was very powerful and informative for me. As a future educator, I want to always keep in mind that labeling certain people or countries as something/someone to fear is never right. I want to show the broad scope of things to my students so that they too, can become open-minded and become people like the activists who had the courage to visit "the forbidden land" to trace their cultural backgrounds.
For more information, visit: http://endthekoreanwar.org/
Also, my aunt is one of the founding members of Nodutdol, which started the DEEP organization (they visit North Korea every 2 years). If you would like to apply for an internship or get more information on how to get involved (and visit NK!) please go to http://nodutdol.org/ or contact me for more info =)
End the Korean War
On December 3, 2009, I attended a conference given by the North American Network for Peace in Korea, which discussed ending the Korean War between America and North Korea. The conference began with the discussion that there’s a need for political leadership from the United States. The panelist explained the purpose of Korea’s launch of Galaxy II’s reflected Korea’s achievements in science and rebuilding of their economy. The Obama administration opposed the launch; and the panelist argued that without political activism, the Korean War would never end. Next a former US Korean War veteran spoke lamenting over, the US government never compensated for their illnesses caused by the Korean War. Currently, the US veteran involved with a group of veterans, who come together in the interest of peace, and wanting to end most wars. Before this conference, I didn't know anything about Korean Culture. It was interesting to see from the Korean’s perspective on the tensions between American and North Korea. This workshop shows how important it is to incorporate different views on a topic into your lessons. I never knew the North Korean’s opinion on nuclear weapons. I found the conference helpful in better understanding differing world affairs.
A Conversation among men about sex trafficking
I attended the event a conversation among men about sex trafficking at the Wasserman Center, December 2, 2009. The purpose of the conference was to commemorate the international day for the abolition of slavery. The conference began with a silent film “Blood into Gold” and an introduction given by Gloria Steinem. She introduced the panelist of men who were there to discuss sex trafficking. The organization is based on the understanding that prostitution is highly political, and the oldest form of oppression. A conversation among men works to end human trafficking, and free the world all forms of women’s violence. They recognize the privileges men have in society. Since men are given the legal permission to buy women and girls to act out sexuality, it creates inequality among genders.
I learned that the promotion of prostitution as a job is an attempt to normalize and legitimize it as an employment options for poor women. This allows legal profits for the sex industry and tax revenues for governments! The panelist stressed that young children are watching unsupervised pornographies. If young boys are watching these pornographies, it will encourage the sexual exploitation of women, and create a new group of pedophiles. Interestingly the panelists reminded me that it is not only women being exploited but men, too, are losing their integrity from how they view women and children in society.
This reminds me how important it is to raise my level of conscious of the violence to women and children in the sex industry. To seek social justice, the panelists explained, it is necessary that men come together and talk about prostitution openly. Integrating gender studies in my classroom is one way to help end sexual exploitation. This conference was a great experience, and totally changed my perspective on an issue I never knew affected me.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Beyond the Bricks
With some of my peers from class, I attended a screening of Beyond the Bricks by Derek Koen followed by an interview and panel discussion at the Hip Hop Culture Center in Harlem in the Magic Johnson Theater on November 19th for three and a half hours. The event was hosted by the makers of the film as well as the Education Voters Institute. The movie and the discussion were incredible. The film is a documentary following three young African American males and the hardships they face as well as the triumphs. The statistics alone featured in the film are shocking. 60% of Black students grow up without a father. African Americans are 700% more likely than Whites to be in jail. Only 8.4% of Black males are in gifted and talented programs. African American males are the only group that has a declining life expectancy. While the figures are disturbing, this movie, unlike others that I have seen before, is about finding solutions not simply naming dismal statistics. This approach is not only fresh but it is inspiring, as well. It is easy to get overwhelmed and want to give up when you hear the horrifying facts. This movie, along with the panel discussion, provides answers.
What struck me most was this statistic: self-esteem and confidence is the most related factor to success in school. I believe it is with this knowledge that teachers can truly make a difference. Helping students build up their confidence through positive reinforcement will foster pride in themselves and thus a greater desire to excel. Whether they are boys or girls, rich or poor, Black, White or any other race, all students need high expectations and love from their teachers and parents in order to believe in themselves and succeed.
I had never before truly realized the extreme challenges that Black males specifically face before watching this film and experiencing this event. Providing support and quality teaching can help these and all other students live better lives.
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