More Comments and Questions for Your Classmates

Hi everyone,

I cried a little after class today. We developed such a wonderful rapport over the semester, and I will miss this class so much. Thank you all for everything you contributed over the course of the semester, especially your presentations, which were so meaningful. Each one of you picked a topic with profound emotional and social (and in many cases political) significance. And there were so many themes and issues connecting your presentations!

Weren't all the presentations great? Please keep leaving comments and questions for your classmates below.

I will scan Shiho's book and send it to Yuri Kochiyama. If anyone else would like to send her a note or something, please let me know.

I hope you all have a wonderful break! Even if you will not be taking another class with me next semester, please feel free to stop by my office hours any time. And maybe we can find a time to have a class reunion next semester...

Happy Holidays, everyone! Oh, and if no one objects, I'll post the photos Akiko took after class.

Comments and Questions for Your Classmates!

I thoroughly enjoyed today's class! What a treat! I look forward to more on Tuesday, bright and early. Daniel's poster is already on my office wall, so feel free to stop by to take a leisurely look and relive the magic.

If you have links or images from your presentations you'd like me to post, just let me know, and I'll see to it that it happens.

In the meantime, please leave your comments and questions for Randy, Ellen, Elizabeth, Daniel, and Andrew below!

New Schedule

Our make-up class session will be Tuesday, Dec. 18th at 7:30 a.m. in our regular classroom.

Those of you who were scheduled to present on Tuesday will make your presentations tomorrow, and those of you scheduled for Thursday will present on Tuesday, Dec 18th at 7:30 a.m., which is our scheduled exam time, so you all are presumably available then.

Since we will be meeting on the 18th, you can use that date as your new paper/project deadline.

No one will be "iced" out of this class!

I'm sure you have been thinking about what losing class yesterday meant to us all, and maybe some of you have some ideas as to how we can make time for everyone to present. Please share any ideas you may have. We can't have everyone present tomorrow, and I've been thinking of alternatives.

Option #1:
The obvious solution is one that may not be popular. If our class had a final exam, our exam time would be 7:30-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 18th (in our regular classroom). Presumably, you all are available then, as am I. I know that is very early, but it is also fair.

Option #2:
Determine an alternate class time that works for everyone. For example, we could meet after class on Thursday. I'll have to schedule a room for us, so we'll need to decide asap. Here are some suggestions for alternate times. Please indicate which times would work for you in the comments section below.

A. Thursday 3:45-5:00 p.m.
B. Thursday 1:15-2:30 p.m.
C. Thursday 5:00-6:15 p.m.
D. Friday 4:00-5:15 p.m.
E. Friday 4:30-5:45 p.m.
F. Sunday 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
G. Sunday 12:00-1:15 p.m.
H. Sunday 1:00-2:15 p.m.
I. Sunday 2:00-3:15 p.m.
J. Sunday 3:00-4:15 p.m.

As far as how to proceed tomorrow, I'm still really struggling with that, and once I know what our plan is for the second session, I'll make an official announcement. In the meantime, everyone should be prepared to present Thursday just in case.

UNIVERSITY CANCELS CLASS THIS AFTERNOON

Hi everyone,

I know you have been working so hard to prepare, and I promise I will figure out a way for us to enjoy everyone's presentations.

You can check the university's website for more information on the decision to cancel all classes this afternoon.

Please stay safe, everyone. If you need something, let us all know on the blog, and we can help one another.

take good care,
adrienne

Your friendly reminder!

Below is the schedule for your presentations!! I'm excited!

Please be prepared to stick to the 10-minute limit so that everyone has the chance to present. I know it's short, but if you prepare carefully and practice, I know you can do it. We probably won't have much time for questions or discussion, so write down questions you have for your classmates, and you can post them to the blog after the presentations. (I will stop you after 10 minutes if you start to go over the time limit. Please don't make me do that.) You are welcome to make handouts, use powerpoint, the computer, etc. The room has the computer, a DVD player, and a document camera too.

December 11th
Randy
Ellen
Elizabeth
Daniel
Andrew
Akiko
Angela

December 13th
Shiho
Laila
Stephanie
Peter
Justin
Lindsey
Daigo

TOMORROW ni tsuite

Please check your university email accounts for important information about tomorrow's class. (Hint: no class tomorrow)

I thought you might like to check out the following links:

AsiaSource Interview with Julie Otsuka

Terry Hong Interview with Julie Otsuka

William Nakayama interview with Julie Otsuka

Excerpt:
William Nakayama: Do you feel a deep suspicion toward authority?

Julie Otsuka: I do think I'm a sort of suspicious person. Yeah, I think so. In general I'm just wary, very wary I think. I think I get that from my mother. I don't trust that things are going well. Even if things are going well, I'm not sure. I don't take anything for granted.

William Nakayama: Is the humor that was in your comic writing a way of expressing or venting anger?

Julie Otsuka: I think comedy very much comes out of anger, or sadness. Good comedy I think especially has a vein of sadness in it too, but humor is sort of an expression of anger.

I'll bet Andrew will have something to say about that part! :)

I'm very excited to hear what you all think of this novel. Which scenes were toughest for you to read and why? Can any of you guess which chapter is my favorite? Which parts do you like the most?

What fun!!

Yesterday's class was so much fun! I am still laughing about Daigo, Ellen, and Randy's pitch (and Shiho's reaction). What a great time. Thanks!

FYI

If you click here, you can see a Yuri Kochiyama t-shirt with a note from the designer.

Yuri Kochiyama

I've been wondering what you all think of Yuri Kochiyama so far. I'm glad you have the break to absorb her writing and think about it. Here are some links and whatnot for you to look over while you read Passing it On.

That's a preview for Freedom Fighters, a documentary about Yuri Kochiyama and Kiilu Nyasha.

You'll probably want to listen to Tavis Smiley's interview with Yuri Kochiyama.


You can learn more about her by visiting the following sites too.

Learn to Question
Kil Ja Kim's interview with Yuri Kochiyama
Revolutionary Worker interview with Yuri Kochiyama
Melissa Hung's article on Yuri Kochiyama
Yuri Kochiyama nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Yuri Kochiyama bio at Discover Nikkei

I've taught this book before. Shiori Yamazaki and another student, Jacob Boss, were so moved by Yuri's life and writings that they made her a birthday gift, which we sent her last spring. They also had some classmates write notes for Yuri. Maybe some of you might want to send her notes and messages too. Here are just a few of the many images I scanned from the scrapbook album Shiori and Jacob made for her before we mailed it. To view larger versions of any of the pages below, please click on the image.

Dear Informants,

Please tell me all about the "extra class" tonight and Daigo's introductory remarks!

Reduced Office Hours This Week

I won't be holding office hours on Thursday this week, so please come by on Wednesday between 1-2:30 if you need to see me before break. I'll hold additional office hours after the break, but you can always ask me questions via email if you have questions that require an immediate answer.