Show and Tell 2

Woohoo! Time to dig in and led your curiosity lead! If you’re unsure what topic to pick, I have a few suggestions for you below. Check out all the details.

Table of Contents

Details: what, when, where, how

WHEN: due by Mon, Feb. 27, 11.59pm

WHAT: showcase something you learned about Japanese history for the time period of the Nara and Heian periods, i.e. course content of weeks 4, 5, and 6

WHY: This gives you a chance to look back and consolidate what you learned so far. Perhaps you now see connections you did not spot initially (maybe as the result of browsing through your classmates’ posts?), or you have changed your opinions, or discovered a new source, or followed up on a question and want to share?

HOW:

  • Create a blog post, and share a link to the project. (If it’s a text-based Show and Tell, you can of course submit it as the blog post.)
  • Use the words “Show and Tell 2:” in the title of the post; you can further customize the title by adding a title that will draw the reader in.
  • Add the post to the category hst267.
  • Submit your link in the Canvas assignment
  • Most importantly: add a brief self-assessment in the submission comments:
    • What did you do well? What do you want to improve on in a rewrite, or in the next assignment?
      • The Rubric (found below) is a soulless check list, so in the submission comments you get a chance to wax lyrical about what you put into the project, and what you hope the reader gets out of it. If need be, I can help you get that out even more in a “rewrite & resubmit” (–> that is a real thing professional academics do, join the club!)
    • Suggest a grade out of 20 points.

Topics

Here’s a suggested list of topics, but please ping me a message on Discord or talk with me if you have a cool idea and are not sure if it will fit. I’ll do my best to help you make it work!

  • The Japanese people’s active engagement with and import of Chinese culture
  • Buddhism and its adaptation to the Japanese context
  • The growth of a native tradition of literature, with or against the influence of Chinese models
  • Court culture
  • Nara and Heian’s connections with the wider world (Shōsōin objects etc)
  • … (there is more! Let your curiosity guide you)

Suggestions for formats

  • An analytical blog post: you analyze a set of materials drawn from the course materials, looking for connections, changes, continuities within the section covered and (once we are beyond the first Show and Tell) across more than one section.
    • 800 words (±10%, excl. notes and bibliography)
    • It’s not a summary.
    • I encourage you to bring in additional scholarly materials. Otherwise you have to do a very deep analysis of what we covered in class/readings.
    • You bring a new insight through a focused look at a particular aspect of the course materials covered so far: this post is more than the sum of its parts.
    • OPTION: You can also do this as a voiced-over power point slide deck, voice-thread, or other video/spoken assignment.
  • An encyclopedia entry (as blog post): you explain in detail an aspect of Japanese history that you found fascinating, but we did not explore in great detail in class.
    • You add at least two sources that were not in the class readings yet. (Note: you can use the Optional Extras/background)
    • You introduce new information and new details on something connected to the history of early Japan.
  • A small digital humanities project, for instance:
    • A detailed timeline (TimelineJS)
    • A Storymap
    • A Twine-story
    • A Twitter-thread (series of tweets on a single topic)
    • An short audio podcast episode (± 5min, scripted)
    • A brief video documentary (± 2-3 min)
  • Current event in historical context: Japan occasionally pops up in our news cycle, and many of the topics have a much longer and complex historical background than journalists explain in their pieces. Use a current news topic as a jumping off point, and dive deeper into the historical connection.
    • 800 words (±10%, excl. notes and bibliography)
  • Primary source comparison
    • Use two or more primary sources and put them in dialogue, and show how a historian can use these to deepen our understanding of Japanese history. You can trace a genre or topic in time, or you can put two sources from the same time period in dialogue.
    • 800 words (± 10%;  excl. footnotes and bibliography)
    • You can use primary sources we covered in class, or explore the sources listed below –although this time they are longer format.
  • Examples of creative projects from previous courses/Show and Tell 1:
    • a talkshow with impersonations of historical figures
    • Google slide presentations with voice over or presenter notes
    • Prezi presentation
    • screenplay
    • art work, with guided notes explaining the connection to history.
  • Other ideas? Let me know! We can discuss what would work.

Rubric and self-assessment

How to assess your own work? Let’s agree on the following basics. Your work scores high when it displays characteristics that are the result of a resounding yes to the following statements:

  • I leaned into my curiosity to get to the bottom of a question I had, or a topic I wanted to learn more about – within the timeframe specified for this particular Show and Tell.
  • I made sure my contribution helps my fellow students understand a particular aspect of Japanese history better, and is more than a summary of content we covered in class.
  • I hit the word count (±10%, excl. notes and bibliography) if I follow a model suggested by Dr. D
    • OR
  • I consulted with Dr. D on the suitability and feasibility of a creative or digital project as an equivalent amount of work
  • I added footnotes in Chicago Notes and Bibliography style for all information I used, not only for paraphrases and quotations. [See the FAQ on this webpage, scroll down a bit]
  • I added a list of works consulted (aka a “bibliography) in Chicago Notes and Bibliography style
  • I checked the public-facing presentation of my work (blog post or other) looks professional, and is to the best of my ability free from factual errors, grammar and spelling mistakes.
  • I made sure to add hyperlinks and Alt Text where applicable.

Primary sources for deeper exploration:

  • Michitsuna’s Mother (Approximately 935-995). The Gossamer Years: Kagerō Nikki : The Diary of a Noblewoman of Heian Japan , translated by Edward Seidensticker. Unesco Collection of Representative Works. Japanese Series. Tokyo: C.E. Tuttle, 1973. (PDF)
    • What is it? Michitsuna’s Mother (Michitsuna no haha), as the author of this diary is known, was stuck in an unhappy marriage to her husband Fujiwara Kaneie. The love letters from the early part of the diary make way for her reflections on her husband’s succession of affairs with multiple mistresses, and she did not hide the burning jealousy.
  • Takasue’s Daughter (1008-?). As I Crossed the Bridge of Dreams: Recollections of a Woman in Eleventh-Century Japan. Translated by Ivan Morris. London: Penguin Classic, 1975. (PDF)
    • Takasue’s Daughter (Takasue no musume) was the niece of Michitsuna’s Mother, author of the Gossamer Years. The memoir is unusual for a Heian woman, because it documents the journey from her father’s post in eastern Japan to the capital, made when the author was about twelve; she also made many pilgrimages to shrines. Yet she spent a lot of time in the capital, and escaped in fantasy and dreams.
  • Any selection from the Tale of Genji of your choice, for a total of appr. 50 pages
    • You can access the excellent translation by Royall Tyler via the Internet Archive: Create a free account and borrow the book.
    • I have a copy or two of translations you can borrow.