AMST 212 – Contemporary American Global Issues
Spring 2010
“The United States in the Pacific Basin”
Course Syllabus
Miguel Llora, MA

Instructor: Miguel Llora, Department of American Studies
Office: Moore Hall 302
E-mail: llora@hawaii.edu
Office Hours: TTH from 3:00 pm to 4:30pm – I am also available by appointment

Course Description: This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce the student to the diverse cultures, histories, societies, and sub-regions that comprise the Pacific Basin. During the course of the semester students will also examine contemporary issues, such as economic relations, migration and trafficking, the emergence of regional institutions, as well as the impact of America on globalization, democratization, transnationalism, and the environment in the Pacific Basin. The starting point for our enquiry is a survey of the Pacific Basin from the ‘Age of Discovery’ to the present, focusing on the geography, history, cultures and societies of the region. Given the sheer scale and diversity of the Pacific region and its peoples, students will analyze the stages in the structuring of the ‘idea’ of a Pacific region over historical time. In the process, special emphasis will be on “human activities” in and around the Pacific as the principal actors that have continuously formed and transformed both the region itself and the ‘idea’ of a Pacific Basin. The Pacific has been referred to variously as a “Spanish Lake,” an “ EnglishLake,” even a “ Russian Lake,” referring to the early influence of Spanish, English and Russian explorers and entrepreneurs in the region. Most recently, during the period immediately following the Pacific War, it was referred to as an “ American Lake.” An important aim of the course is for students to identify and analyze competing interests in the region, their impact on peoples living in and around the Pacific, and the resulting cultural, political, and economic transformations that have taken place.

Goals and Objectives :
This course is organized around a number of class specific student learning outcomes (SLO):
1. To analyze the role of imperialism and colonialism in the formation of the concept ideas of the Pacific Basin;
2. To develop a critical awareness of the problematic nature of the “ Pacific Basin”
3. To develop an understanding of the diversity that characterizes this part of the world;
4. To develop oral and written skills through the practices of presentation and argumentation;
5. To develop fundamental research and organizational skills;
6. To gain an awareness of the extent to which issues of history and historical memory continue to inform the political economy of the Pacific Basin

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO): Moreover, the Department of American Studies has established SLOs for undergraduates in the program. The department’s goal is to ensure undergraduates in AMST courses are able to reach these outcomes through courses such as this. The department’s SLOs are:

1. Substantial knowledge of American history, society, and culture, as well as a basic appreciation of different scholarly approaches to American Studies.
2. Critical thinking skills necessary to analyze a variety of cultural artifacts (literature, primary documents, film, music, etc.), as well as historical and present-day sociopolitical issues.
3. Competence in scholarly writing and oral communication.
4. Basic research skills, including advanced research skills in one area of specialization (majors only).

This course is designed to contribute to these SLOs through a critical analysis of primary documents, films, and monographs on a variety of topics that engage contemporary American issues as they relate to the rest of the world. As it is also a Writing Intensive (W) course, it will contribute to the University of Hawaii’s SLOs for written communication.

Course Requirements: Regular attendance – You must come to class on time and prepared to discuss the reading(s) assigned for that day. Only illness will be accepted as an excuse for absence. In case of illness, please submit a note from a doctor or a nurse. KOKUA: Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact on campus the KOKUA Program at (808) 956-7511 located at the Student Services Centeron the ground floor, Room 013 to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.

Note on Academic Integrity: This course will deal with controversial issues, and over the course of the semester, we will find that many of us hold different views. This should not stop you from fully expressing your opinions and even challenge your peers. However, please remain respectful of others’ viewpoints and avoid mixing intellectual with personal attacks. All of your writing must be your own. Be sure to cite where appropriate the work of others. For an explanation of what constitutes plagiarism, please refer to the section on academic integrity in the UH Manoa catalog (http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/about-uh/campus-policies1.htm). If you have questions concerning citations and other issues in your writing, please contact me by email at any time.

Assessments:
1. 1 final paper (3 to 5 pages, total 40%)
2. 5 reaction papers (2 to 3 pages each, total 30%)
3. Map Exercise (5%)
4. What You Learned Exercise (5%)
5. Discussion/Participation and Attendance (20%)*
*The 20% "Discussion/Participation and Attendance" is broken down to include: 10% Attendance, 5% summary/presentation on a meeting/topic, and 5% one page write-up of your summary/presentation.
6. Class attendance: If you miss four classes, you will automatically receive a grade of D. If you miss five classes, you will automatically receive a grade of F.

Written Assignments: All papers must be typewritten or word-processed, carefully spell-checked and proofread, and free of grammatical, syntactical, or typographical errors. Papers containing an inordinate number of such errors will be returned un-read and penalized for lateness (5%). Please ensure that you back up all files; ‘I lost the file, or the cat ate my paper’, do not justify failure to complete written assignments on time. The first Reaction Paper may be re-written at the student’s discretion. If you make use of a course text, or texts, be sure to cite all sources that you use (in footnotes or in parenthesis within the text). You need not include a bibliography with your essay unless you use sources that are not part of the course readings.

1/12/2010: Course Introduction
1/14/2010: Reading : Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, Chapter 3 (pp. 44-63) and Film: Guns, Germs and Steel

1/19/2010: Reading : Calloway, New Worlds for All, Chapters 1 (pp. 8-23)
1/21/2010: Film: The Great Inca Rebellion (or New World)

Suggested: Buffington and Caimari, Keen's Latin American Civilization, Chapters 1 and 2

Suggested: Rodriguez O., Jaime E. “The Emancipation of America.” American Historical Review 105, no.1 (2000): 131-152.

2/02/2010: Reading: Lindstrom, “Images of Islanders in Pacific War Photographs”
2/04/2010: Film:The Mission (or History of Micronesia)

2/09/2010: Reading: Cooper, They Came to Japan (pp. 53-66, 189-199, and 229-243)
2/11/2010: Film: Black Robe (or 1421 - The Year China Discovered America)

2/16/2010: Reading : Chan, Asian Americans: An Interpretive History, Chapter 1 (pp. 25-42)
2/18/2010: Film: Picture Bride (or Mabuhay to Aloha) (DVD in Personal Collection)

Suggested: Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore, Chapter 4 (pp. 132-176)

3/02/2010: Reading : Dower, War without Mercy, Chapters 3 (pp. 33-73)
3/04/2010: Film: Why We Fight (or The Cheat) (DVD in Personal Collection)

3/09/2010: Reading : Dower, Embracing Defeat, Chapters 9 (pp. 277-301)
3/11/2010: Film: Atomic Café (or Hell in the Pacific)

3/16/2010: Reading: Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, “The Looting of Asia” Chapter 13 (pp. 332-354).
3/18/2010: Film: The Ascent of Money (or The Corporation)

Suggested: Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents, Chapter 4 (pp. 89-132).

4/06/2010: Reading : Cumings, The Origins of the Korean War, Preface (pp. xix-xxxi) and Chapter 1 (pp. 3-38)
4/08/2010 : Film: Joint Security Area (JSA) (or Tae Guk Gi – The Brotherhood of War, or Shiri)

	1999 - Shiri In 1999, Shiri drew an eestimated 6.2 million admissions nationwide. Also, first year that a local film outsold an import "The Mummy" and outsold the 1998 blockbuster Titanic.
	2000 - Joint Security Area In 2000, JJoint Security Area drew an estimated 5.8 million admissions nationwide.
	2004 - Taegukgi Being the director off a watershed hit like Shiri (1999) can give you some strong advantages when making your next film. It gives you the ability to attract top-name actors and crew. It becomes much easier to raise large sums of money from investors. Park Chan-wook (JSA) and Kwak Kyung-taek (Friend) chose to shoot smaller, more personal works after their record-breaking hits, but Kang Je-gyu took full advantage of his position and aimed for the stars. Taegukgi, which premiered close to five years after Shiri, ranks as the most expensive Korean film ever at $12.8 million.

4/20/2010: Reading: Castles and Miller (eds.) The Age of Migration, Chapter 6, (pp. 141-161)
4/22/2010: Film: Wal-Mart, the High Cost of Low Price or (Mojados – Through the Night)

What You Learned Exercise:
Discuss what you learned from the class discussions, videos, and lectures.
Has this class changed or confirmed your opinion/understanding of America's role in the Pacific Basin?
How?

American Studies gave me a whole new realm of intellect that I had not acquired prior to this semester. I am more knowledgeable about the current issues especially in the Pacific basin. I have also observed that American Studies is a field full of passionate intellectuals who admire the works of colleagues, yet they are not afraid to argue their points of view.

Before stepping foot inside this class, I thought I had a great understanding of American history. As it turns out, there was a large puzzle piece missing. This puzzle piece is the Pacific Basin, for which my knowledge was very little. I did not understand much about the Asian Pacific Rim and certainly did not realize how connected to the United States it was and very much still are. The Pacific Rim is a place in which the United States has used to further their empire towards the ultimate goal of China.

Before taking this class I had no intentions of becoming interested in the global issues that we are surrounded by. I honestly just took this class to fulfill a lower level writing intensive credit. But as the class went on throughout the semester I have become more aware of the issues America faces with the Pacific Basin countries and I also have learned more about the history of colonialism, nationalism, and globalization, something I was totally unaware of.

Critical thought is something that will be continuously learned, but in the case of this class, it helped to see how many narratives could come from one event or story.

I did enjoy the discussions and the questions that were raised. They were points and problems that I had not thought about before, nor was I given the chance to explore the thoughts further than a surface level. I enjoyed having to think critically, and not been spoon-fed answers to regurgitate onto paper later.

I have learned much from the class discussions, videos and lectures. This class has changed my understanding of America's role in the Pacific Basin because I was able to read accounts of history from more than America's perspective. From this I was able to learn a basic ugly truth about America's motives in the Pacific Basin: America goes into other countries with the goals of taking control of the land and people and making the biggest profit off of it. This is a sad and unfortunate truth but at least I know it now.

I learned that the United States has been a part of many important events in the Pacific Basin, but very few that I admire. If nothing else, I have learned that I need to be aware of current events because I can participate in the processes that might prevent the past from repeating itself.

I think that much of what I have learned was details about events that I already knew about. I got a lot more detail about socio-political structures/moves than most of my other history classes. It was more than "dates and dead people". The class discussed the much more important question of why these events occurred, and in the way that they did.

I would definitely say that my view of America's role on the Pacific has changed. I see America as more guilty because before I thought the Japanese were just crazy kamikazes who randomly attacked Pearl Harbor. But now I know there was a cause, which was very interesting. But generally, it seems that in most of the wars that America has entered into, they are just simply greedy and fighting to just get resources out of it.

I've always been aware and a little disgusted with America's colonialism practices but never have I known the extent of the techniques, reasoning, effects of or the consequences of these actions.

If there is anything that I have learned from this class it is that ignorance is bliss and the more you learn, the less you actually know. Throughout this semester I have gained a deeper insight into the evolution of globalization, starting with the Imperialist movement of the Spanish Conquistadors, to the colonization of the America's, to Sentimental Imperialism of Asia, Transnational Migration and ending with Globalization. However, as I learned more about America's influential role in the Pacific Basin, the more I don't know about America's influential role in other parts of the world and how that influence has affected those countries.

It has been in this semester that the eye of the orient has emerged into my thoughts. The orient is the lens through which a group of people view others that are different from them. As it turns out, the orient has been around for a very long time, even corresponding with Roman times. The most important lesson learned this semester is the orient, which has been used to manipulate people into hostile and friendly takeovers. It is also used a tool to group people into hegemonies, that in turn can create stereotypes eventually causing racial tensions. Uses of racial tensions are like a divide and conquer method to keep a social hierarchy much alive when the masses throughout history have learned about equality.

It is hard to form an opinion about America's role in the Pacific Basin but one thing that I understand, was that in some ways America's economy, society, and role in the world does not belong to either the European nations or the Asian nations.

On a personal note, one of the things this class has made me do is to listen, and be more open to other people's thoughts, ideas, opinions, and perspectives.

One of the things I have appreciated about the several American Studies courses I have taken here at UH Manoa is that it allowed me to look at history from a perspective I previously have not been introduced to. At the elementary, middle and high school levels, we are taught history from a single, one-dimensional perspective. I have added many new perspectives on history, although perhaps the class has not fully enlightened me on America's role in the Pacific Basin. I did gain a sense of how America has played its role in the migrant labor industry. But I truly feel I gained more "useful" knowledge in other areas the course touched on, mainly, the way history is traditionally looked at, and how a different perspective can change the way we look at the history of other countries and the issues that are derived from it.

One topic that was completely new to me was the Philippine-American War. Not to be insensitive, but I was not aware that the Philippine War of Independence existed. It is kind of surprising that this topic was not discussed or integrated into the history classes of the schools of Hawaii, since there is a big Filipino community here. However, I suppose the public schools are trying to avoid making rebels and anarchists, so the schools do not teach the younger generation about the deceitfulness and the aggression of the American government. Thus, this class was completely a learning experience because it not only refreshed my memory with history/taught me new history, but it helped me interpret history and gave me new perspectives on American history.

Over the course of this semester, I have learned a great deal about the Pacific Basin and the major powers in the area. However, what stood out to me most was what I learned about American involvement in the area and more importantly, the reasoning behind it.

Over the course of this semester, my opinion did not change but it informed me how people were feeling about the day they were living. There was anguish and madness going on in the films (The Mission, Picture Bride, etc.) that we watched in class, which was not able to see from reading the history books from high school. The truth that majority of people believe would become the fact, but every country and people justifies them and it is hard to seek the fact. The reason America dominates the other countries and Americanize them is to verify America as the best nation with justice.

Overall this class has been beneficial to me in expanding my knowledge of America. Before this class I had no idea what the Pacific Basin was, let alone that it had a name. I didn't realize that Korea, Japan, or the Philippines had anything significant to do with American history outside of World War II. This class has definitely opened my eyes to not only their place in our history, but also our place in their history.

Perhaps the most important lesson is one that seems the most ironic. Today most people are apathetic to the world. They only care about what the world is to them. This makes it easy to sway the minds of the public because they feel no need to question the government that runs the country. For a "progressive" country (compared to say China) it's strange that more people do not question government policies. It is not enough to ask what the policy is but what it does and to understand why politicians want this policy sent through. America is one of the most influential countries (e.g. Fast food in foreign spaces) politically as well as socially. Is it possible that people only understand that "America is #1" without understanding the influence it has on others positively or negatively? People are far to wrapped up in US.

The class has changed my view of America's impact on the Pacific Basin. For example, the United States role in the Philippines and how they brought their education system to teach the Filipino children. The United States had good intentions when they announced that they were bringing teachers from the U.S. to teach the children American values. However, many of the Filipino kids had a hard time adjusting to school that was run by Americans. They would attend class, but would drop out of school. If I did not attend this class, I would have never thought that the U.S. had other intentions in the Philippines or other Pacific Basins countries besides being a good country. There is always something that the U.S. wants in return for their aid in a country. They are not going to say it in public but the U.S. is not giving aid money for being a generous country.

The class was laid back and often more than enjoyable, within this environment I was able to open up my mind and study some of my own preconceived judgments of other people cultures and where my ideals stand. I believe this class is prepared in such a way to make one become a better critical thinker, and strive to learn more about his or her own history.

The course introduced me to the diverse cultures in the region and helped me to examine the issues that interconnected them. There was a shifting pattern of conflict, national struggles for independence against colonial rule, globalization and transnational migration. America had a huge impact on democratization in the region. When Japan opened its doors to outside influences and trade, it went through a period of social and economic change.

The economy plays such an important role in terms of global power and domination. Despite the economic struggles that China faced in the past, they are now one of the leading contenders as the most powerful nation in the world. Through this class I learned that it is in China's best interest that the United States' economy does not crumble, because of all the money that we currently owe China. That concept had never registered in my mind.

The information from lectures and videos definitely provided more details to confirm what I believed about America's involvement in the Pacific Basin. I already knew before this class of the Philippine-American war. But this class provided the post war relationship between America and the Philippines. The readings really illustrated the actions and opinions of the Thomasites and the Filipinos' reactions. Personally, I was glad to hear that the general population of the Philippines back then resisted complete "benevolent assimilation" and always tried to vie for their own government.

The learning methods combining the use of readings, discussions, and films were really helpful to improve my understanding of American History. Each method provided a different approach to learning the content of the course. It was my first time taking an American History course and I was very impressed.

The one area that I learned a lot was the Asian Financial Crisis. I found the chapter from Naomi Klein's, Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism a very interesting and insightful reading. Before this class, I did not read as to the causes of the Asian Financial Crisis. I found the idea behind the IMF bailout the Asian countries as something that was done in the best interest of the West instead of helping out the Asian countries. For example, many of the western businesses bought businesses for cheap in Asia during the financial crisis. Investment bankers saw this as a buying bonanza where they would be able to buy banks for pennies on the dollar. Even though the governments in Asia complied with the demands of the IMF, this only caused more havoc for the countries. Borrowing costs increased dramatically and the emotional toll on the citizens in the countries were noticeable. People in South Korea committed suicide due to the emotional stresses from the financial crisis. Basically, the IMF took advantage of the situation by imposing controls on their Asian counterparts. The IMF was in a win-win situation because they would be able to enforce their own laws on the governments in Asia or companies like GE would be able to buy businesses in Asia for very cheap.

The role of the media's influence in the Pacific Basin has been emblazoned into my mind. In previous classes media has been taught to be something to be wary of. However it was only taught in ways that would affect how a person would view them self (Women's Studies) or influences the choices we make (Advertising). The films helped to push this point further. Films like Why We Fight and Atomic Café depicted how the media could sway an entire nation's view of war.

This class first of all made me question why did I not remember more because History at first is impersonal. This class made it personal. It wasn't just learning about who conquered America, but how and to what extent the ideas that lead to that event still exist today. It wasn't about learning how America runs, but the affects of how America is run. While being a class about America, it expanded to encompass the world. You can't study history of any country without the rest of the world.

This class gave me an understanding of America in the past and present. For all the things that have happened in the past, which made Americans who we are today, whether I agree with it or not, but most importantly it has educated us for a better understanding of tomorrow. We may not be able to change the past, but we can sure change the future.

This class has expanded, rather than changed my understandings of America's role in the Pacific Basin.

This class has influenced me to see both sides of the coin of history in order to discover the truth that lies between.

This class is not at all what I thought it would be. It was a lot more fun and interesting first of all then I ever imagined. There is something about the way this class was built that really works well with everyone's learning styles. There is reading's for people that read and learn well from that, but there is also the video aspect in which people can see things visually.

This class is very ubiquitous and pervasive in my life and has helped me draw a lot of parallels to my (limited) outside political and philosophical knowledge, as well as my other classes I am enrolled in. I really appreciated being able to voice my opinion in the mellow and relaxed atmosphere.

This class was very different from my other classes because I learned from watching videos, reading articles and listening to lectures. I learned that United States has some faults even though textbooks in high school try to show us wining of World War II but not the defeat of the Vietnam War.

This course has taught me many new things about America's role in the Pacific Basin but it has also confirmed many things that I have been taught before. America has been a pivotal country throughout the world's history and has played a large part in the transformation of other nations. Before this class, I knew little details here and there about history, for example the Incan rebellion and the European take over of North America, but this class made me think deeper and want to find out the truth of the event and what the emotions of both parties were. This class made me realize there is more than just the American perspective and that we need to take in account the point of view of other nations.

This course made me examine myself as an American and the role the state has played through the Pacific basin. This course made me learn how to properly cite and use the information provided in class to gain a better perspective of how we have treated other states in the past. This class has made me question some of the reasons propaganda may have lead to me believing why some people within certain cultures appear so "different" to me.

This really opened my eyes to many events that I never thought about analytically. My father had brought up many of these topics while I was growing up but I never had a clear understanding of what he was talking about but now after taking this class it has become unambiguous and has also brought me to many of my own critical opinions. I have learned various things through out this class, but I think the most important thing I have learned is that there is always more than one perspective to every story.

This semester was interesting and informative. I loved learning about the issues and attempting to hold my own in some of the heated discussions that took place. I also enjoyed getting to know more of the influential thinkers in the field of American Studies.

What I learned throughout the semester is that how we interpret history depends on what kind of historical documents I come across, by whom those documents are published, and where I grow up and get educated.

While I might forget a lot of the facts that I learned about history in this class, but I doubt I'll forget the things mentioned above. As to how I came to these conclusions, they were due mostly to the lectures. They were exceptionally thought provoking and engaging.