Virtual Field Trip 2: History
All VFT are required to be a minimum of 1.5 pages. They can be longer but if they are shorter I will dock you some points. The VFT is worth 25 possible points. It should be typed, double-spaced using standard margins and fonts (12 is best and Times New Roman or Arial). You should always have a topic sentence at the beginning and the first paragraph should be a summary of what the topic is about. Otherwise follow the specific instructions for each VFT. I grade the papers like an essay quiz so the more carefully you include what I ask for, the better your grade. Do not use other sites or sources than what I have given you here.
Make your paper in Microsoft Word or Works or some word processing program. If you are not using Word, then save your paper as Rich Text File, either on your Desktop or in a file you create for this course in My Documents or some such place. Click on Assignments in the Course Menu bar to the left and choose whatever unit you are doing, such as Unit 1 here. You will again see these instructions. Do not write the paper in the text box-----scroll down to the bottom and click on Add Attachment at the bottom of this page. When the page comes up click on Browse to find the file in your computer and click until it appears in the window. Be sure to then click on Add and then Continue to send the file.
Both of these websites are used to get you to critically think about romance, myth, legend, stereotypes, and idealization in history.
Option #1: Japanese Court Culture and The Tale of Genji. This story of a Japanese Prince named Genji (means the Shining One) is the oldest novel in the world, and the first also to portray characters psychologically and in terms of their relationships. There are many websites with the full translation of the novel, and also there are manga, anime and video games. Use the 3 below to write your paper. The first site is the most helpful because it has sections which explain the context of the court culture of 12th century Japan. Use the categories in bold to frame your paper but write in your own words. Use the lecture section on Heian Japan as well. The 3rd link, the video, is only 12 minutes long and will help you get into the story. The middle link, from the New Yorker magazine is a bit harder but you should find 3 points there which you can connect with the categories of the first site. No notes or bibliography are required since I am giving you the links. I will grade on how well you follow these instructions, including what I ask for. Your conclusion should be only a couple of sentences describing what you learned here.
https://coursewikis.fas.harvard.edu/aiu18/The_Tale_of_Genji
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-sensualist-books-buruma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYwJaO88mm4
Option 2: The Samurai: Myth and Reality and the example of the movie “The Last Samurai”
The samurai or feudal warrior class of Japan, rose to power as the power of the courtly elites began to wane. Use the first website below and my lecture to first describe what the samurai were and how and why they rose to power (rule of shoguns instead of court elites like in the Tale of Genji). The main part of your paper should be an explanation of how an idealized romantic stereotype of the samurai arose from what their actual reality was. Use concrete examples from the first website, which is the main one you should use. Then read the short 2 pages on the next website, which is about the myth, reality, stereotyping and so on of the samurai specifically in the movie “The Last Shogun”. Summarize what you learned about myth and reality from this article about the movie. Conclude with 2 sentences about what you think of this crafting, romanticizing and stereotyping of the image of the samurai. Do you prefer the myth and fantasy and movie version, or the reality?
https://thegoldeneggs.wordpress.com/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1202_031202_lastsamurai.html