Analyze Jin’s tracks “Chinese Beats” and “Learn Chinese” on his album Rest is History. Both tracks are posted on Collab. Read the lyrics:
"Chinese Beats"
"Learn Chinese"
Listen to the rhythm closely. Your analysis should focus on Jin’s expression of his ethnicity. Discuss what Oliver Wang says about Jin and “Learn Chinese.” Comment on Wang’s interpretation: you can support or challenge his claims by offering your own interpretation of Jin’s tracks.
Post your analysis on the class blog by 7pm, Tuesday March 24. And make sure that you read your peers' posts and comment whenever appropriate.
Showing posts with label assignment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assignment. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Wiki Assignment
Wikipedia search: Read and examine the following terms in Wikipedia.
Questions to consider:
- "African American music"
- "Latin American music"
- "Asian Americans"
- "Asian American history"
- "hyphenated American"
Questions to consider:
- How is the information organized?
- What's in the introduction of the wiki?
- What are the headings?
- Is there any media?
- How is this wiki page related to other relevant wiki pages?
- Are there any information 'gaps' on any of these wiki pages?
- Are these pages kept up-to-date?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Listenning response
By: Huong Pham
John Chinaman, according to Moon, is the Chinese version of Jim Crow or Zip Coon. A figure that in the eyes of Americans at the time personified the inferiority of an immigrant group. Chinaman had a different religion, ate different foods, and was not good at English. From this description of the Chinaman, people wrote songs that kept reminding people of the differences and denying any prospect of the Chinaman ever integrating with the American people. This is evident in the song, "John Chinaman, My Jo". The first two stanzas of the song speaks of how many Chinese immigrants came to America during the 1850s and 60s. The singer seems almost resentful that so many are coming which mirrors the attitude that some Americans believed that the only reason the Chinese were coming was to steal all the gold from the gold rush. The next stanza seems to be praise for the Chinese who have somewhat integrated into the American way of life but then all of the sudden in the last stanza, the singer warns the John to not abuse the freedoms that he has as if to say, "We may put up with you, but we can still put you out whenever we like because this is our country." I was lulled into a sense of ease when I first listened to the song but then was rudely awakened when I heard the last stanza as it is a clear warning to the Chinaman and juxtaposes the sweet melody with its harsh message.
In reading the lyrics to the Irish song, "John Anderson, My Jo", it seems much more hopeful and sends a message of, "We will get through this together." Like Chris mentioned, the Irish potato famine was happening when this song was written and many of the Irish were emigrating to America at the same time as the Chinese. They would have felt just as outcast and Americans were just as inclined to not want to lose their jobs to a different group of foreigners.
As for the performance of "The Geisha, Chin Chin Chinaman", I would say that Moon would most definitely call this a Yellowface performance. Like the use of the term "Chinaman" was similar to "Jim Crow", the term "yellowface" was reminiscent of the term "blackface". Yellowface became a way for performers to inscribe stereotypes of inferiority on the Chinese. As Moon says, the yellowface performers borrowed from "Ching a Ring Chaw" which lumped the Chinese into the lower class along with African Americans.
John Chinaman, according to Moon, is the Chinese version of Jim Crow or Zip Coon. A figure that in the eyes of Americans at the time personified the inferiority of an immigrant group. Chinaman had a different religion, ate different foods, and was not good at English. From this description of the Chinaman, people wrote songs that kept reminding people of the differences and denying any prospect of the Chinaman ever integrating with the American people. This is evident in the song, "John Chinaman, My Jo". The first two stanzas of the song speaks of how many Chinese immigrants came to America during the 1850s and 60s. The singer seems almost resentful that so many are coming which mirrors the attitude that some Americans believed that the only reason the Chinese were coming was to steal all the gold from the gold rush. The next stanza seems to be praise for the Chinese who have somewhat integrated into the American way of life but then all of the sudden in the last stanza, the singer warns the John to not abuse the freedoms that he has as if to say, "We may put up with you, but we can still put you out whenever we like because this is our country." I was lulled into a sense of ease when I first listened to the song but then was rudely awakened when I heard the last stanza as it is a clear warning to the Chinaman and juxtaposes the sweet melody with its harsh message.
In reading the lyrics to the Irish song, "John Anderson, My Jo", it seems much more hopeful and sends a message of, "We will get through this together." Like Chris mentioned, the Irish potato famine was happening when this song was written and many of the Irish were emigrating to America at the same time as the Chinese. They would have felt just as outcast and Americans were just as inclined to not want to lose their jobs to a different group of foreigners.
As for the performance of "The Geisha, Chin Chin Chinaman", I would say that Moon would most definitely call this a Yellowface performance. Like the use of the term "Chinaman" was similar to "Jim Crow", the term "yellowface" was reminiscent of the term "blackface". Yellowface became a way for performers to inscribe stereotypes of inferiority on the Chinese. As Moon says, the yellowface performers borrowed from "Ching a Ring Chaw" which lumped the Chinese into the lower class along with African Americans.
Listening to "Chinaman" Songs
All audio recordings are located in the Audio folder in Resources on the class Collab site. You can work in pairs if you wish.
“John Chinaman, My Jo”: The lyricist of “John Chinaman, My Jo” used the tune of an originally Scots-Irish song called “John Anderson, My Jo.” Listen to the recording at least once. Read both sets of lyrics, and compare/contrast them. Note: "Jo" refers to "sweetheart."
“John Chinaman, My Jo”: The lyricist of “John Chinaman, My Jo” used the tune of an originally Scots-Irish song called “John Anderson, My Jo.” Listen to the recording at least once. Read both sets of lyrics, and compare/contrast them. Note: "Jo" refers to "sweetheart."
- Who is “John Chinaman” according to Moon? How is "John Chinaman" portrayed in this song?
- The song appears in Conner’s Irish Song Book published in 1868. How is this historical context significant?
- Is this a yellowface performance? How would Moon interpret this vocal performance?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Presidential Inaugration Assignment
Instructions: Work in pairs. Both people have to do all the readings (pdf's and websites) and watch the Presidential Inauguration. You may do so in the presence of each other.
Read: Yang, Mina. “East Meets West” [posted on Collab]
Read: Yang, Jeff. “Could Obama be the first Asian American president?”
Explore: google search “Obama first Asian American president” and read 2 responses to Yang’s article. If you can’t find anything substantial, read these:
Due: 9pm Wednesday Jan 21. Post your response on this blog [http://musicinasianamerica.blogspot.com/] using Blogger.com.
Read: Yang, Mina. “East Meets West” [posted on Collab]
Read: Yang, Jeff. “Could Obama be the first Asian American president?”
Explore: google search “Obama first Asian American president” and read 2 responses to Yang’s article. If you can’t find anything substantial, read these:
- http://michellemalkin.com/2008/07/30/sf-chron-columnist-obamas-the-first-asian-american-president/
- http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/07/31/san-fran-chronicle-obama-will-be-first-asian-american-president
- http://www.asiapacificforum.org/downloads/audio/APF20080805_317_BarackObam.mp3
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96126355
- After your research, what is Obama's relation to Asian America?
- Who's present at the inauguration? Which groups of people do these individuals represent? How are race and ethnicity represented at the inauguration?
- Who represents Asian America? How does he/she do so? What does the presence of this API individual(s) reflect in terms of Obama's attitude and policy regarding race and ethnicity?
- What music is used at the inauguration ceremony? How does this music reflect or inflect Obama's view on racial relations?
Due: 9pm Wednesday Jan 21. Post your response on this blog [http://musicinasianamerica.blogspot.com/] using Blogger.com.
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