Category: Discussion Board 5

This class was necessary for me to graduate. Also, it is writing-intensive class, which is very difficult and requires a lot of essay writing. At first, I thought it would be a very difficult class, but the more I listened to the class, the more interesting it was and the more interesting it was to get to know history. Our professor provided us with a lot of materials and articles, and because of them, this class, which learns Asian American history as an Asian, was a meaningful class.

I really like the professor for this class, she is very patient and considerate. When I forgot to do the discussion board questions, she sent me an email to remind me. Also when I submitted the assignment late, she still gave me the chance to make it up, I appreciate it. I always think if this class isn’t an online course, it will gonna be awesome, I will have more chances to talk to the professor and my classmate, I mean most likely I will make some friends. I really don’t like distance learning, I don’t even see some people’s faces. You know, some people never turn their cameras on for the whole semester, it really just gives you the feeling that person never exists.

I don’t know which song should I recommend, I rarely listen to English songs. But I usually listen to some songs that can inspire me to walk further, give me positive energy.

I love how the professor and everyone is supportive of each other in the class especially in these difficult times with the pandemic and everything that is going on today. I do not think any change is needed unless if anyone else thinks so but overall it is a good class. A song I would like to add to the class playlist is “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd because it is an upbeat and positive song that would fit the atmosphere.

I think this class has exceeded my expectations thus far. It is definitely much more comprehensive, inclusive, and intensive than I originally anticipated, none of which are bad things. I really appreciate Professor Munshi’s level of organization and communication. Her openness toward collective growth and constructive criticism sets a great standard for students and other teachers. I’ve had some difficulty with OpenLab (the discussion boards were a little funky for me at first) and originally preferred BlackBoard over it. However, it’s about the same platform and I think I’m adjusted now. This mostly makes curious as to why OpenLab was chosen, since the two platforms seem somewhat the same on the surface level (maybe the community aspect?) except for the fact that BlackBoard allows for grading and submissions with deadlines as well. Either way, I’m enjoying the class and think the depth of organization and materials make for a really eye opening experience! 

I am not sure I have a change in mind! Some songs that may be applicable to Asian-American history are some songs by the Blue Scholars. While they don’t speak constantly on Asian-American history and issues, their lead voice is a Filipino man, speaking about common issues facing POC and the Filipino community. A rap duo native to Seattle, popular in the 2000’s, the Blue Scholars were more of an underground group, not aiming for widespread popularity but rather to spread a message. The duo is composed of an Iranian musician who creates beats and a Filipino rapper who works on their lyrics. Their song “50 Thousand Deep” recounts the events of the 1999 Seattle Protests, a huge gathering which turned violent against police when protesting a trade agreement. It is a song echoing the protests, speaking of police brutality, globalization, wealth inequality, and racial inequality. 

Verses such as:

“But the body rock stopped, probably got caught by the cops

Nearby, somebody got shot

But parties don’t stop in the south

So take your shoes off when you come into my house

[Verse 2]

I had to duck out cause I knew I stuck out in the crowd

After many years growin’ up brown in this town”

And 

“The body rock stopped, probably got caught by the cops
Nearby, somebody got shot

But parties don’t stop and the parties don’t care

It’s a stick-up, it’s why we got our hands in the air

Still demanding a share, refrigerators bare
Cause they wanna see trade get free and not fair”

Another of their songs, titled “Back Home” focuses on the injustices of war, wealth inequality, and race. Examples of these themes include:

“Had a lot of good brothers either my age or younger

Who copped the 1st album when it dropped now gone under

And they say progress but the fact is

Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy is lookin’ like the street we named after him”

“So next time you see recruiters in your school or your crib

Tell ’em thank you for the offer but you’d rather you lived

We got more than just our bodies to offer

So fuck a coffin wrapped in red, white, and blue, withdraw passed due

We disgusted with the fact we pay taxes to build tanks

Still dropping one twomp and a half to fill tanks

Got a china-mans chance to fill banks like Phil Banks”

This protest against the violence of war and it’s predatory tactics upon lower income communities is applicable to Asian American history as Geo, Blue Scholars’ lyricist, raps about Filipino people pushed into American issues of war. Asian Americans are also overlooked when addressing inequality due to the model minority status. 

I wonder if there is also a song documenting the 1992 LA Riots as it was a huge event in recent Asian-American history, speaking prominently about a lot of racial tensions between Asian-Americans and Black Americans and the influence of the larger white society and police for further worsening it. Rodney King, Latasha Harlins, and many other people suffered immensely as a result of police brutality and heightened racial tensions. I think this event is extremely historically important to Asian American history because of the racial dynamics presented, which can lead to a lot of conversation about why relationships between Black Americans and Asian Americans are often so strained. It was truly a tragedy with much unnecessary suffering on both sides.

In this class, there are many things that are interesting to learn, such as how Asian Americans come to South America and other parts of the world and settling down and live. Also, this class is a very engaging class where it’s on different topics that no one talks about. One thing that I would like to change is doing classwork on time and planning out every week using my free time.

Hello everyone! Hopefully we are all doing good in our academic and personal lives. I honestly like and enjoy this class. It’s a little bit sad that we have to do distance learning because of the current situation but this class has made me feel I am doing an in-person class. I really appreciate our Professor’s hard work and effort to help us better understand our course materials. The documentaries, readings, discussion board posts and discussion during our zoom class has helped me to expand my knowledge about Asian American History. I am also delighted by the engaging nature of my peers. In my opinion, I would not like to change anything about our class. Also, I think our materials are beautifully organised through the BMCC open lab. We are notified every time whenever someone posts or Prof makes an announcement. As a result, I can keep track of the coming assignments and the due dates. Lastly, I can’t actually think of a song that would be engaging to our class.

This is definitely a class I look forward to. It’s fun and very engaging . I have already learned so much from the course, the professor, and my classmates. It would be great if open lab was a little easier to navigate, since I have to click on about three different tabs to get to the discussion board.

One song I would add to the class playlist is Prayer of The Refugee by Rise Against. The reason I think this song would be appropriate is because it’s about an immigrant parent and family who come to America for a better life only to face discrimination, the family suffering just like in their homeland where they were also being exploited. This song came into my head a lot while reading the materials. In the video we see examples of how capitalism and colonialism exploit poorer countries, where big companies drop huge factories that pay locals next to nothing and drain the country of resources, leaving them dependent on the American economy. Another concept that came to mind while analyzing the song and video was that by conducting business through this method, major American companies and politicians rely on destabilizing local governments; America never stopped colonizing other countries.

I think completing the assignments and showing up on time to Zoom is going well. I would like to changed maybe having more modern videos about Asian Americans. More Asian American movies begin shown as well as more documentaries about them in other settings of the world, even though this class is supposed to be about Asian Americans in America. A song I would add would be Twice – Fancy, the reason is because the group is a K-pop girl group that has members from three  different countries and also the song is catchy.

Hello, everything is going well in this class. I feel relax in this class and it nice to see everyone sharing ideas and having discussion unlike my other class. I am learning more about Asian history each class. Overall, I am enjoying this class. There is nothing in my mind that I would like to change. I don’t know any song fit for this class. Thank you Professor Soniya.

 

I feel like the class is going well, it is easy, I am learning a lot about Asian culture and the experiences asian people have gone through over the years. there isn’t anything I can think of seeing change and I don’t have any song recommendations