You might remember that we covered this topic briefly in Unit 1. Now we return to learn more about K-Pop - a Korean music genre that evolved partly through inluence from American genres like hip-hop, rock, and American pop music - and its influence on social change. Click the first link to learn about how K-Pop went from being known only in Korea and surrounding countries to becoming a global phenomenon. Then choose one of the other links to learn more about how K-Pop fans ("K-Pop Stans") have been involved in political activism and anti-racism work in the US. 

• K-pop evolution: How K-pop became a global phenomenon

Activism (choose at least one):

• “Whiteout Wednesday” takeover (video, 5 min.): K-pop Stans SHUT DOWN 'Whiteout Wednesday'

• Political activism/anti-racism evolution of K-pop stans (article...K-pop stans have had real-world change before 2020): K-pop fans emerge as a powerful force in US protests

• “#WhiteLIvesMatter” hashtag takeover: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/white-lives-matter-k-pop-1009581/?fbclid=IwAR2qjjrDFMHOxHK0WhP_j_eB_bFNG4Z_3CvdCV2l1BnewO6uVeY1ckkpkis

This is another topic we visited earlier this semester, but you have another chance to dig into it if you'd like. 

Japan has a long history of video games and music, which blended with musical and technological advances coming from the US. Check out any of these episodes about the history of video game music in Japan. Each episode is very short and you don't need to watch them in order. Choose whichever seems interesting. It's amazing to me how so many women were involved in the Japanese video game industry so early on, at a time when in the US it was rare to see women as computer programmers and music composers. 

A country with a great deal of political upheaval that is often left out of American new coverage is Burma*. 

Here is a short clip showing how people in Burma are using music as a form of protest. 

*This country is currently called Myanmar. However, Prof. S used to work at a refugee center with a lot of refugees from this country, and every refugee she met from here called it Burma, so this is the term she uses too. 

Racism and inequity are nothing new in the US, and neither are acts of violence and oppression against Asian people. Kishi Bashi reminds us of this with an album in remembrance of the Japanese internment camps of the 1940s. Also check out the second article on the role music played in Japanese internment camps.

• Hear Kishi Bashi's New Song, 'Summer Of '42' : All Songs Considered 

• Music in Japanese American Concentration Camps

This book by history professor Krystyn R. Moon discusses the American vaudeville scene of late 1800s-early 1900s and American "Orientalism," described by scholar Edward Said as "a western style of dominating, restructuring, and having authority over" the non-Western world. As Moon writes, "By the end of the eighteenth century, many European and American writers...began systemically to marginalize non-Western traditions" (5). Thus the development of "yellowface," a term to describe white American actors' portrayal of Asians during the twentieth century (similar to blackface minstrelsy of the 1800s). This stereotype was then "robbed of its power" by performers of Asian descent.

The Google book linked here doesn't include access to the entire book, but read the introduction (which should be available to preview) to get a good sense of yellowface and all the layers of racial representation and identity wrapped up in 20th century American vaudeville. If for some reason the intro. doesn't show up for you (I never know when Google will change what pages show up in a book preview), read the book description and skim a chapter that you can access. 

Once again, those of you with kids (or without) are welcome to use this map of lessons from Smithsonian Folkways to learn about music in other countries through lesson plans designed for kids. This week, focus on Asian countries. For all you future teachers out there, this website could be a great resource if you ever need to plan a lesson on anything from another country.