Soph from the future (3/23/01)- original due date (2/25/01)… funny how times flies… anyways, let’s do this!
In the next couple of weeks- my catchphrase is going to be “Finish Strong”. I only have so much time left to catch myself up to speed and create a final portfolio I can be proud of. Looking back on this past semester, I feel like there’s a lot I need to do in order to get to the place I know I should be at… which is something I’ve been saying for a WHILE now. It feels like sometimes I spend more time saying I’m going to do something rather than actually doing it… funny how that works out. Despite this unfortunate character flaw, I’ve been doing the readings and participating in class (I’ve even been able to make some new friends!) However, when it comes to taking proper notes and preparing for my portfolio projects, I still have a lot of work to do. Instead of beating myself up over not putting the work in before, I’m going to shift gears and put the work in now. So… Let’s go!
First of all, how can I improve? I think rethinking how I tackle academic texts is the very first step. With a class that’s so centered around reading, I need to make sure I’m taking the proper time with not only the assigned material, but my own outside research. This starts with NOTE TAKING! The way I take notes is just… really bad. I take quotes by only highlighting the text (horrible, right?). What I really need to be doing is trying to restate the text, ask questions, and focus on making connections to other topics throughout this semester. As I’m writing this response- I’m holding myself to a challenge. I’m going to try to “think like a historian” on our next assigned reading. According to the course schedule that would be Charlotte Furth’s A Flourishing Yin: Gender in China’s Medical History. So, I’ll let you know how that goes in my next 5-15 report.
With that squared away, I now need to address the NEXT high priority thing on my To Do list… the portfolio project. After spending way too much time overthinking my thesis, I’ve decided to finally put my foot down and choose a topic. I’m going to look at how Chinese women, specifically historical figures, are depicted in Chinese Opera. I want to compare how these women are depicted in historical texts vs on stage, and what it means to tell these stories today. The readings that inspired this idea were “Mulan’s Legend and Legacy in the United States” by Lan Dong & “The Red Brush, Writing Women of Imperial China” by Wilt Idema and Beata Grant. My project will be in the format of a video report. This would include a script and finding texts/clips/photos/making my own graphics. My only question is… are there any recommended places to watch recordings of Chinese Operas? I was able to find more pirated recordings on youtube and facebook, but if there are any better places to check out, I’d be grateful for a shove in the right direction.
All that being said, what’s left to do now is the work. Here we go!
