Thursday, January 18, 2007

HISTORY, MEMORY, AND FICTION

are all intertwined in the controversy surrounding So Far from the Bamboo Grove, a novel that depicts the travails of a Japanese family who fled Korea at the end of the Second World War. As well and fully chronicled in this post at The Marmot's Hole, many Koreans and Korean-Americans are protesting the book's use in some American middle schools. At stake are a number of issues including whether there is a single acceptable narrative of events, who gets to set the agenda, the role of schools and books in the shaping of historical memory and on and on. Worth a look.

5 comments:

Sayaka said...

The whole controversy seems to show that (historical) education is such an important political issue. I totally agree with Carter Eckert's review which emphasizes the 'balance' of presentation of historical facts. At the same time, it seems to me (almost more) important to teach the complexity of human experiences and avoid black-and-white historical view at the very early stage of education.

snowume said...

in response to Sayaka, I totally agree that it is better and important to teach 'the complexity of human experiences and avoid balck-and-white historical view'. As far as I know, however, students who have learned this book did not learn about the other side of story. given the fact that the book was desinged for literature, I wonder whether teachers have made reasonable comments on the issue. I believe that korean parents' movement to stop using this particular view brought a new perpective to students with a lack of knowledge.

snowume said...

It is interesting see how the press report the controversy in different two countries.
Yonhap News (KOrean press )
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20070119/670000000020070119170302E5.html

the Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/07/bamboo_lesson_plan_to_be_revised/

Sayaka said...

Yup, I agree with snowume. In the case of concern there lacked a right balance of information. And I also doubt that many American teachers had enough knowledge to complement the story.

Jaime said...

Here is a book that is suggested to counter the contentious So Far from the Bamboo Grove: The Year of Impossible Goodbyes. This is suggested as an alternative story of a Korean child coming of age under the Japanese Colonial period.