the comfort women
Main essay:
In this unit we have explored how history is not a simple collection of dead “facts” but rather a dynamic genre in which writers and readers attempt to create meaning
through narratives about the past. We have discovered that the actual past is inaccessible, except through the interpretation of historians—who construct their
versions of history through a strategic process of selection and omission. Many important aspects of culture often become lost as a result of this process of history-
making, and we must recover these overlooked narratives and articulate their relevance in respect to canonical narratives in order to enrich our understanding of
culture—the foundational collection of ideas that shapes our identities.
For this essay, you will assume the role of a contemporary historian and recover a lost history. You will select a subject (pre-1995) of your choice and trace how your
subject influences canonical historical events. Your essay should do the following:
1) Articulate a clear vision about how history intersects with culture
2) Pose an argument about why your hidden history is important
3) Engage with other historical narratives
4) Converse with other scholarly sources
5) Articulate why your argument is useful for understanding culture
You should integrate plenty of research into your essay, but your argument itself should be fresh and innovative.
You may find it useful to begin your project by questioning the process of history-making surrounding a canonical narrative and then identifying opportunities for
further exploration. Consider some of the following questions about your subject:
1) What is the canonical consensus about your subject?
a. What are some ways specific scholars have challenged this consensus?
b. Is there a debate between scholars? Where do you stand?
2) How does your subject intersect with other important historical contexts of its era?
3) Why has your subject been undervalued or misrepresented?
a. Consider specific audiences where appropriate.
4) How does your subject contribute to our understanding of culture? Why is it
important?
5) How has the process of history-making corrupted interpretations of your subject?
Remember that you should be strategic in your selection of which evidence to use to justify your new version of history. Be truthful in your presentation of “facts”
(evidence), but also be savvy in your narrative about how and why those facts justify the values and purpose of your history.
Students will choose a topic and write a well-researched, innovative essay about that topic. Students should seek to enter into existing scholarly discourses about the
topic and offer fresh insight. I recommend that students pursue topics that meet the following criteria:
1) Pick something that you feel comfortable researching
2) Make sure you can analyze multiple sides of the issue
3) Make sure that you will be able to say something innovative
I will assess students based upon the following criteria, listed in order of importance:
Strength of research and its integration into the essay
Do you introduce your sources well?
Does current research inform your own argument?
Yet are your thoughts distinct from the thoughts of your sources?
Do you offer innovative solutions to difficult problems?
Awareness of scholarly conversation
Have you identified the important figures in the field?
Do you anticipate counter-arguments that a reader might pose?
Do you show charity toward opposing positions?
Do you recognize how your sources relate to each other?
Specificity of thesis and key claims within the essay
Do you have a clearly defined thesis that poses an innovative argument?
Do you define key concepts in terms of your research (not dictionary)?
Do you provide an adequate logical defense of your positions?
Do you acknowledge the strengths and limitations of your argument?
Clever use of rhetoric for a specific audience
Do you select sources that your audience would admire?
Does your argument utilize savvy pacing and arrangement?
Are you able to articulate why the audience should care about your argument?
Do you write in a style that the audience would respect?
Structure, style, and grammar
Do you use correct MLA citation?
Do you avoid slang?
Do you use meaningful transitions between paragraphs?
Is your essay free from most grammatical and spelling errors?
I have already wrote 3 sources,
1. Rhoads, Murphey. Kristin, Stapleton. East Asia A New History: China and Japan: The Road to War
The article China and Japan: The Road to War was talking about the war of aggression against China. The war was waged by Japan. This chapter covered Chinese
nationalism, the Northern expedition, the Nanjing decade, failures and successes, the long march and the second united front, Shanghai: the model treaty port, Japan in
the 1920s:Taishao democracy and its fate, rise of the militarists, aggression in Manchuria, militarists in command, background of the “China Incident”. This chapter
almost covered what happened during the aggression war. The war began in 1937 and ended in 1948, it lasted about 8 years. In order to have more lands and power, Japan
chose China, a big country next to it, which had all the things that Japan desired.
This source is really useful for me because my topic is about the comfort women. The comfort women was miserable women that from China, Korea, even Japan that in order
to satisfy the Japanese’ soldiers self-desire during the aggression war that waged by Japan. The aggression war was one part of WWII. The reason why i am choosing the
article about the aggression war is because it is the beginning of the miserable life of the comfort women.
2. Maria,Henson. Comfort Woman: A Filipina’s Story of Prostitution and Slavery under the Japanese Military. Mar 28, 1999.
The article written by Maria was like her own diary that recorded her life of being a comfort woman. Maira wrote her tragedy in this book. She was one of the evidence
of what happened to those innocent women during WWII. Japanese army forced those women to become their sexual slaves and satisfy their own desires.In April, 1943,
Maria was only 15 years old, she was token by Japanese army and forced to become a comfort woman. She worked for Huk guerrilla. In her old life, she decided to tell
the others about her secret that was closed for about 50 years that related to the comfort women.
The reason why i am choosing this book is because this book is more like a memoir, the author Maria used first sight to explain what happened to the comfort women. She
told the others the secret that was unknown before. My topic is about the comfort women, i do need an article that can reveal the darkness of the comfort women.
3. Ellen, Knickneyer. San Francisco Unveils Memorial to WWII “Comfort Women” Sept 22, 2017
The news was published in Fox News. It was mainly about that Japan has not gone far enough in apologizing, and the statues memorializing those the Japanese army called
"comfort women" for their soldiers will keep going up. No more than a few dozen of the comfort women remain alive, said retired San Francisco Judge Lillian
Sing, who was a leader in the effort by California’s Korean, Chinese and Filipino communities to commission and put up the statue, in a park on the edge of San
Francisco’s Chinatown.
I chose this news because my topic is about the comfort women and this news is related to my topic. In this news, it talks about the current affair that Japan didn’t
admit the truth of the comfort women is sexual slaves. In this news, San Francisco set up a status in order to memorize the comfort women, that makes me feel like that
i can use this source in my own article as an evidence or an truth to support my idea that comfort women is the sexual slaves that Japan must admit their fault.
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