Fall 2011- WEEK 6 (11/6/11)
Guest Speaker: Carol Huang
Mentee Ming, mentor Rena, Mae and Carol during the second writing activity.
This week, we had a guest speaker Carol Huang. She is currently a Research Coordinator at the Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI). To learn more about the AAARI, click here.
Carol's workshop focused on the Past, Present and Future of Manhattan's Chinatown. During this session, Carol gave us an introduction of her background and what she is currently working on. Then, she talked about "language as a system to writing." The first activity she had the group do was write at least ten words that we would use to describe or remind us of Chinatown. Some words included: traditional, unique, stinky, community, park, family and food. After that, she discussed the "Sociological Imagination" which is how each of us view a specific area or our personal connections to the area, in this case, Chinatown. And, talked about the history of Chinatown including landmarks and where new immigrants from different areas of China lived in the past. The second "quick-write" we did was use the ten words to write at least ten sentences that gave more explanation of why we chose the words related to Chinatown. In groups, we helped each other organize our sentences so it told a story. The third part of Carol's workshop was focused on "Blog Essentials." The final activity we did was use the sentences to write a blog post about our personal identifications with Chinatown.
Then, Carol gave each person her "Chinatown Tour Book" which she has used when giving tours of Chinatown. The booklet provides images of important landmarks in Chinatown. They are: the Museum of Chinese in America (MoCA) (building designed by Maya Lin), the Red Egg Restaurant (serving Peru and Chinese fusion food), Columbus Park (with a Senior Center near by), Mott Street's old Chinese store, Doyer Street with the Chinatown Post Office, Confucius Plaza and the Confucius statue, and Chatham Square.
Then, Carol gave each person her "Chinatown Tour Book" which she has used when giving tours of Chinatown. The booklet provides images of important landmarks in Chinatown. They are: the Museum of Chinese in America (MoCA) (building designed by Maya Lin), the Red Egg Restaurant (serving Peru and Chinese fusion food), Columbus Park (with a Senior Center near by), Mott Street's old Chinese store, Doyer Street with the Chinatown Post Office, Confucius Plaza and the Confucius statue, and Chatham Square.
Afterwards, we had a brief question and answer session which included a question about Carol's opinion on the future of Chinatown. She stated that she is not sure but it will depend on the youth to diversify jobs and how affordable it will be for new immigrants to live in Chinatown. It will be up to the youth to make the positive changes needed to sustain Chinatown.
Thank you, Carol Huang, for your presentation. It was engaging and thought-provoking. And, it left the students thinking about their personal relationships and connections to Manhattan's Chinatown. You've inspired the students to take an active role in providing for the future of Chinatown and what they can do to improve it.
We are happy to have had your expertise this Sunday and would love to have you visit us again next time!
Assignment: 1. Based on what you wrote for Carol's third activity, type up what you wrote and send to: [email protected]
2. Continue to work on your second project and bring a draft of your projects to the next session.
2. Continue to work on your second project and bring a draft of your projects to the next session.