My History of East Asian Civilizations class is extraordinary; it doesn't require the memorization of an infinite number of dates, events or important persons, but instead it challenges me to re-evaluate the very way I think about history. I have come to realize that notions of progress, civilization, race and even continents are not as fundamental and natural as I once assumed, but are more likely historical constructs that served as ideological justification for Eurocentrism and colonialism among other -isms. More than any other course, this course on East Asian history has shown me that educational institutions can teach a person how to think rather than what to think. It has also revealed to me my own woeful state of ignorance; so much is happening and has happened in the world that I know nothing of, and even worse, haven't cared enough to find out. Moreover, I have discovered that what I thought I knew as fact may not even be that, tainted as it is by Eurocentric thought. If I remember nothing else from this semester, I will remember that we should not simply accept the past as it has been told to us, but must seek an understanding of it for ourselves, and that we should not be content to be taught, but must seek to learn.
Plug of the Day: pOnju: Home of the Kick@$$ Webcomics Exchange and two wonderfully drawn comics, "Piggyhunter" and "Chiga and Kaput."
