Course Highlight: Digital Storytelling of Post/Modern China
In this new series, Cultural Studies major Chenoa Baker ’21 highlights some of the most unique classes at Chatham. In Fall 2020, she took Digital Storytelling of Post/Modern China. This course focused on the cultural history of China from the Qing Dynasty to today. The course culminates in a Digital Storytelling project in which students choose a subject to research. History major Riley Miranda Shea-Wood ’22 and international studies major Ava Meyers ’22 share their project experience with us.
What is Digital Storytelling of Post/Modern China?
Image courtesy of Ava Meyer’s blog that was made for the Digital Storytelling Project. This shows the homepage of the blog.
The course description for Digital Storytelling in Post/Modern China describes the class as “an examination of Chinese cultural history from early 1900s to early 2000s, via literature and film, with training in digital storytelling techniques. Discussion of this dramatic national narrative framed by political and aesthetic considerations. Our interpretation and transmission of these narratives framed also by ethics and efficacy.” This class touches on many of Chatham’s values, such as community engagement, global citizenship and social justice.
How do Students utilize the Digital Storytelling Project to Engage With Chatham Values?
Miranda Shea-Wood’s Digital Storytelling project focused on the Shanghailanders, with support from the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. Shanghailanders are a group of Ashkenazi Jewish people that fled the Holocaust by seeking refuge in Shanghai and stayed until the creation of Israel in 1948. Miranda felt that the class and digital storytelling project impacted her: “ I feel like I learn a lot better by doing my own research and delving into topics that specifically interest me. The fact that I was able to take on a project not covered in this class or any class in undergrad, it really opened up a lot of new horizons and research interests that will stick with me for the rest of my life.” She adds, “China is important to world history and not just modern history. I don’t think I really understood how much they are involved [in world history] because the American public school system does not talk about non-Western countries as much.”
Image courtesy of Ava Meyer’s blog that was made for the Digital Storytelling Project. This shows each section of Ava’s project.
Ava Meyers created a blog that compared and contrasted Americanized versions of Mulan to the original Chinese ballad. She found that there were many inconsistencies between Western and Chinese versions of the story. Therefore, through this project, she dispelled one-dimensional narratives that have been told about China. This emphasizes the social justice aspect of the class because it gets students involved in research that creates a more holistic story of China. “Learning about a different part of the world requires us to step out of our own box to get a feel for what others may be thinking or coming from,” Ava says.
You Should Take This Course If…
Students should take the course if they love niche histories. This course embodies Chatham’s value of engagement because it develops empathy. It centers storytelling in a way that students are exposed to marginal narratives and dominant narratives in search of a more complete picture of China.
