Reference
Ron Sivillo
Grade 11 and 12 - Asian Studies
Grade 9 - MYP (IB) / Honors American Civics (Semester 1) and World Geography (Semester 2)
Upper St. Clair High School, (suburban) Pittsburgh PA
In Praise of Shadows, a book written in the 1920s, is a brief study of conflict; conflict between what the author, Junichiro Tanizaki, saw as the recipe for appreciating the nuanced, aesthetic beauty of life (essentially Asian) versus the practical, technologically-driven approach to experiencing life championed by the west.
Undoubtedly, this enlightening (pardon the pun) piece could be used in my Asian Studies class, which is at the junior and senior levels. In this class, we have ample time to digest and discuss the entire work. In fact, I could see the Tanziki piece as a strong introductory offering for the students. More specifically, one theme that I try to stress to my students is the need to see Asia through “Asian Eyes;” therefore, I could foresee using “In Praise of Shadows” as a way to get students to discard their lens through which they look at Asia (and most other places in the world) and instead consider Asia (maybe Japan in particular) through Tanizaki’s eyes. While this work can be rather tangential and even tedious at points, I believe the students enrolled in the Asian Studies class (who are essentially a “niche” of the rather homogeneous student body of my high school) come to the class open to the idea of putting on a lens that may be unfamiliar to them. Contrarily, the entire piece likely would not be feasible in my 9th grade Honors World Geography course; this is mainly because of the time constraints of the course (we “cover” the entire world in one semester). However, excerpts from the piece could be used to introduce students to Asia and Japan, especially ones which are accessible and a bit, well, fun. In particular, I believe the discussions of food and, um, toilets would be most relevant to students. Certainly, these are both parts of daily living for students and they likely never would have considered that going to the toilet could be a time to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of life and gain physiological delight. Further, the discussion of food and the thoughtfulness by which Japanese food is presented and viewed could be juxtaposed with the western ideal of food for taste and consumption.
So in terms of recommending this book, a definitive “yes” is in order. For me, though, the recommendation is based on what I see as a need for students to gain an appreciation of the nuances of each culture’s aesthetic feel for the world around them (or lack thereof). In fact, I would emphasize that I do not see utilization of “In Praise of Shadows” as a basis for choosing which approach is superior. Instead, I ultimately desire that my students walk away from the dialogue over Tanziki’s work with a greater awareness that this place “in the shadows” is truly a place worth exploring.
