Episode 433 - The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 1
Added 2022-04-08 23:19:08 +0000 UTCSo, the genesis of this particular episode is a bit of an odd one and I wanted to share it with you all. In part, of course, I do simply love Sakamoto Ryoma; as I mentioned on this episode, I do associate him very much with my first trip to Japan and my time in Shikoku. Any excuse to spend some time on him is worth it to me; and seriously, how can you not love him after that "well, I get the general idea" story?
But the other reason I did these episodes is professional! In my teaching, I make occasional use of a rather unusual curricular structure called Reacting to the Past, pioneered at Barnard University. It's a very cool approach to history that involves teaching through games and simulations, and I've seen how effective it is at getting kids very invested in thinking about the past and relating to it. So, after working with this system for several years, I decided to take a go at making my own version of it--and thought that Tosa during Sakamoto's time would make for a great setting. After all, there's such a fascinating series of questions to work through in relation to the period! The first step to getting the new setting together is, of course, research--and so I decided to reread Dr. Jansen's book on Sakamoto, since it's still the best work on Tosa domain during the 1860s out there. And hey, I figured, why not get a good podcast series out of it in the bargain?
Anyway, over the next few weeks I'll talk more about how I shaped the narratives for these episodes. For now, enjoy!
