Chinese Studies Curriculum Integration at
Opportunities in Learning
Emily displaying a traditional Khampa Tibetan fleece
tunic, fox fur hat, sash, yak-hair slingshot, and goggles
used to protect eyes from snow-blindness. (These
artifacts were collected by Brad during his 1986-87
journey through Tibet, Chinese Turkestan, Inner
Mongolia and other regions of China.)
Max displaying a traditional Kazakh
camel fur hat and Mongolian sheepskin
jacket with sash.
Exploring theater while reading the course
text, Big Tiger and Christian: Their Adventures
in Mongolia, Max is dressed as the character
Greencoat.
In an effort to connect with his students, Brad Houk (left wearing the Kazakh hat)
decided to show something from his past: a slideshow of the journey that he made
collecting data for his master's thesis, while riding bicycles with Gerry Mowry (right),
along the Great Wall frontier between Beijing and Urumqi. Above, Gerry and Brad
are preparing to bivouac in the Gashun Gobi, Xinjiang Province (Chinese Turkestan),
November, 1986. They were also attempting to retrace the route taken by the main
characters in the rare book classic by German artist Fritz Muhlenweg, Big Tiger and
Christian: Their Adventures in Mongolia.
Big Tiger and Christian: Their Adventures in Mongolia, by Fritz Muhlenweg, is a rare and out-of-print book about the journey two boys take across what is today northern China (through Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Xinjiang). It is not only a journey that transforms the lives of its characters, but one that changed the life of the instructor (while in graduate school) upon reading the book. It is, indeed, a rare book. The Opportunities students taking World Cultures will start the year off reading Big Tiger, as they integrate Chinese literature, history, geography, art, and culture into the curriculum.
All photographs, drawings and prose by Brad Houk unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2008 by Brad Houk, All Rights Reserved
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