Date:Thu, 11 May 1995 09:54:14 -0500
From: Daniel Segal and Lora Wildenthal, Pitzer College
dsegal@bernard.pitzer.edu
lwilden@bernard.pitzer.edu

A number of us have shared syllabi through H-WORLD, but as we approach the end of the semester our notions of what we want to teach students are being encapsulated in a different genre: "the final." This genre is perhaps an interesting way to get at different notions of formulating world history courses, and examples of the genre are perhaps an intersting resource to share. In any event, here is the final exam we gave to our students this morning for a one semster modern world history course ("The World Since 1492"). The students received a study guide some two weeks ago with a larger set of questions; the final is drawn from their study guide.

I. Map Question

Using the attached map, identify the letter corresponding to the following geographic sites (1 point each):

1. Hiroshima
2. Tikopia
3. Cuba
4. Martinique
5. Malacca
6. Moluccas Islands
7. Kuwait
8. Namibia
9. Timbuktu
10. New Guinea

II. Key Terms

Explain and illustrate 10 and only 10 of the following twelve key terms (3 points each):

1. syncretism
2. three orders
3. usufruct rights vs. ownership
4. wampum
5. enclosure of common lands
6. absolutism
7. internalist accounts of the scientific revolution
8. maroon societies
9. active citizens/passive citizens
10. extraterritoriality
11. Chartism
12. Commonwealth Immigration Bill of 1962

III. Short Essays -- Answer 3 and only 3 of the following 4 short essay questions (10 points each). You will be rewarded for making use of relevant material from the weekly reading assignments and/or movies.

1. According to Marx, what is the source of profit? Summarize and explain his argument.

2. Discuss the importance of state intervention in the global expansion of in dustrial capitalism in the 19th century and since. (Historically, how "free" has "free trade" been?) In your answer draw upon examples involving India and China.

3. Caribbean social theorist and historian C.L.R. James has noted that the brutality inflicted on enslaved human beings presents us with "the unusual spectacle of [capitalist classes] apparently careless of preserving their property." How do you explain the torture of enslaved laborers beyond any possible rational economic strategy? Illustrate your answer with material drawn from the assigned reading on labor conditions in the Putumayo region during the first decade of the 20th century.

4. What is meant by the phrase "the invention of nations and nationalities"? Illustrate your answer by discussing the cases of Japan and France.

II. Long Essays -- Answer 1 and only 1 of the following 2 questions (30 points).

1. Explain what is meant by the claim that race is socially constructed. Using examples from lectures and readings, describe the historical circumstances under which this construction has occurred since 1500. Be sure to take into account the particular systems of economic production and class relations found in the areas you discuss. If you find that there are gaps in the course's presentation of the historical construction of races, please identify them in your essay.

2. How did various workers experience the Industrial Revolution and its aftermath through the early 20th century? Be sure to consider gender, geographical location, and level of skill. Hints: in thinking about the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, consider periodic crises of overproduction (the so-called business cycle) and the transformation of consuming habits.

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