UCSB Hist 2C, Spring 2008
World History, 1700-present (course homepage)

Prof. Marcuse
June 3, 2008

2008 Hist 2c
Final Exam Study Guide
 (pdf for printing -note 6/6/08: link fixed, and "parsing" from L20 ppt added only to this page, below)

Note Sun. 6/8/08, 11:30pm: clarification added to comprehensive question, below.
For II.1: India and China are different world regions.

 

Mon., June 9, noon-3. However,the guideline time is two hours. Give your TA a large blue book.
The final examination counts for 20% of your final grade (95 points as noted below, plus 5 bonus points).

  1. Identify and define the significance (30 minutes total, 3 @ 15 points each)
    [model midterm ID answers]
    On the exam itself, you will be given 9 of the following terms, from which you will select three. You should identify each one (including an approximate date), situating it correctly in a period and region of world history. Then take special care to explain why the term is significant in the context of world history. Ask yourself: Would history have taken a different course without this event or person? Or: Is this person or term an example of some important principle that played a role in the course of world history?

Amnesty International

Globalization

Ottoman Empire

Antiquarian history (uses & abuses)

Ho Chi Minh

Perestroika

Apartheid

Mao Zedong

Satyagraha

Authoritarian rule

Mughal Empire

Sobibor

Balfour Declaration

Mumbai

Sun Yat-Sen

Export-oriented development

Negritude

Versailles Treaty

Feminism

Oceania

White Wolf

II. Post-midterm essay question : The exam will have one of the following questions, which you will have to answer. You will not be able to choose which question. (45 minutes and 25 points) (back to top)

  1. For three examples from different global regions, discuss how colonized/semi-colonized societies resisted or attempted to resist imperialist control. What alternatives did they envisage? Were they based on imported ideas or native traditions? Explain why each attempt succeeded or failed.
    • ["parsing" added 6/6/08 from L20 ppt:]
      • Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania
      • from textbook chaps. 17, 18, 19, 20, (21); reader wks. 6, 8, (10)
  2. Compare the causes and longer-term effects of World Wars I and II. To what extent was each truly global in scope? How did their outcomes (peace settlements) set the stage for events in the decades that followed? What features of the world were fundamentally different after the war compared to before it? What important technological developments were catalyzed by each?
    • ["parsing" added 6/6/08 from L20 ppt:]
      • Causes of WW1 vs. causes of WW2
      • Longer term effects of 1 vs. 2
      • Causes global? Consequences global?
      • What big events followed from each? / Changes in world?
      • Among the effects: technological developments
  3. After World War II global interactions between the "three worlds" were shaped by decolonization and the Cold War. After describing the defining characteristics of each "world," explain what the countries in each category were attempting to achieve. Then for four examples, at least one from each "world," first explain why the country can be considered a part of that "world." Finally, discuss how successful it was in achieving those goals? Why?
    • ["parsing" added 6/6/08 from L20 ppt:]
      • define/describe each category of 3 worlds, include goals
      • pick four examples
        • explain which world -- can be part of definition, above
      • discuss reasons for success, partial success or failure

III. Comprehensive essay question : On the exam you will have to compose an essay answering the following question. (45 minutes and 25 points) (back to top)

  • We have discussed many factors that have caused world-historical developments. For three examples, with one each from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s, and coming from three different regions of the globe, discuss the factors that brought about that event. In each case, be sure to consider what role the world-historical and cultural contexts played. The best answers will also discuss some factors that might have played an important role, but did not.
    • ["parsing" added 6/6/08 from L20 ppt:]
      • Pick and prepare 3 examples (diff. centuries, diff. regions)
      • Factors that did cause / factors that did not play a role
      • some events span 2 centuries, you can use them for either
    • [added 6/8/08, Sun. 11:30pm: "world-historical developments" and "that event" mean the same thing here. "World-historical" means things that affected multiple regions of the globe and made a lasting change in the balance of power between them or in the way those regions interacted.]

Study Tips (back to top)

  • See Rampolla, Pocket Guide, pages 40f  for some advice on answering ID questions.
  • In grading the essays, we will be looking for the following:
    1. a basic command of facts relating to the events in question ("C")
    2. a thesis statement (B-/C+)
    3. arguments using specific cases or examples supporting that thesis (A- - B-)
    4. whether counterarguments and counterevidence are addressed ("A").
  • Note that it is always impressive when you can link people/concepts/events from across the course.
    Example: Negritude [WTWA 873f] with Jomo Kenyatta [WTWA 841] & Mazrui/Tidy [Reader 71].
page created by H. Marcuse,June 3, 2008, updated: 6/8/08
back to top, to UCSB Hist 2c homepage; (2003 study guide; 2006 study guide)