History 151 (Jolly) Fall 1998
Final Exam Study Guide

When:

Monday, December 14, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Where:

If you go to the wrong place, you may end up taking Professor Ziegler's History 151 exam instead. If you show up at the wrong time, it means you have not been paying enough attention to this class!

What:

The final exam has three parts:

As you can see, the first two parts work together, very much like test #2, to cover material since then. The third part, the global essay, is designed to give you an opportunity to reflect on the larger significance of this class and what it means to you.

Part One: Essay on Cross-Cultural Interactions 1000-1500

The exam will give you two of the following questions; you choose one question to write your essay (worth 70 points).

The questions below focus on comparative and crosscultural issues. Although they cover material since test #3, you may find earlier material useful in answering them. Follow the suggestions for essay writing in the study guide for test #1.

  1. How do non-urban cultures respond to urban societies? Compare examples from Central Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
  2. Why do societies go to war? Compare Islamic, European, and Japanese warrior cultures.
  3. Africa, the Americas, and Oceania are often ignored or marginalized in pre-1500 history, partly because they are not perceived as major centers of civilization. Discuss why this perception exists by comparing the cultures that develop in these three regions with others we have studied.
  4. What varieties of crosscultural contact can take place and what are the consequences of these interactions? Compare the results in select zones of contact, in the Indian Ocean, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean.
  5. What can travelers' tales reveal about other cultures compared to sources within a society? Compare the experiences of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Bernal Diaz to the other information we have about the cultures they visited.

Part Two: Document Significance on the Traditional World 500-1500

Five of the following documents will appear on the test. You choose three to answer (10 points each). For each, briefly identify who/what, where, and when. Then write a paragraph explaining why it is significant: what does it show us about that culture or people? what trends or ideas is it evidence of? Relate it to the larger themes of the class.

Follow the guidelines in the Study Guide for test #2. Also, look back at your test #2 results to see what worked and how you can improve.

Primary Sources from Readings 9-16

Part Three: Global Essay on World Civilizations

Two of the following essay questions will appear on the test. You will choose one of the two for your global essay (worth 50 points).

These essay questions draw on issues or concepts that we have followed throughout the course: history, civilization, worldviews. The questions ask you to ponder larger human concerns, using the specific evidence from pre-1500 history. As with any essay, you need to have a strong thesis argument of your own devising, but it should be more than mere opinion. You need to give reasons (in the form of subarguments) for your views and support them with evidence from the materials we have studied.

In addition to following the general guidelines for essay writing in the study guide for test #1, I strongly encourage you to use the mind map exercise to help you generate ideas about these concepts.

  1. Why should we study pre-1500 history? How is the material we have studied relevant to global issues and concerns today?
  2. What is the difference between "history" and the "past?" Define history in relation to "the past" and give examples of how we use various kinds of evidence to construct histories for ourselves.
  3. What is civilization and is it worth it? Define civilization, its pros and cons, and its implications for human lifestyles, using evidence from various types of societies.
  4. Bentley in Traditions and Encounters avoids the term "civilization" and instead talks about "complex societies." Why? Examine the textbook's approach to pre-1500 world history and how it structures the material.
  5. Why is it important to understand different worldviews, even from societies long dead? Discuss using examples of things you have learned in this course about other peoples' worldviews.
  6. Why do people have different views of the world and different ways of coping with life? Examine how worldviews work in different societies by looking at the interaction between the three parts of a worldview (the way people perceive their relationship to the environment, each other, and the supernatural).

Return to syllabus

kjolly@hawaii.edu 11/30/98