History 151 Fall 1998
Test #3 Study Guide
- When: the week of November 16-20
- Where: in you lab meeting
- What:
- Write ONE (1) essay in response to a choice of two questions drawn from the list of seven below. The questions cover material from:
- Bentley Traditions and Encounters chapters 12-16
- Reilly Readings chapters 9-12
- Jolly lectures 10/22-11/12
- The questions are based on these materials; however, keep in mind that in order to understand this material and these issues, you will need to remember what you learned before in the earlier sections of the course!
- The key word in all of these questions is culture, whether cross-, multi-, identity, synthesis, or in relation to worldviews, the arts or religion (hint: go back to the lecture on civilization for a definition of culture). As you examine these questions, you may find that they overlap quite a bit, but each starts from a different orientation and therefore produces a different thesis.
- The Questions:
- Cultural synthesis: In the post-classical era of 500-1000 C.E., how are some new societies formed out of a synthesis of different cultural traditions? Discuss cultural synthesis and its effects in Byzantium, Islam, and Europe.
- Religion and culture: How does religious belief play a role in the development of cultures? Discuss using examples from areas influenced by Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist religions and how these religions interact with native traditions or with one another.
- Cultural identity: How do societies maintain their own distinctive cultural identities in the face of outside influences? Examine how societies adapt and transform cultural importations in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
- Aesthetic values: How do various art forms reflect cultural diversity and identity? Discuss how the arts are expressions of values and beliefs in the Islamic world, Christian cultures, and Hindu-Buddhist societies.
- Multiculturalism: What are the benefits as well as problems of multicultural societies in this period? Discuss multicultural environments in the Islamic world, India, and Southeast Asia.
- Cross-cultural interactions: What are the consequences of cross-cultural contacts through trade or conquest? Compare Islamic expansion, the Indian Ocean world, and Chinese influence in east Asia.
- Worldviews: What shapes people's perceptions of themselves in relation to their environment, each other, and the supernatural? Compare the value systems and cultural traditions of three of the following: Byzantium, Islam, China, India, and Europe.
- How:
- Follow the study guides and test-taking hints given in the Study Guide for Test #1.
- Review your Test #1 and Test #2 results: build on what you did right, correct for errors. Consider what study habits worked last time and compensate for what failed in order to make your study time more efficient.
- Was your essay too general and lacking in specific examples? Then work on outlining details that you can use in each of the essay questions.
- Did your essay lack arguments, just a collection of unrelated details? Then work on developing arguments using the mind-map exercise.
- Did you have trouble developing comparisons or making connections between details and general arguments? Concentrate on building matrices so that you can organize material into meaningful patterns.
- Why: Because it's good for you, like your mother always said. The purpose of essay tests in core courses like World Civ is to help you develop critical thinking skills, specifically how to make connections between diverse bits of information. You are not here just to acquire information, but to learn how to use knowledge. The essay questions are designed to help you take some of what you have learned and say something meaningful with it.
Return to Syllabus
kjolly@hawaii.edu 11/02/98