UCSB Hist 2C, Spring 2003
World History, 1700-present

Prof. Marcuse
June 3, 2003

Final Exam Study Guide (pdf version for printing)

The final examination counts for 20% of your final grade (90 points as noted below, plus 10 bonus points).
The guideline time is TWO hours [6/5/03: by popular demand you will have 3 hours if you need it], on Wed., June 11, noon-2pm. Bring a large blue book.

I. Identify and define the significance (25 minutes total, 3 @ 10 points each)
On the actual exam, 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 relation to other important events. 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? (Your answer should be yes.) Then write down the reason(s) WHY as part of your answer to the ID.
TIP: the textbook's index and glossary are good starting points for most terms. Some are from the lectures, and others from the reader (see also the links in the on-line table of contents).

authoritarian rule

Alexandra Kollontai

Russo-Japanese War

Vera Brittain

King Leopold II of Belgium

socialism

decolonization

Mao Tse-Tung

suffragettes

democracy

modernization

Sun Yat-Sen

Ho Chi Minh

Ottoman Turks

"Third World"

imperialism (Hobson)

Perestroika

White Man's Burden

Jomo Kenyatta

population bomb

World War I

II. Source Interpretation. (15 minutes, 10 points) [6/11/03: see actual exam source interpretations]

From one of the primary sources in the course reader (#9, 11, 13-26), or one of the highlighted primary sources in the textbook (p. 533, 541, 561, 579, 623, 646, 672, 682, [692]), I will select a short passage and ask you to answer some specific questions about it.

To study for this part, go through your notes from section and jot down the issues you discussed about the sources in the reader. For the sources in the textbook, simply read the discussion accompanying the boxed sources, and the relevant passages of the textbook itself, and jot down why the author chose that source.
  1. Essay questions: On the exam you will have to compose essays on both of the following topics. (40 minutes and 25 points each, thus 80 minutes and 50 points total)
  1. (comprehensive) We have discussed many of the ways historical changes have been brought about. Violence has been seen as absolutely necessary—or counterproductive—in causing lasting change. Using at least five examples, with at least one each from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s, and coming from at least four regions of the globe, argue why you think violence should or should not be used to effect change. In each case, be sure to explain what role the historical and cultural context plays in your assessment. Note that you should consider the long-term outcome of the use of violence: Were the ultimate results what the protagonists wanted?
  2. (post-midterm) Some historians have argued that "great men make history." Others argue that history is really the story of common people, including especially women, since their status is often an excellent measure we can use to assess the nature of a society. Using at least five examples from at least four regions of the globe since the 1880s, argue why (or why not) the history of women and gender relations is relevant to the course of world history. Feel free to consider broader issues such as what our textbook calls the "population bomb."

Note: in grading these essays, we will be looking for the following:
1. a basic command of facts relating to the movements in question
2 a thesis statement
3. arguments supporting that thesis
4. use of specific cases or examples in the argument to support the thesis
5. whether counterarguments and counterevidence are addressed.

prepared for web on 6/4/03 by H. Marcuse, updated 6/5/03 and 6/11/03
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