IAFS 1000, Global Issues and International Affairs

Global Transformations and the State (Fall 2005)

Professor Jupille

 

Final Examination Preview

 

Exam Basics

·         Final is to be held Monday, December 12th, from 4:30-7:00 p.m.

·         20% of course grade

·         Part I (20% of exam): 5 of 7 “identification” questions: say what a term means and explain its relevance to broad course themes.

·         Part II (30% of exam): 1 of 2 “short essay” questions: possible topics include alternatives to the state system and implications (e.g., for democratic governance, development, etc.).

·         Part III (50% of exam): 1 “long essay” question: this question will involve a large-scale synthesis of course themes and evidence.  This will likely be assessed on a combination of conceptual/thematic breadth, analytical rigor and empirical depth.

·         Please bring a blue or black pen and a bluebook (or two).

 

Motivation/Goals

The purpose of the exam is to assess what you have learned about international affairs, and especially the “fate of the state”, over the course of the semester.  “What you have learned” does not refer to a mass of factual information.  It refers, instead, to understanding, analysis and explanation.  The exam gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your own understanding of the causes, contours and consequences of the trends and transformations that we have studied.

 

Materials

The exam is cumulative.  All of the course material (readings, lectures, recitations) is “fair game” for the test.  There is no particular priority on one or the other source, though of course things that show up more than once, or in more than one medium, stand the greatest chance of appearing on the test.

 

Strategies

Different people learn differently.  That said, I would recommend trying to get a "big picture" understanding of course themes, using evidence in support of insight.  Rather than trying to master all of the details of the various topics we have looked at, it makes more sense to be able to locate them within a coherent broader understanding of course themes.  In general: think, don’t memorize or regurgitate.

 

Good luck!