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FINAL EXAM

Open the link below, and select one of the three exam options.  (The readings for Option A are located directly below the exam study guide.)

UNIT 8: BITE-SIZED PHILOSOPHY

Goal: Analyze Plato's Allegory of the Cave by breaking down and discussing the ancient Greek philosopher's ideas about objects and forms.   Then examine the works of the ancient Taoist master Lao-tzu, asking, "What does Lao-tzu say to human beings who want to live a good life?"  Ultimately, place the works of Plato and Lao-tzu side by side for comparison: In what ways do their ideas overlap, and in what ways do they disagree?  [A1: As an enrichment, juxtapose both Plato and Lao-tzu with the contemporary poet/philosopher muMs (Craig Grant).  How would the ancients evaluate muMs' ideas as expressed in his spoken word piece "The Truth, parts I and II"?]

UNIT 7: ECONOMIC SYSTSMS

Goal: Compare and contrast the economic systems of capitalism, communism, and socialism.  At the most basic level, you should be able to identify each system from a set of descriptors.  To demonstrate a greater depth of understanding, you should be able to evaluate capitalist, socialist, and communist grading systems.

UNIT 6: THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE

Goal: Analyze (break down) the short-term and long-term causes of the Rwandan genocide.  Trace the history of Hutu-Tutsi relations dating back to the 1800s and up through the early 1990s.  What historical developments paved the way for a major conflict between the two groups, and what was the spark that ignited the genocide in April 1994?  Ultimately, piece together the 10 stages of the genocide, using the "10 Stages of Genocide" authored by the international organization Genocide Watch, and establish culpability -- who/what deserves blame for the killing?

UNIT 5: CONFLICT IN THE HOLY LAND (Israel vs. Palestine)

Goal: Analyze (break down) the conflict in the Holy Land between the Jewish state of Israel and the mostly Muslim state of Palestine.  Trace the history of the conflict to uncover the long-terms roots of the tension AND the more immediate problems that have arisen between the Muslim and Jewish populations in the region.  Ultimately, the goal is to propose and justify geo-political solutions that might bring stability to the region.

UNIT 4: POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES & TYPES OF GOVERNMENT

Goal: Understand the difference between AUTHORITARIANISM and CONSTITUTIONALISM as political ideologies, then distinguish different authoritarian and constitutional systems of government.  Ultimately, student teams will need to justify which type of governing system would most effectively establish and/or maintain order.  

Additionally, we will read an excerpt from N. Machiavelli's The Prince and examine whether the author believed it better for a government to be feared or loved. 

SEMESTER EXAM!!!

UNIT 3: INFRASTRUCTURE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Goal: Understand that economies may be evaluated and classified as pre-developing, developing, developed, and post-developed.  The level of economic development is directly related to the economy's capacity to produce goods and services industrially.  A pre-developing economy is one that has not begun to industrialize in any significant way.  A developing economy has started to industrialize, but the benefits of that industrialization are largely limited to particular sectors of the state (usually urban areas).  A developed economy is an industrial economy; its mass-production and mass-distribution of goods and services makes the state competitive on a global scale.  A post-developed economy has moved beyond production and distribution and into research and more advanced development (the USA is an example of a post-developed state).  

In this unit students will learn to evaluate economies by zooming in on particular systems of infrastructure (systems of health, communication, transportation, etc.).  They will explore the connections between resource holdings, infrastructure development, and economic might.