Readings

Note to students: this exam has four parts: one with short-answer questions, and three longer essays. There is no time limit, and it is open-book (which means you can use the web to research your answers). Each of the essays should be at least 250 words, preferably longer, excluding any substantial quotations you pull in.

Please provide your answer directly after each question.  I would prefer that you download this test, write your answers, then upload and send to me as an attachment at digital drop box, with a copy by e-mail if you don't trust drop box.

The exam is due at midnight Monday, June 2.

Please let me know of any problems that arise. I may be a bit slow getting back, but I shall get back to you. Click here to write to me.

A.  Short Answers (answer any five questions)

1. Explain what Freud means by "substitutive structures"
2. Explain what Freud means by "narcissism of minor differences,"
3. What was the importance of Malthus for Darwin?
4. List three pieces of evidence for Darwin’s claim that man is descended from "less highly organized forms."
5. How does Darwin describe the origin of morality?
6. In your own words, define "uniformitarianism" and "catastrophism"
7. What is the importance of Darwin finches?
8. What is a "final cause," which thinker we study uses the term, and what does he say about it.
9. In your own words, describe three ways in which feudalism differs from capitalism.
10. List three examples in Things Fall Apart where names are mentioned, and briefly explain why names are important in those passages.
11. Give two examples of proverbs in Things Fall Apart and briefly explain the importance of the proverbs in their contexts.

B. Essays: Write essays on three of the following topics (in cases where these texts are online, you will probably benefit by searching for specific terms like "love" when requested):
 

1. Discuss how Locke, Freud, and the elders of Umuofia would respond to the admonition, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Be sure to give examples of how this advice functions in society in each case.
2. When is law good, and when is it bad? Describe how the authors of the Seneca Falls "Declaration of Sentiments," Martin Luther King and Locke describe the workings of "law."
3. Apply Engels’ description of feudalism to Umuofia, discussing whether or not that town can be called "feudal."
4. Write an essay on "manliness" in Things Fall Apart. When does the topic of manliness or manhood arise? What is associated with manliness? Is it a healthy or a destructive concept?
5. A major pattern binding our intellectual tradition together is the power of texts from one era to speak to thinkers of a later period. We have seen the Declaration of Independence bear new fruit, for instance, for both Lincoln and DuBois (Souls of Black Folk, chapter 3). Write an essay on how King and DuBois make use of great writings from the past, trying to use at least two "models" in each case.
6. (Double essay: carries credit for two essays) Many of our authors speak of "nature." Go to the following sites. Choose three authors. Using your search equipment, look up the ways these authors discuss nature, and write a substantial essay on this topic:

Engels on Socialism:
http://csf.colorado.edu/psn/marx/Archive/1880-SUS/sus3.html

Locke, Chapter 2:
http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/etext/l/l81s/chap02.html

DuBois, Chapter 6:
http://www.bartleby.com/114/6.html

Declaration of Sentiments:
http://isc.temple.edu/pericles/Declarations.htm

Darwin, Descent of Man, Chapter 21:
http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-descent-of-man/chapter-21.html