Study Guide for the 2nd Exam
 Fall, 2007
 

 

The exam will consist of a number of short essay questions. The exam will be cumulative so you should review the material on the first study guide.  For each of the philosophers and social science theories that we have covered, you should be able to give an account of the basic claims and the arguments that support these claims.  You should be able to apply the theories to a concrete situation.  You should also know some major criticisms that can be offered of each philosopher and each theoretical perspective.  In terms of philosophy, we may give you quotations from the philosophers that we have studied and ask you to identify the philosopher and to explain that quotation.

What follows is a list of major ideas and themes from the last few weeks.  These should help with your review.

 

 

1. Be able to explain the following aspects of Fanon's thought:

  1. The damage caused by colonization – including the psychological damage
  2. Redefining what counts as violence
  3. Opposition to nationalism
  4. The damage violence does to those who suffer it and those who practice it

 

2. Be able to explain the following aspects of Kant's ethics:

  1. The only intrinsic good is the good will, the disposition to act out of duty in accord with rational morality.
  2. There are two formulations of the categorical imperative. Know them both.
  3. The categorical imperative can be used to generate moral rules.  There are no exceptions to these rules.
  4. The social contract added to this structure.
  5. The Hobbesian system does not end the war of all against all; the social contract requires a league of nations to end the state of nature among nations.

     

3. Be able to explain the following aspects of Mill's ethics:

  1. An action, law, or social policy if right if and only if it produces more human happiness and less human suffering than any alternative action, law, or social policy.
  2. The only intrinsic good is happiness.
  3. Happiness must be judged in terms of quality, not just quantity.
  4. The utilitarianism maxim defines justice.  Know how to state this.


4.  In terms of Just War Theory,

a.       Be able to identify and explain the general criteria that must be met for a war to be just

b.      Be able to identify and explain the standards for fighting justly within a war.

c.       (Please note that the arguments for pacifism and the specific arguments about the current war will be on the next exam.)

 

5. Decolonization:

a. Factors that led to the era of decolonization that took place in the post world war II period (irony of European practice of training certain colonial subjects for positions in the imperial bureaucracy, World War I and the Russian Revolution, Impact of World War II)

b. Be able to explain what “shadow governments” were and how they related to the drives for independence.

c. Be able to explain why nationalization and socialism were such important goals for many 3rd world leaders

d. Be able to briefly contrast decolonization in 2 nations (India, Vietnam, China, Algeria, etc. as described by Isbister.

 

6. Middle East and Iraq

a. Be able to explain Khalidi’s argument regarding why he feels US invasion of Iraq was a mistake and doomed to failure.

b. Be able to discuss the development of nascent democratic institutions in the Middle East prior to European colonization and impact of European intervention on these developments (use specific examples)

c. Know the specific involvement of the United States in Iraq in the past fifty years  (overthrow of Kassem government, support for Baathists, Iran-Iraq war)

d. Know the history of US involvement in Iran and Afghanistan and how it related to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism

e. Identify and explain the importance of the Project for a New American Century and the American Enterprise Institute

f. Discuss how oil has shaped the region and its relations with the “west.”

g. Be able to discuss the reasons (according to Khalidi) that Americans tend to side with Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

h. Be able to discuss the Oslo process and its consequences.

i. Provide a brief summation of Khalidi’s prescription for bringing peace to the region.

 

7. You should be prepared to answer questions that combine concepts from both disciplines.

 

8..  In terms of additional geographical material, the focus will be on the Middle East and Central Asia.  Be sure that you can identify Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Syria, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Turkey, Pakistan.