Study Guide for the Second Exam

HUM 121-GH1 and PHL 231-GH1


 

  1. For the following works of art, you must know the name of the work and the name of the artist or architect:

El Greco…..The Burial of Count Orgaz

Tintoretto….The Last Supper
Bernini….Piazza of St. Peter’s, David (not in text), The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

Carvaggio…..The Conversion of St. Paul

Gentileschi…Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes

Pozzo….Allegory of the Missionary Work of the Jesuits

Rubens…..The Education of Marie de’Medici.

Rembrandt…..The Night Watch, Susanna and the Elders
Vermeer……The Lacemaker

Leyster, Self-Portrait

Wren….Saint Paul’s Cathedral

Merian….Insect Metamorphoses in Surinam

Images will be projected on the screen for you to identify.  You should also be prepared to write a few lines of commentary about these works or to identify the style of the work.

       

  1. In addition to the artists and architects listed above, you should be able to identify the following people:  Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII, Loyola, Cervantes, Louis XIV, Oliver Cromwell, Juana Ines de la Cruz, Racine, Moliere, Milton, Aphra Behn, Monteverde, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Galileo, Harvey, Boyle, Bacon, Descartes, Pascal, Hobbes, Locke, and Equiano.  On the exam, you will be asked to match the people with brief descriptions.

     
  2. You should know the meaning of important cultural and religious terms such as Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Late Mannerism, Jesuits, Florid Baroque, Classical Baroque, Restrained Baroque, absolutism, liberalism, illusionism, fugue, oratorio, sonata, concerto, geocentrism, heliocentrism, inductive reasoning, and deductive reasoning.

     
  3. You do not have to know all the historical details described in the text.  However, you should be acquainted with the basic historical facts emphasized during class.  For example, you should know something about the effects of Europeans on the peoples of the Americas and Africa.  You should also know important general facts about the beginnings of the scientific revolution and its effects. Part of this review should involve the careful study of the map on p. 426.

     
  4. Be sure to review all the primary source material.  There will be short answer questions on this material.

     
  5. There will be 10 extra credit points on the exam.  All these will be review questions.  See the first study guide to help you prepare for these questions.

 

Essay Portion of Exam Two (50 points)

 

For the essay portion of the exam, you will write a complete essay in response to one (1) of the questions/prompts provided below. In this essay you must develop a thesis that responds to a specific prompt or theme. In writing the essay keep the following points in mind.

 

  1. WRITE NEATLY. If we cannot read what you are writing, we cannot give you credit for it.
  2. Write an essay –we do not want, nor will we give a good grade to, a mere list of information or a disorganized jumble of information, no matter how accurate such information turns out to be.
  3. So, you should try to develop and defend a thesis while writing your essay. When doing so make sure that your thesis responds to the question/prompt fully and accurately.
  4. While you do not need to cite references you should make sure that you are able to ascribe specific themes, styles, concepts, arguments or ideas to the correct people or texts (taken broadly to include art and architecture) as the case may be.
  5. The key here is to show us at minimum that you have some strong level of “mastery” of the material (that you understand it well, have thought carefully about the issues it raises in general, and in particular with respect to the over-all themes of the course, and that you can communicate clearly and concisely your understanding of the material).
  6. There is no length requirement. The more detail you can produce and weave into your thesis (you shouldn’t have just strange lists of facts hanging about) the better your argument and essay will be.

 

Of the five prompts below one will appear on the exam.

 

  1. For Locke there is a right to property that exists in the state of nature. In other words, private property is a natural right that must bind any legitimate government. Explain Locke’s argument in defense of this right, and evaluate this argument carefully. Do you agree we have such a natural right? Consider carefully the implications that this right has (or its absence would have) on the form of political association that arises from the state of nature.

     
  2. Briefly describe the overall structure of Paradise Lost.  Then consider the theology of this poem.  Is it an accurate portrayal of the Puritan understanding of God and man?  Are there aspects of this poem that reflect Milton’s involvement with the revolutionary Puritan politics and Cromwell?

 

 

  1. Compare and contrast two to four works of art from the periods that we have studied.  Be sure to include at least one work from the High Renaissance and at least one work from the Baroque era.  Show how these works reflect different cultural understandings.

 

  1. As noted above, for Hobbes there is no such thing as “natural justice.” Is the same true for Locke? Compare the arguments that Locke develops in his description of the “state of nature” with that provided by Hobbes. Which picture seems more accurate or more adequate a basis for deriving a theory of political justice? Explain your position here with a detailed examination and evaluation of their respective arguments here.

 

  1. Carefully explain one argument for the existence of God, and then present Hume’s critique of this argument.  Evaluate Hume’s critique.  If you don’t agree with Hume, show where his argument goes wrong.  If you do agree with Hume, anticipate and answer two arguments that could be made against Hume.