Essay Question | 40 % of exam grade
Write a complete, coherent, well-developed essay in response to ONE of the following questions. Your response should cite at least three (3) assigned readings.
Your essay will be evaluated for the clarity of the argument you assert; the clarity, quantity, and detail in the evidence you provide in support of your argument; the clarity of your prose; proper citation information and formatting. I will use the distributed rubric for grading.
Maximum essay length: 1,250 words (5 double-spaced pages).
Essay due in dropbox by 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 7 as a word.doc (or .docx)
- How do social and political assumptions shape the way knowledge about Africa is created in western scholarship and popular culture?
- Analyze the similarities and differences among foraging, pastoralist, and agricultural societies in Africa before 1500 C.E.
- What factors provided stimulus for long-distance interaction and connections across the Sahara? Compare these factors to motivations for interactions between Bantu-speakers and Batwa before 1500 C.E.?
Concept IDs | 15%
Define the term, connect it to the context of the course, and explain its significance for understanding early African history. Chose Five (5)
Reading IDs | 20%
Correctly identify the source of the following passages. For each one, explain its content and significance.
SAMPLE
“The image of the ‘noble bushman,’ so familiar from introductory texts on anthropology, remains a powerful one, which some have argued lies at the root of the continuing disenfranchisement and social, economic and cultural marginalization of Khoisan peoples in the post-independence era of Southern Africa.”
Short Answers | 25%
Your response to these questions should be at least one robust paragraph. They should include references to specific reading assignments (according to Klieman….; Austen argues….; etc.) As with IDs, your response should explain context and broader significance of the issue (answering the “so what?” question).
You will be asked to respond to one REQUIRED QUESTION
And then to CHOOSE ONE of the following three options and write a second short answer.
For the concept IDs, is this the section that will include the vocabulary listed under Part I and Part II? And will we be allowed to choose any 5 concepts (meaning they will all show up on the exam), or will only some be listed and we choose from that list?
Melissa: yes, the vocabulary is listed in the study guide for part I and part II. About 10 of those concepts will be on the exam; you’ll be asked to choose five of those.