If you happen to be using the website to study for the HIS104 Final Exam, BRAVO! For that you deserve a reward! Here are the questions you will see on the exam....
Short Essay (40%): Choose any one of the questions below and write an essay of 5-6 paragraphs that includes a title, a strong thesis, and appropriate use of historical terms.
- Defend or condemn the system of absolutism, its proponents and opponents. Was there such as thing as truly absolute sovereignty in early modern Europe?
- Compare and contrast the colonial policies of Spain, England, and the Netherlands from the 15th to 17th centuries. You should include the basic economic concept and the political aims of mercantilism, as well as specific details on the colonies.
- Compare and contrast the principal beliefs of Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anabaptism. How and why did each evolve? Be sure to include the Catholic reaction (and re-affirmation).
- Trace the rise of the nation-state: out of Charlemagne's "Empire," through the 100 Years War and New Monarchies, to the absolutism and constitutionalism of the 17th century.
Long Essay (60%): Choose any one of the questions below and write a longer essay of at least 8 paragraphs, making sure to include important names, significant events, and more than one historical perspective in your answer.
- Consider the role of war-makers and peace-makers in each of the main eras we studied this semester -- ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, early modern Europe. To conclude, choose one of the individuals you discussed and explain how he or she contributed to the formation of modern Europe.
- Compare and contrast Greek Stoicism, Roman natural law, Renaissance humanism, and Lockeian law of natural rights.
- Peter Abelard (1079-1142) wrote in the preface to his book, Yes and No, "By doubting we come to questioning, and by questioning we perceive the truth." Discuss this quotation within the context of each of the main eras we studied this semester -- ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, early modern Europe.
Return to HIS104 syllabus