HIST 102, Fall 2009
REVIEW SHEET: MIDTERM EXAMINATION
The midterm exam will be written in class on MONDAY, 10/26. Please bring a bluebook and a
pen (no pencils, please). The exam consists of four parts: an essay (20 minutes), a reading
comprehension paragraph (5 minutes), a presentation comprehension paragraph (5 minutes)
and four identifications (20 minutes). The midterm is worth 20% of your final grade.
I. ESSAY (20 minutes/points)
Of the following four questions, I will choose two for the exam. You will choose one of these two
questions on which to write. Over the next week, develop a tight thesis statement and outline for
each of the five questions. BEWARE THE SIMPLE ANSWER! Use your textbook and
lecture/discussion notes (no outside research is expected or encouraged). Each essay must
include specific examples and/or direct reference to the Andrea documents.
1. In what ways did the Renaissance challenge the ideological assumptions of the Middle Ages
in Europe? How do you define humanism? Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy? To what
groups was the "rebirth" of culture denied?
2. Define the principles of the Protestant Reformation. In what ways did the Reformation
develop out of Northern Christian Humanism? How was the Reformation fueled by problems
within the Catholic Church? What advantages did the Catholic Church have in the ensuing
struggle?
3. What factors led Europeans to expand overseas to the New World? What different attitudes
did they express about the nature of native peoples in the New World? Which ideology won out
in practice, in your view?
4. Describe two pre-contact American civilizations. How do you account for Europeans'
successful domination of these civilizations? How were colonial societies in North and South
America organized? How did Europeans distinguish themselves from people of other races in
the Americas?
II. READING COMPREHENSION (5 minutes/points)
I will choose TWO of the following quotations from the Andrea documents to appear on the
exam. You will choose ONE. Write a paragraph in which you interpret the quotation with
reference to the early modern world context. Show me, in other words, that you read and
understood the source. What aspect of this period of history does the quote illuminate?
1. “The gospel teaches nothing of the merit of works; he that says the gospel requires works for
salvation, I say, flat and plain, is a liar” (Document 1).
2. “How can we doubt that these people—so uncivilized, so barbaric, contaminated with so
many impieties and obscenities—have been justly conquered by a nation excellent in every kind
of virtue, with the best law and best benefit for the barbarians?” (Multiple Voices I).
3. “Like monkeys they grabbed the gold. It was as though their hearts were put to rest,
brightened, freshened. For gold was what they greatly thirsted for; they were gluttonous for it,
starved for it, piggishly wanting it” (Document 22).
III. PRESENTATION COMPREHENSION (5 minutes/points)
I will choose either Magdalena and Balthazar OR Cabeza de Vaca to appear on the exam. Write
one paragraph in which you develop a historical theme raised in the presentation. The theme
must link the book to its context from lectures.
IV. IDENTIFICATIONS (20 minutes/points, total)
Of the following terms, I will choose eight to appear on the examination. You will choose four of
the eight on which to write. Each ID should be one paragraph, including a specific definition
(who, what, when, where) as well as a statement of the term's historical significance in the
context of early modern world history (why, how, related to what, caused by what, with what
consequences).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Manorialism and feudalism
The medieval tripartite system
Civic humanism
Desiderius Erasmus
Indulgences
The 95 Theses
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Council of Trent
The printing press
Witchcraft
"Fairy tales" and Mother Goose rhymes
Henry the Navigator
God, Gold, Glory
Animism
The Columbian Exchange
Hernando Cortes
Hopewell
Tenochtitlan
Castas
Massachusetts Bay Colony