Test 2 (midterm). Support your assertions with specific
examples and cite 2 sources
Part I. How would you qualify the Russian revolutions
(February or November)?
a) ideological conflict
b( “class” antagonism
c) sociological conflict
d) Coup d'état
Part II. In your opinion, what aspect of the March revolution
does “Nicholas and Alexandra” portray most convincingly?
1. World War I was the main cause for the fall of the Russian
Empire.
2. The main reason for the fall of the Russian Empire was the
incompetence of the Tsar.
Test 1. Support your assertions with specific examples and cite
2 sources
Part I. How would you qualify the French revolution?
a) ideological conflict
b( “class” antagonism
c) sociological conflict
Part II.
1. What were the major causes of the French revolution?
Were short term or long term factors more significant for its
outbreak?
2. What group played the most important role in the French
revolution (specify the period)? What particular qualities and
aspirations propelled it to the foreground of the
revolutionary movement?
3. In your opinion, did violence radicalize the revolution or
the revolution unleashed violence?
History 389. Response paper 1 (see the guidelines).
Scholars of the English revolution have argued
that it was driven by:
- competing ideologies
- “class” antagonism
- sociological factors
In your opinion, which of the above does the
film “Cromwell” portray most convincingly?
Final Test. Part A. Locate the following countries, identify their
modern capitals and the dominant religious denominations. Be
specific in regards to the various branches of Islam (30 points):
 Egypt
Turkey
 Lebanon
Israel
 Saudi Arabia Iraq
 Kuwait
Afghanistan
 Oman
UAE
 Sudan
Libya
Syria
Jordan
Iran
Yemen
Qatar
Final Test. Part B (70 points). Quote at least 2 sources.
1. Analyze the following statement: “the Vietnamese revolution was a
nationalist movement under the guise of communism, while the Iranian
revolution appeared as a religious movement, but in reality was a social
revolution.” In your opinion, which argument sounds more convincing?
Support your assertions with specific examples.
2. Revolutionary potential increases as the revolutionary movement
develops an ideology that appeals to broad strata of the population.
Analyze this concept in regards to the Vietnamese or the Iranian
revolution. Support your assertions with specific examples.
3. What social group was particularly prominent in the Vietnamese or the
Iranian revolution? Why? What were the main aspirations of this group
and how did they affect the character of the revolution? Support your
assertions with specific examples.
4. Revolution signifies failures, small or large, of the existing political
system. Apply and compare this concept in regards to Vietnam and Iran.
Support your assertions with specific examples.
Quiz 2. Locate the following countries, identify their
modern capitals and the dominant religious
denominations:
 Pakistan
India
Nepal
 Mongolia
China
N. Korea
 S. Korea
Japan
Bhutan
 Bangladesh Burma
Thailand
 Laos
Cambodia Vietnam
 Malaya
Indonesia Philippines
 Taiwan
Sri Lanka
Film Review 3.
Write a film review (1 single-spaced page) in response
to the following:
The Mexican Revolution was a critical period in the
history of Mexico. In your opinion, what episode of this
period did the film “Bullet for a General” portray most
convincingly? Support your assertions with specific
examples.
Potential topics to analyze:
• Social make-up of revolutionary forces
• Leadership of revolutionary forces
• Mutability of revolutionary forces
You must cite at least 2 sources.
History 389. Home assignment 2
Write a film review in response to the following:
Scholars of the Russian revolution have argued
that it was the outcome of:
-
Tsar’s personality
Industrial crisis
Food crisis
Class struggle
Failure of political system
“the upper classes could no longer rule in the
old way, while the lower classes no longer
wanted to live in the old way” (Lenin)
- Burden of modern war
In your opinion, which of the above did the film
“Nicholas and Alexandra” portray most
convincingly?
Quiz 4. Locate the following countries and indicate their capitals.
Mexico
Guatemala
Costa Rica
Columbia
Brazil
Cuba
Salvador
Honduras
Panama
Chile
Uruguay
Ecuador
Belize
Nicaragua
Venezuela
Argentina
Paraguay
Bolivia
Quiz 1. Locate the following countries. Indicate their capitals and the main
religious denominations (practiced by the majority of population).
Armenia
Estonia
Kirgizia
Moldova
Turkmenistan
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Latvia
Russia
Ukraine
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Lithuania
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
1. What are the main concepts of the Communist Manifesto?
2. Why did the Marxist theory of revolution seem impossible to implement
in Russia?
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING FILM RESPONSE PAPER
(1) The point of any good movie is not the action, but the message. Hence, do not just
summarize the film. If there is no analysis involved, then you have not responded, only
regurgitated. If the movie is based on true events, you should evaluate the level of
analogy and either justify or criticize any differences the movie exhibits with respect to
the original story it is based on.
(II) Do not try to be a film critic. Do not worry about the actors’ performances (except
insofar as they might be relevant in evaluating the film’s success in making its point) or
the subtleties of direction and editing. Your target is a particular theme, not filmmaking.
(III) Your first paragraph should be an introduction to your topic—that is, the issue or
issues on which you are going to focus. It should be a brief paragraph—maybe four or
five sentences. Be sure to say which aspect of the movie, specifically, will be discussed
in the paper. If you want to emphasize and discuss issues that are secondary in the
movie, still try to mention the movie’s central theme or themes.
(IV) The main body of your essay should be the exploration of your theme or themes,
using characters, scenes, symbols, and situations in the movie to show how the movie
supports or contradicts your understanding of a particular topic. It should be composed
of two-three distinct paragraphs – each of them discussing your impressions and
thoughts as related to the film in question.
(V) Pay close attention to basics like grammar and punctuation. Proofread your essay.
(VI) Your conclusion should contain a short summary of all points comprised in your
argumentation.
Your essay will be graded according to the following
criteria:
# It should be no more than 1 single-spaced page. You must use and
cite at least two assigned sources (electronic sources are off limits),
including your main reading. Use the designated form of parenthetical
citation (I-34), but provide full bibliography on the backside of your
paper.
# Thesis (20% of the total grade): the essay must have a clear and
sharply focused thesis (underline it), which offers your opinion and
serious insight into the topic.
# Analysis (40% of the total): you should analyze (rather than narrate)
the topic and support your arguments with specific examples.
# Organization, grammar, and sentence structure (40% of the total):
the essay should be well organized, written in a clear and concise
manner, and free of misspellings, verbosity, etc. If the reader has
difficulty comprehending your arguments, your way of communicating
is inadequate.
Film response paper sample
Battle of Neretva is a 1969 Yugoslav partisan film. The film was directed by
Veljko Bulajić and depicts a massive Axis offensive against the Yugoslav Partisans
in 1943 (known as the “Fourth Enemy Offensive” in the Yugoslav official
historiography) and occurred in the area of the Neretva-River in BosniaHerzegovina (I/146-147).
The film is based on the true events of World War II, but conveys the
impression that the Partisans enjoyed mass popular support. In reality, the bulk of
the population in wartime Yugoslavia held no rigid political loyalties. Instead, most
people tried to survive as best they could and their allegiances shifted according to
the situation. For example, the Chetniks, who are portrayed as the zealous allies of
the Germans, were not a single unified force, but initially fought alongside the
Partisans and then switched sides to fight the communist movement (I/45-51).
Bosnia-Herzegovina especially represented a contentious mix of political
ideologies, ethnicities, and religious beliefs – including nationalism and
communism, and Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Muslim denominations – and
consequently, the war there was particularly cruel (II/13-18). The film crafts a
fascinating narrative of rival radical affiliations and ideologies, particularly between
the multinational vision of the Communist Partisans versus the xenophobic
nationalism of the Serbian Chetniks and the Croatian Ustaše. Although the film
emphasizes the struggle between the Partisans and the Axis powers, Bulajić
stresses its local dimension – the conflict between the citizens of the former
Yugoslavia. As Commissar Stole says “hatred between brothers is the most
vicious.’”
In my opinion, the film correctly shows that the Partisans fought for much more than
mere survival – Tito envisioned the war as a revolutionary struggle, which would eventually
turn Yugoslavia into a communist state (II/64-68). Although most Serbs initially joined the
Partisans to survive the Ustaše genocide, the Partisan leadership from the beginning
emphasized the importance of social revolution that would change the country’s political
and socio-economic landscape. In other words, the unique conditions of the Axis
occupation and the bitter ethnic and ideological conflicts engendered the revolutionary
movement united in its primary objectives (I-207).
To sum up, the Partisans never viewed the armed struggle against the Axis powers
from a purely military prospective, but were determined to transform it into a political battle
to create a “genuinely multinational socialist society.” This fact alone helps explain why the
Partisans were much better organized than the Chetniks, particularly in creating the socalled “free zones” – the Neretva basin was but one – in which they set up the small replicas
of revolutionary society, later superimposed upon the entire Yugoslavia (II-221-223).
Bibliography:
I. JOZO Tomasevich, War and Occupation of
Yugoslavia, 2001.
II. Borislav Kojko, Yugoslavia’s Civil Wars,
1994.
HOW TO WRITE A RESPONSE PAPER (1 typed, single-spaced page)
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A response paper is your chance to communicate in writing
your personal viewpoint and personal learning as they
relate specifically to the book, essay, article, film, etc. The
text or the artifact alone, has no meaning; it is given
meaning by you, the writer. In other words, a response
paper is your own interpretation of a given source and
should demonstrate how deeply you have thought about
the concepts, values, and attitudes of the period or
historical episode in question. When analyzing the source,
keep in mind that its author tries to make a point, to
promote an idea, a set of beliefs or values. Hence, you
should concentrate upon two objectives:
1. Telling what you think these ideas are.


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2. Reflecting on these points, positions, and values and
indicating whether they correspond with your
understanding of the historical event or episode in
question.
Important Note: Essay organization, style, and grammar
are a crucial part of the assignment and will be graded
accordingly.