Review Sheet for Anthropology of Eastern Europe Final Exam



Review Sheet for Anthropology of Eastern Europe Final Exam

Our exam is Tuesday, December 13th 8:30 to 11:45

Instructions:  You will have about three hours to take the exam.  The exam will have 4 long essay questions (do all of them) and 4 or 5 short essay questions (some choice).  You will have from 8:30 to 11:45 to complete the exam, but most people will finish it in under 3 hours.

Studying: The best way to study for this exam is to use the long essay questions as a guide to reviewing all of the readings for the second part of the course. You can also use reading from the first part of the course through substitutions (see “long essay questions). You should expect the exam to be comprehensive; in other words, you will have to use most of the readings for the second half of the course at least once in the entire exam. Again, use the reading questions for the course as well as the questions presented here to guide your reading or re-reading of the articles in preparation for the exam.

Long Essay Questions

Below are six essay questions.  Four of them will appear on your essay exam, and you will have to answer ALL FOUR at that time.  To prepare for the exam, outline and/or write an answer for each question, noting which articles or films you plan to use in each essay and sketching out your argument in each case.  You may NOT bring any notes to the exam.

For each essay, make sure that you answer all of the parts of the question.  In general, the essay should have introductory and concluding paragraphs and AT LEAST one paragraph for each of the readings you are asked to discuss in the question. 

Keep in mind that you can use each film we have seen ONLY ONCE in the four essays (the films will be on reserve at the media desk in Bailey Howe Dec. 7 to Dec. 13th).  Each article can be used in only ONE essay (essay 6 doesn’t count).  You may use the Ries, Berdhal or Szemere books in up to TWO essays.  Please note that the essays require you to use particular readings to answer them. For each essay, I will allow you to substitute another reading for one of those listed.

1. According to Berdahl, what were some of the challenges that the villagers of Kella faced after reunification?  In this essay, discuss THREE of the following issues:  change in identity; change in the political atmosphere; change in work/work opportunities; rewriting of history; loss of the “border” as a way of defining Kella’s place in Germany, overcoming the cultural divide between East and West.

 

2. Summarize Szemere’s argument about the Hungarian Underground music scene, covering the reasons she gave for the rise of the underground, the challenges faced by underground bands after the end of socialism, and the development of the “independent” music scene. Throughout your essay, make sure to reference how socialism and post-socialism shaped the identities of the musicians she studied.

3. How have the issues faced by women changed (or stayed the same) during the transition from socialism to post-socialism?  Use THREE of the following sources to write your answer:  Haney, Baban, Ries, Drazin, “Czech Women Speak”

  

4. In Eastern Europe, we can see that radical economic change can have important social consequences.  Discuss some of the social consequences that people in Eastern Europe have experienced due to economic changes, such as privatization, over the past 10-15 years.  Use THREE of the following articles (or two articles and ONE film) to support your arguments: “Test the West” OR “Trading Stories,” Dunn, Borenstein, Szemere, Rausing.

5. How have nationalism and/or regionalism contributed to shaping new post-socialist identities, especially political identities, in Eastern Europe?  What is similar or different across different countries?  Discuss THREE of the following articles/films: Bringa; Berdahl; Rausing; “Bosnia after everything,” Orange Revolution articles.

6.    Pick any THREE readings (no films, please) that you felt taught you the most about life during and after socialism in Eastern Europe.  For each reading, summarize why the topic or content caught your attention, or why you found it especially helpful in understanding Eastern Europe. For this question, you can use readings you have already used in the other essays, if necessary.

Short essay questions:  

Short answer questions will usually focus on a single topic or reading (film), and ask a question that can be answered in 4-5 sentences.  The questions will test your knowledge of specific topics covered during the semester, and some will allow you to choose which readings to use, while others will require you to discuss particular readings/films.  The short answers will cover materials not covered in the long essay questions. You will have some choice in which questions to answer (probably 4 out of 7 or 3 out of 6).

Sample questions (these questions won’t necessarily appear on the final):

1.    Who were the two major candidates in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, and what cultural and political positions did each of them represent? What factors contributed to the “Orange Revolution,” and why have elections become a site for so much conflict in Eastern Europe?

2. According to Szemere, how did the “record business” change after the end of socialism?    First, summarize in one sentence how decisions were made in the socialist period, then contrast this to the post-socialist period.

3. As we saw in the film “Trading Stories,” what kinds of conflicts arose in the restitution process in Czech Republic? Why is it difficult to determine who should own property confiscated by the socialist state?

5. According to Rausing, how do Estonians perceive the Soviet and post-Soviet periods?  First, discuss in one sentence how the two historical periods are compared to each other.  Then discuss how consumer choices are related to this perception. 

6. Why do you think that nationalism has caused so much conflict in post-socialist Europe? Use two brief examples from our readings to discuss how nationalism has bred conflict after socialism. In one sentence, say whether you think the two situations are similar, and why.

Videos on reserve in the library (12/7 to 12/13):

“Test the West!:  Metamorphosis in East Germany”  Video #1246, parts 1 and 2

”Shapes in the Wax” DVD #3234 

“Czech Women:  Now We are Free”  Video #1544

”Trading Stories: The Czech Republic 1996-1999 (on reserve; private copy)

Bosnia, After Everything (on reserve; private copy DVD)

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