The final exam will
consist of ten short answer questions (50%), and one long essay
(50%). Be prepared to answer questions on any of the material
covered in class: handouts; your primary texts; the course pack; as
well as lecture content and film clips.
ESSAY QUESTION
You will receive
one of three questions below on the essay section. You will not
know
which one of the three will be on the exam, so study for all of
them.
Some pointers: answer the question as directly and clearly as
possible.
Be sure to address all the components of the question. Remember
to
integrate the relevant reading and lecture material to support your
argument.
Always avoid vague generalizations. Refer to specific events,
policies,
groups, ideas and individuals in your answers. Blue paper will be
provided for your long essay.
1. In A Rumor of War, Philip Caputo
writes, "My mind shot back a decade, to that day we had marched into
Vietnam, swaggering, confident, and full of idealism. We had believed
we were there for a high moral purpose. But somehow our idealism was
lost, our morals corrupted, and the purpose forgotten" (Caputo 345).
Why did Caputo’s outlook change so drastically during a relatively
short period?
2. By almost any reckoning, 1968 was a pivotal year for America.
Why was this such a critical time in the nation’s history? How
did that single year reflect some of the larger transformations at work
in the decade?
3. What are the chief legacies of the 1960s? How do some of the
tumultuous events and changes that took place in that decade still have
an impact on Americans today?
TERMS,
NAMES, EVENTS, IDEAS
Be prepared to provide a four to five sentence synopsis of any of the
items below. If you are familiar with the terms and names below,
it should help you considerably on the exam. Remember, it is best to
know the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “why” of these. The
“why” or the significance of any term or name is most important.
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Robert McNamara’s strategy in Vietnam
My Lai
The Tet Offensive
Historian George Lipsitz on the transformation of public space in the
1960s
The Summer of Love
The Berkeley Barb
Haight Ashbury
The Diggers
Timothy Leary
Paul Potter and the SDS
National Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE)
The Weathermen
Abbey Hoffman
The Black Panther Party
The Stonewall Inn Riot
The Feminine Mystique
National Organization of Women (NOW)
“Redstockings Manifesto”
1968 Miss America Pageant
Eugene McCarthy’s “children’s crusade”
Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 campaign
1968 Chicago Democratic convention
Richard Nixon’s “Law and Order” platform
Richard Nixon’s Vietnam strategy, “peace with honor”
Daniel Ellsberg
Historian David Burner on the fragmentation of liberalism
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