The following questions
and answers have been taken from actual exams completed by students in
GGR 241 (These apply for Dr. Paradis only). This page includes some
typical short-answer questions and acceptable answers that would earn full
credit. Exams in GGR 241 usually contain three parts: 1) a short-answer
section, 2) a paragraph-answer section, worth more points, and 3) questions
from the reading and mapping assignments. The questions from the
reading are equivalent to the short-answer questions on the exams.
I include sample questions here from the short-answer and paragraph-answer
questions. The answers you see here are carefully chosen by me, but
they are transcribed exactly (except for typos) from recent past exams.
Although you will not be in a big rush to finish the exam (many students
finish before the period ends), you will still have to use your time wisely.
These examples should give you a good idea of the types and lengths of
answers that will be expected for full credit. (NOTE: you may or may not
see these specific questions or topics this semester.)
SHORT-ANSWERS (from a combination of exams 1, 2, and 3):
1) How has globalization affected the significance of political borders of individual countries? Why?
ANSWER: Political borders have become less significant because of the globalization process. Telecommunications and finance have increased. Trading between countries has also increased to the point where the borders can be virtually ignored. For purposes of business, especially with multinational corporations, it is no longer as necessary to travel to a different country. Technology is much more important.
2) What are three concepts that might replace the problematic meaning of the word "poverty"? Briefly explain each one.
ANSWER: 1) Frugality: self-sufficiency, freedom from accumulation, no hunger despite "low income". 2) Destitution: loss of self-sufficiency, some important resource taken away. 3) Scarcity: pushed into consumer-based society, difficult to make the transition, now considered "poor".
3) According to the video, to where are numerous peasant families moving within China, and why are they moving there?
ANSWER: Many peasants are moving to the urban areas. They are moving there to find jobs and to set up a secure lifestyle, one that cannot be guaranteed bya subsistence agricultural living. Many rural peasants are being displaced.
4) Where is the Punjab, and why is it a source of conflict between two countries? Which two countries are they?
ANSWER: The Punjab
is the area of "five waters" in the North Indian Plain. It is in
the region of the 5 tributaries of the Indus River in the western part
of India. It is a source of conflict between India and Pakistan because
water rights are in dispute, since India is upstream and Pakistan is downstream.
1960 - Indus water treaty gave 3 eastern rivers to India, 2 western rivers
to Pakistan.
PARAGRAPH-ANSWERS (worth more credit)
1) Discuss the importance of the "70-year rule" in Japan: What is it? Why is it there? What are the implications of this concept for Japan and the rest of the world?
ANSWER: The "70 year rule" is a cyclical occurance of earthquakes in the area. Tokyo is very vulnerable because the bay is on top of the intersection of the Eurasian, The Pacific, and the Philippine tectonic plates. Japan is situated on the "Ring of Fire" and is the result of the pressures of the collision of the Eurasian and Pacific plates. The fact that Tokyo is so vulnerable to the affects of tectonic activity is significant to the world system becasue it is the headquarters for many of the world's major banks and multinational corporations. Further, a considerable amount of production occurs on the surrounding Kanto Plain.
2) Explain in some detail how the historical situation in Sri Lanka actually represents the "development of underdevelopment".
ANSWER: The
English colonized Sri Lanka in the 1850s and took all of the land that
they believed was not being used by Sri Lanka's people. Farmers and
peasants who practiced shifting cultivation now had very little land and
could no longer sustain themselves. They increasingly moved to the
lowland villages, and soon those were overcrowded. Now these people
had no way to feed themselves, and the British farmland was being used
for large tea plantations - hunger and poverty resulted. This is
a good example of the "development of underdevelopment". The British
had no idea how Sri Lanka's culture and economy were set up and assumed
that the British way was the correct way, thereby destroying a culture's
way of life.