MEAS 200 final exam study guide 2008

Dear MEAS 200 students,

Here is the complete study guide for your final exam.
As you will observe from the following study guide, some material introduced prior to the midterm is also included on the final exam.
If you have questions, you may send me an email or visit during my office hour Friday Dec 5, 11-12.

Good luck!

Iman Mersal

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Short answer essay questions:

• What is the status of women as portrayed in the Quran?
  
• Write about four features of Islamic civilization during the Abbasid Empire.
  
• Describe kingship, religion and trade in the empire of Mali.
  
• What was the Millet system which prevailed during the Ottoman Empire?
  
• Explain the "triangular" trade, and how European merchants benefited from it.
  
• What was the connection between the discovery of America and the slave trade?
  
• Describe the Wahabi movement in Arabia.
  
• What was the impact of missionary schools in Syria and Mount Lebanon on Arab culture and education?
  
• Describe the impact of 19th century missionaries in sub-Sahara Africa.
  
• Elaborate on two examples of the rule of missionaries as active agents of European imperialism in Africa.
  
• Why do you think the political legacy of colonialism created ethnic conflicts? Elaborate on one example.
  
• Explain the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the making of Islamic movements
  
• Describe the role of European colonial powers on dividing Kurdistan and in creating ethnic conflict until now.
  
• Discuss the Jewish immigration during the British mandate in Palestine (1920-1948) and its impact in the creation of Israel as a Jewish state.
  
• How do you see Mahmoud Darwish as a voice of the Palestinian cause? How can we connect his life story (displacement, imprisonment, and poetry) to Palestinian suffering?
  
• Discuss the role of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 in inspiring anti-colonial resistance in Africa.
  
• In Chapter 27, Shillington discusses the problems of historical interpretation of the events surrounding Congo’s independence. Elaborate on these problems.
  
• Write about two examples of the role of the military in African politics during the 1960s.
  
• How can you read “The Wasted Land” and “Leaving” as representations of corruption, civil war, and emigration in post-colonial Africa?
  
• Why did most of Africa’s ruling politicians reject the multiparty parliamentary system after independence?
  
• Some scholars argue that Arabs’ defeat in the 1967 war played an important role in the rise of Islamism in the Middle East. Elaborate on this view.
  

Terms

Ulama
Shari'ah
Fatwa
Anti-Slavery Squadron
The Berlin West Africa Conference (1884- 1885)
The Balfour Declaration
Arab Nationalism
pan-Africanism


Historical figures:

Prophet Muhammad
Salah al-Din (Saladin)
Tippu Tip
David Livingstone
Abdul Hamid II
Tewodros II
Hassan al-Banna
Theodor Herzl
Gamal Abd al-Nasser
Kwami Nkrumah
Patrice Lumumba
Julius Nyerera


States:
I will select one of the following countries for you to profile (you’ll write about colonial and post-colonial history, using any relevant materials we read, discussed, or watched in class):

Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia


Ethnicity:
Identify the following ethnic designations, in light of the material we've read and discussed in class:

Arab
Malinke
Funji
Yoruba
Kurd