Preparing for the SPS 101 Essay Exam Sample Question 1: Engaging with and Synthesizing Texts Medieval historian Marc Bloch has remarked that peasant rebellions “were as natural to the seigniorial regime as strikes are to large-‐scale capitalism.” Based on your readings from Rodney Hilton, CW and your lecture notes, write a concise essay on: (a) the social, economic and political conditions that made peasant rebellions a common feature of medieval life (b) how and in what ways these conditions continued into the Early Modern era (c) how they related to the cultural and social aspects of the Protestant Reformation. 1.) Based ONLY on the parts (a, b, c) of the question, what could be the title for this essay? Think about the “primary subject”: what links all three parts of the question? 2.) Look back at the quote in the beginning of the question. What attitude is it expressing? 3.) 4.) Establish your primary subject: What are the Economic, Social, and Political conditions that will be discussed in your essay? Include the reading(s) that most relate to that specific issue. Economic: Social: Political: List the cultural and social aspects of the Protestant Reformation. Sample Question 2: “Excellent deduction, Dr. Watson” As an archeologist specialized in the ancient Near East, you find a job as the director of the Near Eastern department of the British Museum. In the storage rooms of the department you come across a neglected box containing partially broken and erased clay tablets in different languages and belonging to different cultures. Being a curious scholar, you sit down and try to decipher them. However, due to the bad condition of the tablets you are able to decipher only the following words, repeatedly appearing in all the tablets: “ark, mountaintop, dove.” What would be the story that you would reconstruct from this evidence? What would it tell you about ancient Near Eastern cultures? What other evidence(s) would you use to support your argument? 1.) 2.) What information do you have? What clues? Brainstorm: what possible stories could you tell with those clues? 3.) Brainstorm: what do you know about Near Eastern cultures that could help you make a more logical story? Sample Question 3: Questioning Images Above you have three details from Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors. Based on these images (and the painting itself), write an essay on how Renaissance, Humanism, the European Voyages of Exploration and Colonization, and the so-‐called Scientific Revolution relate to one another. 1.) Close “reading”: What items do you see in the three images? How are they related? 2.) What clues can you derive from the title of the painting? Do you know anything about the artist? 3.) 4.) Write a very brief description of the following: –The Renaissance –Humanism –The European Voyages of Exploration and Colonization –The “Scientific Revolution” Think about the following questions in relation to each period/movement: -‐What was changing during these periods/movements? -‐What was being accomplished? -‐What were the major concerns (politically, socially, economically?) of these periods/movements?