Dictatorships and Revolutions
We have a final test in this course next Wednesday, 24 June, worth 30% of your grade. This test is to be taken on Blackboard. You will have up to two hours to complete it, but you can take the test at any point in the 24 hours of June 24 (from 12am to 11:59pm). For people who are outside NZ, remember that this is June 24, NZST – check your timezone conversion. A link to the final test will be available here on Blackboard on the 24th.
Due to the nature of tests on Blackboard, I expect you to be able to use all your notes and the textbook. But, as with any other assignment for this course, what you write in the test should be your own work and written in your own words.
The test will have two sections: a short answer (up to one paragraph) section, and a short essay section.
In the first, short answer section, you will need to answer 6 short answer questions from a somewhat larger pool (the questions will be randomly selected for each student). Each question will be worth 10 points, for a total of 60 points. These questions will test your knowledge of basic concepts from the course, from authoritarianism and totalitarianism to friction and flooding to contentious politics. These concepts are all in the textbook and the lectures – look in the lectures for the concepts we have emphasized to prepare for this section of the test.
In the second, essay section, you will need to write a single short essay (500-1000 words max) on only one of three prompts. These prompts will ask you to analyze a particular case using the concepts discussed in the course, or ask you to discuss a particular dilemma of authoritarian politics. One of the 3 prompts will be focused on the first half of the course, another on the second half, and a third on general problems of non-democratic politics. No referencing is expected, but you are expected to draw on multiple themes (and sometimes readings) for the course, and apply some of the concepts we have used in the course. This short essay will be worth 40 points.
