Prof. Michael Goldberg
BLS 463
US Women’s History
Midterm Study Questions
Three of the five questions below will be included in the midterm exam exactly as they appear here. I have also provided the instructions that you will receive.
1. "Women suffragists had little choice about resisting exclusionary policies in the 19th century. Such exclusionism and elitism was part of the white middle-class at the time. To challenge these assumptions would have meant destroying the suffrage movement, and by so doing destroying the possibility that ALL women regardless of culture or class would one day gain their basic civil rights."
Assess this quote by comparing/contrasting the choices made by Stanton and Anthony between 1865 and 1880, and Kansas suffragists in the 1880s.
2. When people go along with a system, accepting its basic assumptions and legitimating its institutions, it simply perpetuates that system. Groups that strive to effect limited change in society without challenging it directly are the greatest assurance that change will not take place for a long, long time.
Assess this quote by drawing on three examples from the course.
3. Draw on three cases to explain how domestic relations were shaped by the expectations of the "cult of domesticity" and the reality faced by specific groups.
4. Economic independence insures that women have more power within the family and society. Without economic independence, women are no more than slaves in society and prostitutes in their marriage.
Assess this quote by drawing on three examples from the course.
5. Drawing on lecture material (particularly the lecture on slavery), compare and/or contrast the articles by Stevenson and Brown regarding their arguments about the degree of agency by African-Americans operating within the mainstream discourses of race and gender.
Here are the instructions you will receive for the midterm:
Short Response Essay (40 points)
Chose three of the five concepts below, and write a 5-8 sentence response to each that demonstrates your comprehension of the material. Please double-space your answer. Take care to be as specific as possible, and to provide concrete evidence where necessary. Use active subjects and verbs to clarify the cause and effect relationships you are explaining.
III. Analytical Essay Section (60 points)
To write a successful essay, you will need to create a focused, analytical thesis statement and develop this statement into a consistent argument. You should also provide a conclusion that moves the argument forward, or brings your argument to a close, and doesn't simply restate the thesis. Avoid thesis statements like, "Women activists had many difficult choices to make." This is unfocused and far too vague. You will end up making a list, rather than making an argument. Instead, the thesis should include what particular choices you will be discussing, why women made these choices, and what the impact of these choices were. Rather than attempt to cram every detail into your answer, select the details that best provide evidence for the argument you are developing. Make sure that you answer the question as it is asked–address the specifics, rather than the general sense of the question.