Final Exam, General Humanities I   Mr. Furr  Spring 2001

     This exam is also on our Home Page.

     Answer question TWO OR question THREE, and any other ONE
question -- two in all. You MUST answer EITHER question 2 OR question
3.

     Remember: you are being tested on your detailed knowledge and
understanding of the readings.

     Reread the supplementary readings. Carefully study your notes on
the main readings. Review your HW assignments.

     This exam will count for 25% of your final grade.

     Email to me by 2:45 p.m. on Friday, May 4.


     1. Primitive Communism and Finley, World of Odysseus.

     Discuss, in detail, Finley's analysis of the ideology of
Homer's poems -- that is, the values the author or authors of
the poems (in their present form) portrays. This ideology has been
called, broadly speaking, "aristocratic." Why? Explain carefully. Use
page references to the text.

     Now, read the three texts assigned on Primitive Communism. They
are hyperlinked in the HW assignment for January 23. 

     Extract from these texts an ideology -- a set of values expressed
in them. Compare and contrast this ideology, including whatever
contradictions you may find in them, with that which Finley perceives
in the works of Homer.

     Make specific references to each text whenever you mention them.
Be specific.

     2. Plato, the Apology, Stone, Winspear.

     Winspear/Silverberg conclude that Socrates' philosophy changed from
materialism to idealism as Socrates himself became more
prosperous. They imbed this theory within the larger theory that
idealism reflects the interest of the elite, while materialism
reflects the interest of the non-elite.

     Find the passages in Winspear/Silverberg in which the ideas in
the paragraph above are most clearly outlined, and identify them by
page number and by the beginning of the passages you have found. 

     Does I.F. Stone's analysis of the Apology, and of the
death of Socrates generally, tend to agree or to disagree with the
analysis of Winspear and Silverberg? Explain, with as many specific
references to Stone, Winspear and Silverberg, and Plato's
Apology as you think necessary to prove your case.

     3. Origins of Christianity

     Compare Doherty's, Maccoby's, and Price's analyses of the Origins
of Christianity. In what respects are they similar? In what respects
are the different, even opposed, to one another? Use Price's essay
"The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man" in this part of your answer.

     Pick TWO chapters in Price's book Deconstructing Jesus.
Outline his main conclusion(s) in each chapter. Analyse the evidence
he cites to prove those conclusions.

     Does Price succeed in proving his conclusions? How, or how not?
Be very specific and logical.

     4. Origins of Islam and Judaism

     In a sense, we do not know anything about the "origins" of these
religions (or of Christianity, either), because all we have are some
old texts. 

     Compare and contrast Garbini's critique of the study of the Old
Testament as a "history of Israel" to the scholars cited in Lester's
article on Islam, and their critique of the origins of Islam.

     What methods do you find in common? What are the differences? 

     Use specific references.

     5. De Ste Croix, Christianity, and Class Struggle

     De Ste Croix describes Christianity as, in part, an ideology of
a slave-owning aristocracy. Outline his argument, with page references
to his work, and -- where you think it important -- brief quotations. 

     How effective was Christianity as the ideology of a slave-owning
empire, in de Ste Croix's view? Outline his view.

     Finally: evaluate and/or critique de Ste Croix's analysis.

     Show detailed evidence of this chapter in your answer.