Answering two essays both should count for 6-8 pages combined.
This assessment is intended to provide you with an opportunity to synthesize what we have
discussed in the last part of the course. You may discuss general issues from the class with
your classmates, but you must write your exam individually. Please make use of your notes
from the readings, films, and lecture notes. Work with your material so that you can structure
your answers based on the information you have collected from the course.
This examination must be typed. Please use font 12 point Times New Roman, double space,
and one-inch margins on all sides of the paper. Use clear and detailed examples that will
support your thesis. Use the names of the authors and the prominent figures that you are
discussing. You may put the author’s last name in parentheses after using an example from
the author’s selection; you do not need to create footnotes or endnotes.
Please answer TWO of the following three questions
1. In 1969, the Weather Underground Organization is formed by the radical wing of the
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in Chicago. From 1970 to 1980, the organization
operated in a clandestine, underground fashion. Identify, analyze, assess and interpret the
goals, aspirations, and consequences of the Weather Underground. How does the Weather
Underground represent a heightened period of revolutionary activity both home and abroad,
and how these attempts by the Weathermen are related to similar attempts in Latin America?
In your answer, please provide the historical antecedents of the period, i.e., the global context
of a possible Revolution (both home and abroad), as well as describing the role the State
(both the US and Latin America) played in these efforts.
2. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw the emergence of three Social Movements of National
Minorities in the United States. Choose on of the Social Movements and analyze their
position in America’s “master narrative.” Identify, analyze, and interpret the important
contents, aspirations, consequences and collective goals. In your answer, please provide the
historical context of the period, i.e., the global context of a possible Revolution (both home
and abroad), as well as describing the role the State played in these efforts.
3. Analyze the historical origins of the War on Drugs. What are the events that have led
to the present day situation the Americas face today? Your answer should include a
discussion of the historical context that have served as a background in the development of
this war, as well as the cultural manifestations that are a consequence of the war on drugs.
In constructing your arguments, it will be of great utility to go over your notes on the
documentaries viewed in class, as well as the supplemental, optional reading posted on the
moodle course page.