Exam #1

The exam on March 5 is entirely in class. You may not use notes, books, or any devices. The exam is worth 15 points.

The first part of the exam is a group simulation exercise. There is nothing in particular that you need to do to prepare for this, beyond what you would be doing anyway in preparation for the second part of the exam. To complete this part of the exam, you must be in class on time. The simulation is worth 3 points, although students may also earn extra credit in the exercise. 

The second part of the exam is 12 points - 4 points for each of three essay questions in a traditional written exam. Please bring some pens. Some additional notes on the written part of the exam:

• I will ask you three essay questions. You should plan to answer each question thoroughly, by making an argument. Figure maybe about three paragraphs or so each.
• The exam covers parts 1 and 2 of the class, including the sections about the internal workings of the Chinese political system, China-US and China-Taiwan relations, and the politics of gender in East Asia generally.
• Among the really important concepts from the first part of the course are: the workings of autocracies, including the role of selectorates in more and less institutionalized systems; the changes in China from more personalistic rule under Mao and Deng, to more institutionalized collective rule after Deng, and back to more personalistic rule under Xi; and the role of internationalist interests like trade and investment in China and how those play against other interests that leaders sometimes have; and the decisions that leaders outside China face when trying to decide whether to try to bring China in to the international system by giving it more of a stake or to try to diminish China's capabilities.
• Among the concepts we covered when discussion gender were the internal logics of two different kinds of social structures - an egalitarian one and a patriarchal one - and the conditions in which those might each persist. We also discussed how gendered structures might have been affected by (or might have affected) economic development, democracy, and urbanization, and how contemporary concerns about fertility, immigration, a backlash to feminism, and a backlash to that backlash, may be shaping politics in contemporary East Asian democracies. 

This is not an exam in which I am going to be content with you identifying concepts. You are going to need to be able to explain them, in ways that show actual understanding. So, the questions I ask might not necessarily be straightforward. You will need to think things through before you answer.