HUM 221: Final exam, due Monday, May 4

NOTICE: Our final exam is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday, May 4, in Dawson 220. I am giving to you as a takehome exam, but you have the option of coming in and writing it during the scheduled period. I will be there. -- pe


Since we don't have a functioning photocopy machine in Dawson Hall today, I am posting the final version of our final exam questions to the class blog so you'll have it now. -- pe

Humanities 221: Native American Cultures
Benedictine University at Springfield
Instructor: Pete Ellertsen pellertsen@sci.edu

Final Exam, Spring Semester 2009

Below are one 50-point essay question and two 25-point short essay questions. Please write at least four pages (1,000 words) on the 50-point essay and two pages (500 words) on each of the 25-point essays. This means you will write answers to all three questions below. Use plenty of detail from your reading in the textbook, the Internet and handouts I have given you, as well as class discussion, to back up the points you make. Your grade will depend both on your analysis of the broad trends I ask about, and on the specific detail you cite in support of your analysis Due at the regularly scheduled time for our final, at 10:30 a.m., Monday, May 4, in Dawson 220.

1 (50 points). In his Siskal & Ebert review of Sherman Alexie’s movie “Smoke Signals,” Gene Siskal said the movie “is not, in any way, a standard film involving Native Americans. [Victor and Thomas] are very specific characters, but not every utterance and every event in the film revolves around their Indian heritage. The result is to expand our notion of just who Native Americans are and can be.” But Gerald Peary, writing in The Boston Phoenix, said the movie has universal themes of “anguish, pain, anger, forgiveness, release,” and Alexie told Peary that audiences identify with Victor’s and Thomas’ quest. How well, in your opinion, does “Smoke Signals” transcend the boundaries of its Native American cultural milieu? To what degree does it qualify as a specifically Native American cultural expression? To what degree does it reflect universal feelings and values shared by people in many cultures? How do you relate to it in light of your own cultural background? Cite specific examples to support your points.

2A (25 points). What have you learned in HUM 221 that surprised you? What was your overall impression of Native American culture before you took the course? Has that impression changed as a result of your reading, class discussion and research for the course? What specific thing (or things) surprised you the most? Why? What do you think was the most important point made in the course. As always, cite specific evidence - in this case, while discussing what you learned in the course. Your grade on the essay will depend on the specific evidence you cite. So be specific.

2B (25 points). On a separate sheet you will be given a copy of the poem “Two Heart Clan” by Duane Big Eagle. Write a brief reader response in which you tell: (1) your response to and interpretation of the poem; (2) what in your cultural background, taste, attitudes, etc., makes you feel that way about it; and (3) what specific passages in the poem are grounded in Duane Big Eagle’s culture but still convey meaning across cultural boundaries. Be specific. Always be specific.