REL 399 Exam Topics

Exam taken through Canvas, available APRIL 10 to APRIL 13, 1:00 p.m. You will have 20 minutes to complete the exam.
The exam will be in two parts. Part I, THE FIRST HALF OF THE EXAM, will be on matters related to Writing Papers. Part II will be on topics covered thus far in the readings and lectures.

The exam will be multiple choice, and as covered in the syllabus, will count 10% of your grade. There is only one right answer per question. If there appears to be more than one right answer, pick the best answer.

If you have any questions about the exam or the topics included in the exam, please ask me. You can come in during office hours, make an appointment or send me email.

Part I: Writing Papers

Read the following essays and guidelines that are posted on the Writing Papers links on my web pages:

I. Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities

II. Four Stages of Writing

III. Paper Writing Guidelines

IV. Sentence Structure and Puncuation: Clauses and Commas

V. Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness

Part II: Readings and Lectures

Peter Brockelman, Time and Self

What does Brockelman mean by the "co-referentiality" of time in the self?
Why does the self inherently need "faith" as part of its narrative makeup?
Brockelman claims that the preconscious self of experience helps to establish its unity over time. How does he use the concept of "self-deception" and the example of "anger" to help illustrate his view of the unity of the self, as opposed to the fact of its disunity or difference over time?

Jerome Bruner, "The 'Remebered' Self"

What does Bruner mean by "victimicy?"
What does he mean when he says the self is a "perpetually rewritten story" (and how does this contrast with Brockelman's views)?
Why does the self need to rewrite the past?

Hilde Nelson, Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair

According to Nelson, what is the relation between narrative, agency, and identity in the development of self?
What are the two ways that a person's agency can be diminished?
What is "infiltrated consciousness"?
What are "counterstories"? What is the relation between counterstories and the master narrative?
What are the four characteristics of effective counterstories according to Nelson? (Hint: "Depictive" is one.)
What is a "weakly moral" counterstory? What is a "strongly moral" counterstory?
Nelson describes four types of 'counterstories gone bad.' What are they?
What are "found communities" and "communities of choice"?