Diplomacy
Government 342
Professor Joseph Becelia
Information on FINAL Exam:
Exam Information:
- The exam will take place Tuesday, December 11th at 10:30 AM if you are in the 12:00-1:15 class. If you are in the 10:30-11:45 class, the exam will take place Thursday, December 13th at 10:30 AM.
- The exam will contain 50 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each for a 100 point total. There will be no essay and you do not need a Blue Book.
- Please make sure you get the correct scantron form. The form is 882-E, the teal one.
- You will have until 1:15 PM, although it is highly unlikely you will need all of that time.
- The exam will be worth 30% of the final grade.
General Study Tips:
- Once again, knowing the critical questions for the class is key.
- Know the readings. Given that this exam is completely multiple choice, knowing the readings and will be more important than in previous ones.
- The exam is cumulative, although a special emphasis will be on material covered since the last exam.
Things to consider for this exam:
- The readings that were passed out or put on reserve are still important!
- The National Security Strategy Paper is especially important.
- Know Berridge and know Freeman. Know them well.
- There is a slight emphasis in this exam on current events compared to previous ones. Become acquainted with our current foreign policy and what's going on. Good sources for such information include*:
- BBC News - Excellent coverage of current issues. The world news minimizes an ethnocentric perspective, allowing more objective reporting.
- CNN - Another great source of news.
- New York Times - Good Op/Eds illustrate several perspectives on current events.
*You needn't become an expert in our current foreign policy and any one of the sources listed could give you more than sufficient information for the exam. I listed these in response to several questions about sources for information from students.
Good luck!!
Information on First Exam:
Exam Information:
- The exam will take place on September 25 in the normal room and at the normal time.
- It is worth 100 points, 20% of the final grade.
- You are expected to bring a Blue Book and the 882-E Scantron form (it's teal) which are both available in the bookstore.
- The exam consists of 30 multiple choice questions and two essays (you have three to choose from).
- Make-up tests will not be given.
General Study Tips:
- Fully understanding Professor Becelia's critical questions for each class will go a long way towards helping you do well.
- Definitions of key concepts are important.
- Have a decent understanding of the real-life examples Professor Becelia used in class (see below). Details aren't important so much as what concepts he was trying to illustrate with them.
- Reading texts is important.
Things to consider for this exam:
- Have a decent understanding of current and recent events. Especially be aware of the countries that have played important roles in US foreign policy. What is their political situation currently?
- What important diplomatic efforts are the US currently engaged in? What have we done recently?
- What brought about the Vienna Convention? What does it do? How does it relate to diplomatic theory?
- How does a realist (such as Professor Becelia) see the world? What has it been described as and what does that mean?
- This isn't a history course but it'd be a good idea to know how the different elements of modern diplomacy came about...
- Be able to explain the key concepts, points and ideas of Freeman fairly decently.
Information on Second Exam:
Exam Information:
- This exam takes place November 8, normal place and time.
- It's worth the same amount as the first one and will be in the same format.
- Once again, bring a Blue Book and Scantron. Please make sure it's the 882-E Scantron (it's teal).
General Study Tips:
- Once again, knowing the critical questions for the class is key.
- Know the readings.
- There will be questions on the videos so please make sure you understand their main points.
- The role-playing exercises are very important to this exam. This includes the missile reduction one (even though it was before the first exam).
- Know the real-life examples Professor Becelia used (more importantly, the concepts he was trying to illustrate with them).
Things to consider for this exam:
- The readings that were passed out (telegram) or put on reserved are important.
- Likewise, some of Berridge's key concepts would be good to know.
- Since it was a main focus of this part of the course, there will be some questions on Iran.
- Once again, there will be questions about what's going on, especially our major diplomatic initiatives at the moment. Be reasonably knowledgable of current events.
- Know the functions of an embassy and the people that make it up. The same with the State Dept.
Some Examples Professor Becelia used in class:
Although you only need to know the gist of Professor Becelia's examples and what he was trying to illustrate, here is a good starting point for more information (if you're interested) or just to refresh your memory.
1997 DC Auto Accident Involving Republic of Georgia Diplomat
1984 Libyan Embassy Shooting in London
1991 April Glaspie-Saddam Hussein Controversy