Study questions for chapters 6-9 of SOK

Chapter 6:

1.     Why was the man executed at the beginning of the chapter?

2.     Interpret the following passage: 

Zunaira is no Taliban, and her husband’s not mad; if he lost his way in a moment of collective hysteria, that’s because the horrors of everyday life are sufficiently powerful to overwhelm all defenses, and human degeneracy is deeper than any abyss.  Mohsen is behaving like other people, recognizing his distress in theirs, identifying with their degradation.  His deed provides proof that everything can change, without warning and beyond recognition (72).

3.     What are Mohsen and Zunaira like?  Why do you think that Khadra gives us a couple that westerners can so readily identify with?

4.     What is Zunaira’s attitude about the burqa?  Be able to say something more nuanced than “she doesn’t like it”. 

Chapter 7

1.     What is Atiq’s attitude about children?  Why is he glad he doesn’t have any?  What makes his attitude about children a REASONABLE one?  What makes it seem pretty creepy?

2.     Why does Atiq apologize to Nazeesh?  Are you surprised that he did this? 

3.     Why does Khadra include the long passage from 86-87 describing how Atiq USED to be?  What sort of person do you think that Atiq would be in a different environment?

4.     Why are Zunaira and Mohsen detained by the Taliban?

5.     What does it mean that the people need to be pushed into the Mosque to hear Mullah Bashir?

Chapter 8 

1.     What is the idea of the West that Mullah Bashir creates in his sermon?  Are there kernels of truth in what he says? 

2.     How is his sermon an example of propaganda?

3.     How would you describe what Zunaira goes through while waiting for Mohsen?  Where is she emotionally at the end of page 99?  How do you think she feels about the idea of her future?

4.     Why do you think Khadra mentions that so many of the people in the mosque seem to not want to be there?  Some are bored, some are falling asleep, etc.

Chapter 9

1.     What has happened to Nazeesh?

2.     Who is Qassim and where is he going?

3.     What does Qassim want and what’s his plan for his future?  (p 111).  What does this suggest about his ‘devotion’ to the cause of the Taliban?

4.     Do you think that Qassim can be considered a friend to Atiq?

5.     At the end of the chapter, Atiq goes home and finds Musarrat and he thinks she’s dead.  When she stirs, he knows she isn’t but it’s clear that he wished that she was dead.  Can you explain this?  What makes up Atiq’s attitude?  Remember: nothing is psychologically simple about this.

 

Chapter 5 Study Questions SOK

Chapter 5:

1.     Who is Nazeesh?  What does he want to do?

2.     Why is Atiq so dismissive and nasty to Nazeesh?

3.     What was Nazeesh like earlier in his life?

Chapter 4 SOK Questions

Chapter 4

1.     How do people wind up in the mosque?  What does this say about their ‘natural inclinations’ about going in to pray?

2.     What is Atiq’s attitude toward the elderly?  Why does he feel this way?  What does it say about our culture that we are able to think about old people in a different way?

3.     Why does Atiq ask for God’s forgiveness so many times?  (This is the phrase Astaghfirullah)

4.     Why do you think the war veterans are telling the “war stories” that they are?  They’re clearly a little ridiculous (like tall tales)…what’s the point of them?  What are some memorable features of these stories?

5.     On the bottom of page 48 and top of 49, Khadra is talking about how Atiq hates himself and why.  Is Atiq a bad guy, or is this a sort of understandable, if unattractive, position for him to be in?

6.     On page 50, Atiq is wondering whether he’s being tested by God for enduring such hardships in war only to live in a rotten situation now.  The prayer that he starts is lâ hawla wa lâ quwwata illâ bi Allâh

 The phrase lâ hawla wa lâ quwwata illâ bi Allâh is mentioned numerous times in the hadith (sayings of Muhammad) as being highly regarded and highly recommended by the Prophet Muhammad. The phrase is a part of daily prayers for many Muslims, and is a common phrase in ceremony and dhikr.  It is not uncommon to find the phrase lâ hawla wa lâ quwwata illâ bi Allâh translated simply as there is no power or strength except through Allâh

7.     Why is Atiq so surprised when he finally went home?

8.     What is Atiq and Musarrat’s relationship like?

9.     What’s the situation at Mohsen’s house?

10.   Who does Mohsen encounter at the very end of the chapter?

The Taliban's War Against Women

Here is a link from the US State Department on the Taliban's War Against Women.  Please read the article and comment on it in relation to Chapter two of Swallows of Kabul.

The Taliban's War Against Women--State Department

Questions for Chapter Three: SOK

Chapter 3

1.     At the beginning of the chapter, Khadra talks about why being alone is actually better than having friends.  What is the general argument?

2.     How would you describe Mohsen and Zunaira’s relationship?

3.     What is Zunaira’s reaction to Mohsen’s confession?  Why does she have such a hard time believing that he did what he did?  Does being educated really insulate us from such heinous deeds or are we just as vulnerable to ‘group think’ and ‘group do’ as anyone else? 

Term 3: Conflict: Imperialism and World Wars

 Global Perspectives

Term 3

“Conflict”

Imperialism and World Wars

Texts: Ways of the World, Things Fall Apart and The Samurai’s Garden

Essential Questions for the term:

1. What is a civilized culture?
2. What are the responsibilities of global citizens and states?
3. Is it wrong to be critical of different cultures?
4. What does war produce?
5. What are the responsibilities that result from a modern conflict?
6. What are the causes and effects of genocide?
7. What obstacles impede the goal of universal human rights?
8. What is a nation? What is a state?
What are the dilemmas between individuals, state and nations?

World History Exam Guide

Greetings! I know you expectantly have been waiting for your exam guide. Here it is. Please prepare for the following topics:

1) Comparisons between Minoa and Mycenaea
2) The Dark Ages of Greece and the Homeric virtues
3) The rise of the polis
4) Comparisons between Sparta and Athens
5) The Peloponnesian War
6) The Persian War
7) The contradiction between empire and polis
8) The fall of the Greece and the rise of Alexander


Best of luck, and we will review tomorrow.


JMN

World Hisotry Fall Final Exam Study Guide

The following are the questions from which I will choose your final exam.

1) Throughout the history of great civilizations various definitions of power and authority have been understood to justify political action. Explain the concepts of authority and power and show the exercise of these concepts in the history of the rise and fall of ancient civilizations. Be sure to explain the similarity and the tension that exists between these two concepts.

2) There are various ways to explain the rise of civilization in human history. Citing examples from ancient history (the four river valley civilizations) explain the logic behind the rise of Ancient Civilization: What caused civilization? What made civilization work? What sustained civilization? What problems did civilization create?

3) The fall of great civilizations seems cataclysmic, yet, for every great civilization, its end appears inevitable or even natural. In what ways have the various great civilizations we have covered come to their end? What similarities exist among the causes of their downfall? In what ways is it possible to avoid repeating their mistakes? In what ways is it impossible to avoid repeating their mistakes?

4) Much of the creation of social and political power comes out of the tension created by social and political instability. Explain what social and political instability are and give examples. Then, while comparing the four major River Valley Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India), discuss any observable similarities among the civilizations regarding their social/political instability and their respective responses to it.

World Civilization Quiz 12-4-09

Explain the main features of Chinese Buddhism as we discussed it in class, and briefly account for its development (in other words, also give a brief history of the origins and development of Buddhism).

World History Quiz Tuesday Nov. 24, 2009

Write an essay in which you explain the causes and facts behind the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty.

World History Quiz Question: Ancient China

Why did the Zhou feel they had to justify their overthrow of the Shang? How did the change from the Shang royal ancestral cult to the Zhou idea of the Mandate of Heaven change the nature of political legitimacy in Ancient China?

Essay Question 3

What are the dominant characteristics of the major kingdoms of ancient Egypt? What similarities or differences exist among them?

World History Essay Question

Explain the various ways power and authority were used and justified in Ancient Mesopotamia. How did the culture of Mesopotamia contribute to the development of power and authority in Sumer and Babylon, and what legacy has Mesopotamia left behind?

World History Question:

How does the study of world history relate to our global, contemporary culture? In other words, what is it about the study of history that is relevant for our thinking today?