Mock Exam SAQs
In your response, be sure to address all parts of the question. Use complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list alone is not acceptable.
The modern nations came into being essentially by two roads. In one case, the state was, from the start of the process of national formation, already an established continuity, [most] often from the Middle Ages. These were states with their own ‘national elites’ and mature written cultural traditions. . . . For these states, the road to the modern nation was through an internal transformation . . . and the struggle to establish the modern nation was mainly a political struggle to define the nation as a community of equal citizens. . . .
This first type of development toward the modern nation was absent in Central and Eastern Europe. There, a different pattern was typical, [namely] that of multi-ethnic empires inhabited by many non-ruling ethnic groups. . . . Lacking not only statehood, but also written traditions in their own national language, these non-ruling ethnic groups in the multi-ethnic empires were in the most complicated situation. Their national movements had to pursue not only cultural and social emancipation and equality, but also political emancipation.
Miroslav Hroch, Czech historian and political scientist, introduction to Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe (1770–1945), academic book published in 2007
Group 1
Use the passage to answer all parts of the question that follows.
Question 1a
Identify ONE claim that the author makes in the passage regarding the “two roads” toward modern nation building.
Question 1b
Identify ONE specific example of a nineteenth- or twentieth-century nationalist movement that would fit the pattern described by the author in the second paragraph. Your answer may be from Europe or from another part of the world.
Question 1c
Explain ONE limitation of the author’s argument as a source for understanding the different types of nationalism that developed around the world in the period since 1750.
Group 2
Use the passage to answer all parts of the question that follows.
There are scores of rich Muslim merchants from the Kingdom of Srivijaya [in Southeast Asia] who are living or were born in our city of Quanzhou [in southern China]. Among them is a man called Shi Nuowei, who is a Muslim. He is famous for his generosity among his fellow foreign residents in Quanzhou. The building of a cemetery for foreign merchants is but one of his many generous deeds. This cemetery project was first proposed by another Srivijaya foreigner, but he died before he could finish it. Shi then built the cemetery on the hillside to the east of the city. The cemetery is covered with a roof, enclosed by a wall, and safely locked at night. All foreign merchants who die in Quanzhou are to be buried there.
Shi’s kind deed allows the foreign merchants in our city to not have to worry about being able to be buried according to the requirements of their own religions. Shi’s kindness will certainly promote overseas trade and encourage more foreigners to come to Quanzhou, where they could live and conduct their business in harmony. I have included this story here so that news of it will be widely circulated overseas.
Lin Zhiqi, Chinese government customs inspector in the port of Quanzhou, description of the city and its surroundings, circa 1170
Question 2a
Identify ONE historical process in South or Southeast Asia that accounts for the religion of the Srivijaya merchants in Quanzhou, as reported in the passage.
Question 2b
Explain ONE aspect of the economic development of China under the Song dynasty that led to the flourishing of commerce that is reflected in the passage.
Question 2c
Explain ONE way in which the author’s point of view, purpose, or intended audience may have influenced his assessment of the events described in the passage.
Group 3
Answer all parts of the question.
Question 3a
Identify ONE way in which African states or societies changed as a result of the spread of Islam in the period circa 1200 to 1450.
Question 3b
Explain how ONE specific African region was affected by the spread of Islam in the period circa 1200 to 1450.
Question 3c
Explain ONE way in which existing African religious or cultural traditions influenced the practice of Islam in Africa in the period 1200 to 1450.
Group 4
Answer all parts of the question.
Question 4a
Identify ONE way in which African states or societies changed as a result of the Cold War.
Question 4b
Explain how ONE African state was affected by the Cold War.
Question 4c
Explain ONE way in which events in Africa affected the broader context of the Cold War.
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