Final Self-Assessment #

Instructions #

This written exam is comprised of 5 essay questions: 3 are required and 2 may be chosen from the short lists below. Please note that the self-assessment question is in three parts; all three parts must be answered. Every answer should directly reference materials we have read, watched, and listened to during the semester. The exam is open-note, open-book, open-internet—but plagiarism of another’s work or words is a violation of the academic conduct policy.

Revisiting Earlier Work (this question is required; minimum 400 words) #

1. Choose one essay answer from your midterm that is not your self-assessment. Revise and expand on this answer by incorporating at least one text we read in Weeks 7-14. You may want to review my feedback on your answer as you think about revisiting the question. Your revised answer may still incorporate what you wrote on the midterm, but don’t be afraid to vastly reconsider and change your previous position or analysis.

Genre (this question is required; minimum 300 words) #

1. Choose one genre that we looked at during the semester. What does this genre do and how does it do it? How do the features of this genre relate to the concepts of anarchism? Make reference to specific texts in your answer.

Concepts (choose one question from this list; minimum 400 words) #

1. Why are labor unions so important to the theory and practice of anarchism?
2. Discuss the relationship between capitalism and white supremacy from an anarchist perspective.
3. Is armed self-defense a form of mutual aid? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the texts we have read and documentaries we have watched.

Historical Context (choose one question from this list; minimum 400 words) #

1. “Abolition” has been an important concept throughout the history of anarchism, from the abolition movement against slavery to the contemporary prison and police abolition movements. How has “abolition” as a theory and practice changed over time and how has it stayed the same, from an anarchist point of view?
2. Choose one of the following contemporary news stories and discuss how you think an anarchist writer or thinker would respond to it, using specific evidence from any of the texts we read/watched/listened to:
   1. https://theintercept.com/2021/10/16/daniel-baker-anarchist-capitol-riot/
   2. https://unicornriot.ninja/2021/jury-26m-damages-in-unite-the-right-lawsuit/
   3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kyle-rittenhouse-verdict-trial_n_618ec601e4b0ab5f28496df3

Self-Assessment (all of these questions are required; minimum 400 words total) #

1. What work did you do on the Mutual Aid Proposal project? How do you feel about this work? What did you learn from this project?
2. Thinking back over the whole semester, what is the skill you have gained or improved the most from our work in this class? Does this skill relate to the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester, or did something else emerge as time went on?
3. What letter grade do you feel you have earned for our course this semester? Please explain why you feel you have earned this letter grade, taking into account your midterm, class participation, discussion posts, mutual aid project, and the above essay answers.