This is the exam question for an anthropology course:Secrecy and Statecraft. Here is some background information for this course:
This course explores secrecy regimes and cultures in democratic and totalitarian societies. It focuses on the issues of secrecy and power, state security, propaganda, conspiracy, censorship, control and surveillance, and resistance. By exploring various media from secret files to spy films, we will aim to understand how the secret regimes are constituted and how they interconnect with peoples everyday lives through policy and popular culture. We will produce secret ink and KGB reports and analyze most recent secrecy scandals. The case studies include the Soviet Union, socialist Eastern Europe, Central America, and the USA.

1. Define the terms and explain their significance in a short paragraph (5-10 sentences) (why is it important, why we have to know about it, what implications it may have, etc.)(10 points each).

a. Censorship (Freedman, Goldstein, class on censorship)
b. Laughter under Oppression (Lipman, Rehak)
c. Defiant Requiem (Beckerman, the film/website Defiant Requiem)
d. Political Humor (Klumbyte,  Ben Lewis film Hammer and Tickle (2006))
e. Popular participation in authoritarian regimes (Klumbyt, Wedeen)

2. Answer the essay question (respond to all parts of the questions). 2-3 pages single spaced. Do not repeat information and use different examples in each question. (50 points each) (it is necessary to answer the questions based on the textbook “Lisa Wedeen Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgement, and Mourning in Syria. 2019 The University of Chicago Press.”)

Lisa Wedeen was interested why citizens, not only autocrats are attracted to autocracy. How does she answer this question? What is the neoliberal autocracy? Why do citizens become ambivalent about autocratic policies and even terror? What are the forms of resistance? What is the role of religion in the autocratic governance? What conclusions does Lisa Wedeed draw? What is your opinion about the book? If you were to write about Syria of 2011-2020, what questions would you raise and why?