Choose one of the questions below and write a well-reasoned essay in response.  Your essay must have a thesis and draw upon evidence from the PRIMARY DOCUMENTS we have read for class.  The exam is open book- you may use the books assigned for class. Each essay should draw upon at least FIVE pieces of evidence from the sources- make sure to cite page #s of any text you reference, using the short citation form outlined in the syllabus. The exam is COMPREHENSIVE- it covers the whole span of the course, your answer should be sure to develop an argument that covers the whole length of time implied by the question.  High marks will go to essays that are original, make creative and sophisticated use of evidence, and that demonstrate a grasp of the complexity of the issues involved.
1.  Did the rise of nationalism completely revolutionize global politics, or do the nation states of modern times share many characteristics of the kingdoms, empires, and other states of the early modern world?

2. Did the idea of progress rapidly lose popularity in the last 100 years, or has progress always had both proponents and detractors since the beginning of modern times?

3. Was global colonialism completely transformed by the industrial revolution, or can we see many continuities in colonialism as it was practiced from the fifteenth through the twentieth centuries?

4. Can industrialization be viewed as a continuation of the process begun by the commercial revolution, or has the industrial revolution created radically different social, culutral, and/or political effects than pre-industrial commercialization?

5. Has the world experienced a uniquely rapid period of globalization since the end of the Cold War, or are these recent decades merely a continuation of a long trend reaching back to the fifteenth century (or before)?

6. Do either the theory of the end of history (that the modern world has been trending toward free market economics and democratic government) or the clash of civilizations (that the world has been divided  between Western, Islamic, Confucian, Hindu, and African civilization, locked in conflict with one-another) provide a coherent explanation by which we can understand the history of the modern world from 1500 to the present day?