Final+Exam+(Take-Home)


 * INSTRUCTIONS:** This exam must be word-processed in standard 12-point type with standard **1.25” margins** and be double spaced. __**Please insert page numbers**__. Please staple all pages into one document. Be certain to put your name on your paper. The exam must be returned to my mailbox in 1615 POT or directly to me in my office on **Monday, April 28, 2008 by 4:30pm**. Late exams will ONLY be accepted through Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 5pm, and will have their final grade reduced by 10% for each day they are late. If you need to have a question clarified, you may email me or preferably post questions in the discussion thread of this page until noon on Saturday, April 26, 2008. As a reminder, this exam is to be a product of individual work. You may NOT collaborate with your fellow classmates on your answers. The Final Exam is worth 25% of your total grade. Good Luck!


 * A brief note about the exam:** Please do not exceed 15 pages to answer the question. Yes, there’s a lot of information required for this question, but part of the challenge of the exam is in editing and honing your response to be informative and thorough, yet concise and to-the-point. Also, please avoid silly attempts to pad your work by using larger-than-specified type, a larger font in 12-point type, putting four double-spaced lines at the top of your paper with your name, the class name, the semester, the date, etc. Other things to avoid are restatements of the question, overly-long quotes, longer quotes that are not in “block quote” form (indented both sides and single-spaced), etc. Just do the work as assigned. Furthermore, you must use proper quotation guidelines and MLA or Chicago-style formatting for your attributions. I don't particularly care which format you use - just pick one and be consistent in its application.

The Exam Question (Answer in an essay of 12-15 pages, double-spaced, 1.25” margins, standard font):
In the second half of the semester we have been concerned with issues of nature, the self, community and the constitution of publics in light of the difficulties we covered during the first half of the semester. In a brief, but well-thought out and organized essay of 12-15 pages, I want you to address the following issues in relation to this question/problem:
 * **FIRST**, discuss the issue of post-materialist insecurity (referring specifically to Maslow's hierarchy of needs) as discussed by Nordhaus and Shellenberger in __**Break Through**__. How do the authors suggest that proper understanding of this concept is crucial to any effective modern environmental politics in America? Give some attention to why they feel that the organizing of the religious right has been more effective than environmental organizing in this regard.
 * **SECOND**, discuss Berry's conceptualization of community: how is it properly constructed and understood, and for what end(s) is it useful? How does Berry's understanding of nature relate to his construction of community, and how does this compare with what Nordhaus and Shellenberger have to say about our conceptualization of nature in American political thought?
 * **FINALLY**, discuss Dewey's idea of a "public": why are publics created and how do they differ from both government and private enterprise? How does this concept of a public relate to Berry's concept of the community? How does Dewey's examination of the "eclipse of the public" relate to the events discussed in both Klein and Lessig? How does the concept of the construction of multiple publics provide a potential exorcism of the ghost of Friedman which has haunted us all semester (be specific)?