1. Today’s Goals Review Principles of Taoism and Themes in Sun Tzu
Group Discussion/Presentation of Sun Tzu’s Chapters
Final Exam Group Review Exercise

2. Reminders about Taoism and the Tao
The Tao is a path/way that recognizes that the natural world is:
Holistic, dynamic, fluid, ever-changing based on Yin/Yang
Yin/Yang – complementary notion of opposing forces (action leads to reaction, bright turns into and becomes and always contains dark, orthodox requires/contains unorthodox measures, etc.)
Sun Tzu uses the Tao and principles of Taoism to find a way to live in an unstable political environment
Success in Warfare requires benefit of knowledge/experience
adaptability, wisdom, self-control of general/sage
maximized results with minimized risk/destruction
deception as unorthodox/defensive measure

3. Group Exercise 50 pts LP
In lecture, Professor VdA argues that because this text is presented in 13 fragmented chapters, we must interact with the text to make sense of it.
Part One: In your groups make sense of and present the central principles underlying your assigned chapters. Explain what strategic or tactical lessons are given in the chapter. Include specific examples from the chapters. You can make connections to other moments in the text or to the Machiavelli text or to something contemporary.
Part Two: Present to the class – everyone in the group must contribute to the presentation. (50 LP)
Group 1: Ch 4 (Military Disposition) Ch 5 (Strategic Military Power)
Group 2: Ch 6 (Vacuity and Substance) Ch 7 (Military Combat)
Group 3: Ch 8 (Nine Changes) Ch 9 (Maneuvering the Army)
Group 4: Ch 10 (Configurations of Terrain) Ch 11 (Nine Terrains)
Group 5: Ch 12 (Incendiary Attacks) Ch 13 (Employing Spies)

4. Final Exam Group Share
In your groups, review your lecture and discussion notes and post the following to the class message board :
5 excellent sample short answer questions
10-15 key words, people, events, etc.
2 excellent long essay possibilities (this might place your group topic in dialogue with any texts from throughout the quarter)
NOTE: You can include a short quote from the text and ask a question about the quote
(1 post per each group member – due by Wednesday 11:59 p.m. 50 pts LP)

5. Final Exam Review Groups
Group 1: Sun Tzu The Art of War
Group 2: Machiavelli The Prince
Group 3: Walzer Just and Unjust Wars
Group 4: The Theater of War and Brecht
Group 5: The Iliad and 30 Years War Units (4 long essay questions and 10 keywords)

6. SECTION THREE: First Long Essay - Passage Analysis (ca
SECTION THREE: First Long Essay - Passage Analysis (ca. 40 Minutes) 26 pts (26% of final exam grade)
The following passage is taken from (Walzer or Sun Tzu). Read it carefully and then write a passage analysis in which you clearly explain what is going on in this particular excerpt and describe the way Walzer/Sun Tzu depicts or characterizes what is going on. Then, relate the passage and the argument to the concerns and themes of the text as a whole and to the course theme of war.
Your answer should include warrants and specific reference to class discussions, lecture and the text. Remember, pay attention to the implications of word choice and applicable examples, and realize that claims about the text as a whole derive from a close-reading of particular details.

7. 2) Locate the passage in the text
On the Final Exam I might ask a basic question or identify specific themes to guide you through your analysis. Below are some strategies for this essay…
1) Describe the meaning of the passage (summarize the main point, purpose, argument of the passage)
2) Locate the passage in the text
3) Write an analysis of the passage (identify main theme, point out significant key terminology and logical connections between claims and concepts, word choice, use and function of example, etc. and explain meaning, purpose etc.)
4) Relate the passage to the concerns and themes of the text as a whole (Make connections that go beyond the passage)
5) Demonstrate how the themes present in the passage relate to the themes of the course theme of war (make connections to other texts or to specific lecture arguments)

8. Sample Passage
“Agression is the name we give to the crime of war. We know the crime because of our knowledge of the peace it interrupts – not the mere absence of fighting, but peace-with-rights, a condition of liberty and security that can exist only in the absence of aggression itself. The wrong the aggressor commits is to force men and women to risk their lives for the sake of their rights. It is to confront them with a choice: your rights or (some of) your lives!” (Walzer 51)

9. Sample Passages for Practice
Walzer: “some wars…can’t be called unjust.”
Walzer: pp “The case of mercenaries…rightly called criminals”
Walzer: pp 30-1 “The tyranny of war…takes on a new significance.”
Walzer: pp “The rules of war…both of these things later on.”
Walzer: pp “Among professional soldiers…to its reality and strength.”
Walzer: pp “The rights of states…disputed territory”

10. Part Three: Second Long Essay - Choose ONE of the following TWO questions and answer it in a thoughtful and substantial essay. Be sure to make specific reference in your answer to the texts in question as well as to specific themes, terms and narrative elements discussed in lecture and in discussion. You should spend about 40 minutes on this section and it counts for 26% of your grade. (26 pts)
Note: You may be asked to discuss two or more texts (this include images, film and written texts )

11. Long Essay Tips
Read each essay option carefully and select the one you understand and feel most confident about.
Take a couple of minutes to write down key points and vocabulary and outline connections or points you want to make etc. before you begin writing your long essay.
Although you are graded primarily based on content, you are expected to have a point or purpose and to write a well organized, structured essay.
Don’t waste your time including information that is unnecessary, irrelevant or based on personal opinion.
Don’t repeat yourself and get to the point.
Explain why your points are important or how they connect to the course theme of war.
Keep track of and budget your time.

12. Sample Long Essay
In a thoughtful essay compare and contrast how the form of each text (the genre) shapes the meaning of the story of war being told. In other words, how does Grimmelshausen’s Simplicius Simplicmus tell a different story of war than ONE of the below texts?
The Iliad
The Theater of War
Mother Courage and Her Children
Sun Tzu’s Art of War

13. Sample Long Essay
Compare and contrast Machiavelli’s position on power and authority with Sun Tzu’s. Be sure to identify and explain how Sun Tzu and Machiavelli apply explicit situations or examples to their positions.

14. Some study and preparation tips
Begin preparing now. Your retention will be much better, and your answers will be more thoughtful and thorough.
Don’t cram for the exam the night before the exam.  It will be much less stressful if you study and review every day between now and the midterm. (20 minute rule applies)
The midterm will ask you to make connections between texts and lecture/discussion and to synthesize rather than just regurgitate information that was memorized. 
The midterm asks you questions that require you to interpret or to apply your knowledge.
Practice answering questions in a timed-situation.
The midterm asks you to understand and use the terms and definitions and language that is focused on in lecture, discussion and in the texts.

15. REVISIT THE QUARTER THEMATICALLY.
Review your notes, lecture notes, reading notes, texts, etc. and make a list of key terms, ideas, people, events, etc.  (See Your List on MessageBoard)
Group information according to the major themes/motifs/symbols of the quarter.
Honor, Commemoration, Epic, Picaresque, War, Force, Artefactualization, Similes, Re-presentation, Metaphor of Seeing, Moral Responsibility, Power and Authority
Organize according to binary oppositions
Male/Female, Shame/Honor, Reason/Imagination, Action/Consequence, Commemoration/Challenge
It is also very important to know when the texts were written, who the audience was, what the genre of the text is (and characteristics of the genre), as well as historical and social context.
How does a comparative literatures scholar approach a text differently from a literary scholar or from a historian?
Be sure to think about why these elements matter with respect to the major theme of “war”

16. Be Time Efficient…Don’t repeat yourself
On the day of the exam…
Select the identification questions you know the best first (this will help relieve some test anxiety).              
Budget your time accordingly (5-6 min each Short Answer – don’t think in terms of sentences)     
Must make choices in timed situation – you will likely know more than you can write or type in 5-6 minutes.  
Get to the point (Don’t waste your time with wordiness or tangential and unnecessary information or personal opinion).             
Be Time Efficient…Don’t repeat yourself

17. Write in complete sentences. Use academic English- avoid slang.
On the day of the exam…
It is the QUALITY of the answer that matters (long answers don’t necessarily mean full credit).
Be specific! Give explicit details from the text and lecture and section rather than Personal Opinion)   
Explicate: Explain why details you draw attention to are important or meaningful.          
Count your answers to make sure you have answered 6 questions (you don’t want to lose 8 points).
Write in complete sentences.
Use academic English- avoid slang.
Please write legibly – If I can’t read it, it will not count.