Short Answer Questions
homework 2

Note:

(1) assignments appear in the syllabus on the day assigned, not the day due

(2) You must submit your written work through blackboard's assignment system

(3) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 2, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_2.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 2

1) Using evidence from the documentary, compare in a paragraph the impact of American hip-hop culture on the war in Sierra Leone and the impact of the local hip-hop culture on that same war. Reviewing your answers to questions 4, 5, and 6 from Homework 1 will help you. Be specific in your argument and be sure to organize your paragraph around a central idea that responds to the question. The evidence you provide should explain why that idea makes sense. Think about which form of hip-hop stressed violence more: that from the United States or that from Sierra Leone during the war?
(worth 20 points)

2)

In this question you will apply an abstract concept to evidence from the video; being able to apply principles learned in one context to material in a different context like this is a critical workplace skill -- and that's why this question appears here.

Economists and political scientists often speak of what's known as the "resource curse." This idea refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources tend to have less economic growth than countries without these natural resources. While this paradox happens for a number of reasons, there are two prime ones that interest us here. The first is government mismanagement, or political corruption, encouraged by the nature of easy money to be gained from such resources. The second is that natural resources can, and often do, not just provoke violent conflicts within societies but also fuel those clashes.

One way to understand this first reason for the "resource curse," (government mismanagement) is to compare societies with an abundance of natural resources to "ordinary" societies that are not resource-dependent. In these "ordinary" societies, governments tax citizens, who demand efficient and responsive government in return. This bargain establishes a political bond between leaders and subjects. In countries whose economies are dominated by natural resources, however, rulers don't need to tax their citizens because they have a guaranteed source of income from natural resources. So the relationship between rulers and the ruled falls apart as leaders fail to provide essential governement services as part of their rule.

Turning to and looking more closely at the second reason, in societies with an abundance of natural resources conflicts can occur over the control and exploitation of resources as well as the distribution of the money ("revenue") earned from the sale of those resources. Moreover, access to resource revenues by combatants can prolong conflicts.

In a paragraph or two of carefully written prose, use evidence from the documentary to demontrate that Sierra Leone has long suffered from the "resource curse" because of the country's abundant diamond resources. Your response absolutely needs to address BOTH of the reasons for the "resource curse" discussed above (government corruption and the fueling of conflict). Reviewing your answers to questions 8 - 14 from Homework 1 will help you. Be specific in your argument by providing explicit details from the documenary. Be sure to organize your paragraphs around a central idea that responds to the question. The evidence you provide should explain why that idea makes sense. A full answer will do more than simply assert that the Sierra Leone's government treats its citizens in a particular fashion; a full answer will explain how the concept of the resource curse allows us to understand why the governments treats it citizens the way it does.


(worth 80 points)