Final Exam: Contrasting Power Structures

Introduction

Throughout this semester, we have focused on the issue of social change and power. We have presented different ways in which people tink we should organize for social change, and the consequences that these diverse ways of organizing have for people’s everyday lives. We have looked at issues that connect the West with certain ways of thinking, and we have critiqued, also, how those ways of thinking impact the worlds that we create. In this exercise we are asking you to contrast these different ways of creating and sustaining power.

The following prompts and questions should be used as steps to help you write a 4,000-word essay. Please make sure you address all of them.

• Read notes on the Cuban Revolution in this book and summarize the reasons that led Cubans to stage an armed insurrection agains the dictator Batista.
• Listen to Prof. Monteagudo’s lecture on Che Geuvara: https://youtu.be/eoFUUPuhLW8
• Explain the concept of Vanguardism by reading “Che Guevara Basic Definitions of Main Concepts” in STPEC’s book in Moodle.
• Listen to Prof. Monteagudo’s lecture on Zapatistas: https://youtu.be/SXHzMaSd9Tc
• Read the definition of Govern-Obeying in Zapatista Takeaways in Introduction to Radical Social Theory, STPEC’s book in Moodle
• Explain the Zapatista insurrection, the reasons behond it, that is, the living conditions of the population of Chiapas, its ethnic composition, and what they did to change their lives in 1994.
  • Explain how is the Zapatista practice of “govern-obeying” different from Che Geuavara’s “Vanguardism”?
  • What were Che’s arguments for Vanguardism? How does he connect the need for “Vanguardism” to the relationship between Cuba and global capitalism?
  • In the face of global capitalism, and other forms of oppression, what are the strengths and the limitations of each?
  • How is “Vanguardism” connected with binary thinking? How is “govern-obeying” an example of Anzaldúa’s divergent thinking? See Gloria Anzaldua Takeaways in STPEC’s book.
  • How do these power structures connect with your ideas for social change?

Essay Guidelines

Your presentation needs to have an introduction, a body where you draw your argument and present evidence, quotes, and examples, and a conclusion.

Introduction 

Explain the concepts that will help you present your vision and tell us how you are going to prove your points.

Body 

Explain your theories and examples clearly. Develop the ideas that you have introduced earlier. Remember to tie your examples with your author’s concepts or ideas and use quotes appropriately. Quotes need to always be explained in your own words.

Conclusion 

Bring it all together. Briefly recap concepts and examples or illustrations to explain how all of the above ties in with your life and vision for a better world.