Exam Schedule

Here you will find the course exam schedule for the Spring 2008 semester.  Any changes will also be noted here.

First quiz- Friday, February 1

Second quiz- Monday, February 11

Third quiz- Friday, February 29

Mid-term- Wednesday, March 19

Fourth quiz- Monday, March 31

Fifth quiz- Monday, April 14

Sixth quiz- Monday, May 5

Final Exam - Wednesday, May 7, 3:00-5:30 p.m.

Sample exam questions

These are some of the questions which were asked on the final exam the last time this course was taught.  They are a very good sample of the kinds of questions you can expect on quizzes, the mid-term and the final in this course.

Definitional Questions: these appear on the mid-term and the final: (1) What was the sharecropping system and why was it developed? Explain. (2) The Wagner Act incorporated the concept of "unfair labor practices" for the first time. Explain the concept and how the law dealt with it. Give an example of an unfair labor practice.

Reading Questions: these appear on the quizzes: (1) In "African-American Washerwomen Demand Higher Wages, 1866," (in Boris and Lichtenstein), who wrote this letter and to whom did they write it? Explain. (2) In the article by Roth ("Workers' Rights in the United States"), the author stated that the group "Human Rights Watch" had made some disturbing findings about the ability of US workers to exercise their legal rights. Human Rights Watch then made several recommendations for changes in the law to address these problems. Identify two of the changes they recommended.

Lecture Questions: these appear on the mid-term and the final: (1) What were the principal issues of concern to workers and their organizations in the period from 1800 to 1860? Identify and explain three. (2) Three major groups of private sector workers were largely outside the labor movement in the 1960s. Identify any two of those groups and explain why they were not unionized.

Longer Essay Question: this will appear only on the final: One of the themes of U.S. labor history is the evolution of worker rights in the work place and in the community. Trace the history of worker rights from the colonial period to the present. In answering the question, make sure you discuss such issues as various forms of unfree labor, the treatment of women and minorities by employers and governments, the treatment of various forms of worker protest by government, unions and collective bargaining. Use specific appropriate concepts and examples from the reading material and the lectures to support your points.