select one prompt from the list below to address in a 4 – 6 double spaced paper: 1. What is the relationship between the ″two faces of culture″, identified by David Laitin? How are both classified and how does one ″face″ compensate for the other? Which one do you think is more critical to our understanding of political culture, or do you think both are equally inter-dependent? In addressing this question, make sure you provide at least one example to explain your rationales. They may be taken from class, or they can be something you′re familiar with. The goal here is to demonstrate your critical thinking skills regarding these two facets. 2. Taken directly from one of the discussion questions, but with the ability to expand a lot more utilizing Putnam, Sabetti, and Berman: Do you feel that democratic potential today is largely conditioned by the past? In other words, is the amount of democratic potential in a country, a region, or a region of a country, basically predetermined by a series of events in the distant past that present individuals basically have no control over? And if this is so, is there any hope that certain regions of the world can “escape” their past and actually develop into something better? 3. Does culture shape institutions, or do institutions shape culture? You can use elements from either our discussion of theories of social capital, or begin your foray into theories of social character.
