List of topics for the midterm exam
This list is intended as a rough guide for your studying. The two broad, important topics are the logical way to think about the evidence (and why this approach is so important) and the facts of the case that are needed to reach concrete conclusions about it. In short: procedures, relevant evidence, and conclusions. Good luck!
Critical thinking
Meaning of critical words.
Types of evidence
Pitfalls of witness testimony
Gradations of witness testimony
The steps in our procedure for thinking critically
The importance of falsifiability
The reasons for each of these steps
Logical approach to the throat wound, the back wound, the
Tippit shooting, etc.
The Warren Report
The Warren Commission
Who formed it and why
Backgrounds of commissioners and
staff
Sources of its information
Its major conclusions
The assassination
Why JFK went to Texas
Route of the motorcade
Why it passed in front of TSBD
The shooting proper (number of shots,
timing, source, etc.)
Efforts to save the President's life
The "pristine bullet": was
it really?
James Jarman and friends
The SBT: what it is and whether it is
feasible
The timeline
that made the SBT come into being
What about shooters from the knoll?
The immediate aftermath
Removal of the body from Texas
The autopsy (who conducted it, what
they found, etc.)
The wounds
How we know
the shots came from the rear
How we know
the bullets came from Oswald's rifle
Howard Brennan as star witness for
the WC
The Tippit shooting: how strong is
the evidence against Oswald?
Capture of Oswald, detention
How strong is the web of evidence
against Oswald? How close does it come to fingering him? (Rifle, ballistics,
witnesses, etc.)
Ruby shooting Oswald—his
activities Sunday morning; evidence for and against conspiracy
Oswald as secret agent: what do we
know?
Early reactions to the assassination
Mark Lane's "lawyer's brief": its major points
and their validity
M. S. Arnoni—how he thinks and
whether it is valid.
New Times articles: what they are trying to do and
whether they succeed
Early reactions to the Warren Report
Herbert L. Packer's legal approach to the evidence
How does Packer's approach compare with ours?
Crawford's 20 questions for the Warren Commission: how well
does the Commission do?