Table of Contents
- Question 51: Contrapuntal Reading
- Question 52: Foucault's Panopticon
- Question 53: Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Decolonising the Mind
- Question 54: Marxism and Postmodernism
- Question 55: The Making of the Working Class
- Question 56: The Empire Writes Back Publication
- Question 57: New Historicism Principles
- Question 58: Postcolonial Theory and Literature
- Question 59: The Negritude Movement
- Question 60: Lev Manovich's Cultural Analytics
Question 51
Which two of the following statements are true about the concept of contrapuntal reading?
A. It locates the anxiety of influence in the text
B. It decodes the political unconscious of the author
C. It unveils how some literary texts are complicit in justifying the ideologies of imperialism
D. It shows how the author can consciously structure the meaning of the text
E. It decodes the intertextual elements in the text which shape the rendering of characters as heroes or villains
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Contrapuntal reading, a concept developed by Edward Said (in Culture and Imperialism), involves reading a text with a simultaneous awareness of both the metropolitan (colonizer) and the marginalized (colonized) histories.
(B) True: It looks beyond the surface narrative to decode the deeper political implications and assumptions (political unconscious) embedded within the text.
(C) True: It critically examines and unveils how canonical literary texts (like Jane Austen's Mansfield Park) are often complicit in justifying or normalizing the ideologies of imperialism.
Why the others are wrong: Statement A refers to Harold Bloom's "anxiety of influence," not Said's contrapuntal reading. D and E do not capture the specific colonial/postcolonial analytical aim of this reading strategy.
Question 52
In Michel Foucault's words, 'Panopticon' refers to
Michel Foucault used the Panopticon (originally a prison design by Jeremy Bentham) as a powerful metaphor for the modern disciplinary society in his 1975 book Discipline and Punish.
The architectural concept allows a central watchman to observe inmates without them knowing if they are currently being watched, forcing them to constantly regulate their own behavior. Foucault argued this represents how modern power operates through invisible, ubiquitous surveillance rather than physical force (corporal punishment).
Question 53
Which of the following statements are true about Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Decolonising the Mind?
A. The complete title of the text is Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature
B. The text was originally published in 1886 while he was on a short visit to London to attend a conference
C. It discusses that the choice of language and the use to which language is put is central to people's definition of themselves
D. Through this text the Nigerian author defends the use of English as a tool to progress
E. Ngugi observed that in a school in a colonial setup, the language of his education was no longer the language of his culture
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The true statements about this seminal 1986 text are:
- (A) True: The complete title is Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature.
- (C) True: It argues that language is inseparable from culture and identity.
- (E) True: Ngũgĩ reflects on how colonial education alienated him from his native Gikuyu language.
Why B and D are wrong: It was published in 1986 (not 1886). Ngũgĩ is a Kenyan author (not Nigerian), and he explicitly rejects the use of English, announcing his decision to write exclusively in Gikuyu and Swahili going forward.
Question 54
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R
Assertion A: Marxism makes no claim to universality.
Reason R: Postmodernism jettisons totalizing frameworks.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Assertion (A) is NOT correct: Marxism, in its foundational principles, does claim universality. It seeks to analyze historical development through a universal, overarching framework of class struggle and dialectical materialism applicable globally.
Reason (R) IS correct: Postmodernism (as defined by Jean-François Lyotard) is characterized by an "incredulity towards metanarratives." It explicitly jettisons (discards) totalizing frameworks and grand theories like Marxism.
(Note: If an official key marked 2, it assumes a specific post-Marxist reading, but structurally, R is a true statement about postmodernism while A contradicts basic Marxist theory).
Question 55
Which among the following is not true about E.P. Thompson's The Making of the Working Class?
A. Studies the development of working class consciousness
B. Defines class as a relationship not as a social structure
C. It is the first systematic study of the history of working class
D. It critiques Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own
E. Reinforces the idea that race and ethnicity are the forms of collective identity
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
The statements that are NOT true regarding E.P. Thompson's seminal 1963 history book are D and E:
(D) is false: It is a Marxist historical text focusing on the English working class between 1780 and 1832; it does not critique Virginia Woolf's feminist essay.
(E) is false: The book's core focus is on class as the primary form of collective identity and solidarity, not modern concepts of race and ethnicity.
Statements A, B, and C accurately reflect the book's thesis that the working class "made itself" through active relationship building and consciousness.
Question 56
The famous text The Empire Writes Back came out in the year:
The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures was published in 1989 by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin.
It is a foundational text in postcolonial studies. The title was inspired by an article written by Salman Rushdie, creating a pun on the Star Wars film title to symbolize colonized cultures pushing back against imperial center narratives.
Question 57
Which of these are true about New Historicism?
A. New Historicists do not use thick descriptions for the examination of cultural production
B. Literary works are not autonomous and timeless
C. History is always narrated. History is a matter of interpretation.
D. All historical analysis is objective
E. History is neither progressive nor linear
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
New Historicism (spearheaded by Stephen Greenblatt in the 1980s) views literature and history through a post-structuralist lens:
(C) True: History is not a collection of objective facts; it is always narrated, constructed, and a matter of interpretation (textuality of history).
(E) True: History is neither progressive nor linear (rejecting the Whig history model of continuous human progress).
Why A and D are wrong: New Historicists heavily rely on Clifford Geertz's concept of "thick description" (A is false). They completely reject the idea that historical analysis can ever be purely objective (D is false).
Question 58
Which of the following statements are true with regard to Postcolonial theory and Literature?
A. The Empire Writes Back is a non-fictional text on postcolonialism
B. Black Skin White Masks is a fictional text narrating multidisciplinary analysis of the effects of colonialism on the protagonist
C. A Critique of Postcolonial Reason is a work written by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
D. Edward W. Said wrote his autobiography titled In Place to reflect the love-hate relationship with the West
E. Postcolonialism addresses those questions that emerge in the wake of the departure of colonial masters
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The true statements are:
- (A) True: The Empire Writes Back is a foundational non-fiction theoretical text.
- (C) True: A Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999) was written by Gayatri Spivak.
- (E) True: Postcolonialism focuses on the cultural, political, and economic legacy lingering after colonial masters depart.
Why B and D are wrong: Frantz Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks is a non-fictional, psychological, and sociological analysis, not a fictional text (B). Edward Said's autobiography is titled Out of Place, not In Place (D).
Question 59
Which among the following is/are not true about Negritude?
A. The movement was started by French speaking African and Caribbean writers living in Paris
B. The movement aimed at examining western values critically and to reassess African culture
C. The movement was against British colonial rule and the policy of colonisation
D. The leading figure of the movement was Leopold Sedar Senghor
E. The movement was influenced by the creed of Art for Art's Sake
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The statements that are NOT true about the Négritude movement are C and E:
(C) is false: It primarily arose as a reaction against French colonial rule and the French policy of assimilation, not British colonial rule (as it was started by Francophone intellectuals like Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor).
(E) is false: It was highly political and anti-imperialist, heavily influenced by Marxism and Surrealism. It firmly rejected the apolitical "Art for Art's Sake" aesthetic.
Question 60
According to Lev Manovich, "Cultural analytics" refers to
Lev Manovich coined the term "Cultural Analytics" in 2007 to describe the use of computational and data visualization methods to explore and analyze massive datasets of contemporary digital media and visual culture.
It bridges data science and media studies, moving beyond traditional small-sample close readings to analyze the vast volume of digital cultural artifacts produced daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Contrapuntal Reading?
Developed by Edward Said in Culture and Imperialism, contrapuntal reading involves interpreting texts by being simultaneously aware of the dominant colonial narrative and the hidden, marginalized histories of the colonized that the text suppresses or justifies.
What does Michel Foucault mean by the 'Panopticon'?
Foucault used the Panopticon—a prison design where inmates can be watched constantly without knowing when—as a metaphor for modern disciplinary societies, where individuals internalize surveillance and discipline themselves.
What is the Négritude movement?
Founded in Paris in the 1930s by Francophone intellectuals like Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor, it was a literary and ideological movement aimed at cultivating "Black consciousness," celebrating African heritage, and opposing French colonial assimilation policies.
What is New Historicism's view on history?
New Historicism views history not as an objective, linear progression of facts, but as a series of narrated, subjective texts. It treats history as text and literature as history, heavily utilizing Clifford Geertz's "thick description" to analyze cultural contexts.
