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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 3: "Part Three: The Eight Pillars of Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is the traditional Indian word for "caste"?
(a) Dalit.
(b) Vaishya.
(c) Varna.
(d) Kshatriya.

2. According to Wilkerson in In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what do social scientists say combines with racial bias to produce racism?
(a) Overt hatred.
(b) Personal intention.
(c) Systemic power.
(d) Extremism.

3. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what does the Nigerian playwright tell Wilkerson about Blacks in Africa?
(a) They are afraid to come to the U.S.
(b) They also have a history of slavery.
(c) They do not exist.
(d) They are also prejudiced against Black Americans.

4. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what does Wilkerson say we are doing when we "see" race?
(a) Perpetuating a system of oppression.
(b) Taking in only a small number of the features that actually differentiate races.
(c) Participating in a self-reinforcing cycle that causes us to "see" what we expect to see.
(d) Noting arbitrary physical signs that we have been taught to read as "race."

5. To whom is Wilkerson referring on page 4 when she describes someone as "a no-nonsense national figure overqualified by some estimates"?
(a) Donald Trump.
(b) Hillary Clinton.
(c) Bernie Sanders.
(d) Barack Obama.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 16, Wilkerson says that people adjust to the "idiosyncrasies" of an old house. What is she saying that they adjust to?

2. To what part of history does Wilkerson explicitly link the Electoral College?

3. According to "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what did the United States use to "curate" its population (123)?

4. In the opening analogy of the book, what is the melting permafrost being compared to?

5. What technique does Wilkerson use for the first time in the beginning of "An Old House and an Infrared Light"?

(see the answer key)

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