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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Do Not Despair This Country," who does Lalami say voting rights should be extended to in the U.S.?

2. What year did California begin fingerprinting welfare recipients?

3. Despite being secular, what common Muslim rule did Lalami's father enforce?

4. When does Lalami say she became inspired by Moroccan feminists?

5. What two adjectives does Lalami use to describe the "fiction" (112) of race?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Lalami say happens when white men commit mass killings in the U.S.?

2. What are some examples Lalami indicates in "Caste," of how poor people have been denied rights like voting?

3. In what ways were welfare recipients in California treated as criminals, according to Lalami in "Caste"?

4. Describe the TV producer at Channel One where Lalami worked after grad school. How does she think her firing had to do with him?

5. In what ways does Thomas Jefferson's claim that "all men are created equal" contradict his life?

6. What does Lalami describe about her neighbors in Koreatown after an earthquake hit?

7. Despite growing up poor, what advantage did Lalami have in Morocco which she said "granted [her] access to elite groups" (127)?

8. What does Lalami cite as different between the way Moroccans and Americans view those living in poverty?

9. How are poor people kept from running for government office, according to Lalami in "Tribe"?

10. How did Lalami's parents' expectations of her begin to differ from that of her brother when she reached adolescence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do border walls signify in Conditional Citizens? What specific border walls are discussed in the book? How do these walls impact the narrative and develop themes of citizenship and inequality?

Essay Topic 2

Lalami notes a marked difference between how the crack epidemic, which ravaged Black communities, and the opioid epidemic, which struck mainly white rural communities, were handled. Find 1-2 articles on each and write an essay comparing and contrasting how each issues was viewed and managed.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing Lalami's commentary on gender in both America and Morocco. What is the same and what is different regarding how women are treated? Use examples to support your analysis.

(see the answer keys)

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