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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. What is the third of the six themes of courtship described by the author in Chapter 6, "Scientific Truth ... and Love"?

2. According to the author in Chapter 6, "Scientific Truth ... and Love" love and marriage were to be regulated by whom?

3. Premarital sex was not “conventional” until what decade, according to the author?

4. A sociologist argued that the changes in American attitudes towards marriage after World War I were the consequence of what in Chapter 6, "Scientific Truth ... and Love"?

5. What consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the strengths and weaknesses of marriage experts in the twentieth century?

2. How did the category of “American youth” change from the nineteenth to the twentieth century?

3. How do American youth feel about the lack of clarity in the rules of contemporary dating according to the author in the Epilogue?

4. What did Ernest Burgess advocate doing in order to address the issue of courtship in America?

5. What does the author note about the past twenty-five years in her Epilogue?

6. According to the author in the Epilogue, the sexual revolution was primarily a revolution in meaning. What does she mean by this?

7. How did physical displays of affection evolve in the early part of the twentieth century?

8. What metaphors have replaced the metaphors of economy, according to the author in the Epilogue?

9. What threatened gender identity in the twentieth century, according to the author in Chapter 5, "The Etiquette of Masculinity and Femininity"?

10. What reasons does the author assert that men and women submitted to the system of gender etiquette in Chapter 5, "The Etiquette of Masculinity and Femininity"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the innovations of “petting” and “necking” in the early twentieth century. How were these terms defined by the youth culture? What did etiquette books say of these activities during the 1950s? When did perceptions of these actions change?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the impact of World War II on the system of dating and courtship in America. What did “going steady” mean and why did it gain prominence after the war? How were women’s roles changed during and after the war? Why did they change?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the etiquette of dating and going steady during the 1950s. What tokens were exchanged to symbolize commitment in couples at this time? How important were these tokens? What role did sexual behavior play in this system?

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