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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sontag discusses "Here Is New York," a photography exhibit depicting September 11th. Whom did the organizers ask to contribute photographs?
(a) Professional artists only.
(b) Amateurs only.
(c) Photojournalists only.
(d) Anyone who captured an image of the tragedy.

2. Sontag discusses one year in European history in which the photograph was able to truly capture the nature of human atrocities. Which year was it?
(a) 1912.
(b) 1975.
(c) 1945.
(d) 1902.

3. Sontag claims that American journalists have always followed one tacit prohibition. What have American journalists always avoided?
(a) Printing images of American-committed war crimes.
(b) Printing images of the faces of American dead.
(c) Printing images of mass American casualties.
(d) Printing images of suffering women and children.

4. Fenton received directions from the War Office to do which of the following?
(a) Glorify war through patriotic images.
(b) Generate propaganda for Britain.
(c) Avoid photographing the ill, wounded, dying and dead.
(d) Graphically depict the horrors of war.

5. According to Sontag, photographs of atrocities are best received if they are:
(a) Well-lit and high-contrast.
(b) Close-ups of compelling scenes.
(c) Images of familiar places or people.
(d) So artistically simple as to seem uncomposed.

6. Sontag lists which of the following as images that the artist "takes"?
(a) Paintings.
(b) Photographs.
(c) Drawings.
(d) Etchings.

7. Sontag discusses a famous series of photographs taken by Tyler Hicks, titled "A Nation Challenged." What does this series depict?
(a) A wounded Taliban soldier.
(b) Hugo Chavez.
(c) The destruction of the Twin Towers.
(d) Osama Bin Laden.

8. Sontag argues that the most extensive kind of censorship is which of the following?
(a) The self-censorship of broadcast companies.
(b) Military censorship.
(c) Government censorship.
(d) The censorship implied by public sensibility.

9. Noting the long history of the "iconography of suffering," Sontag lists three types of art which depict incredible agony. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
(a) Images of the martyrdom of the Christian saints.
(b) The statue of Laocoon and his sons.
(c) The Pieta.
(d) Images and scultpures of the Passion of Christ.

10. Recalling traditions of the 16th and 17th century, Sontag claims that printing images of dark-skinned people in moments of suffering or pain is part of a long tradition of which of the following?
(a) Creating interest in the human rights violations committed against the colonized or dominated.
(b) Drumming up feelings of superiority over the colonized or dominated.
(c) Protesting oppressive treatment of the colonized or dominated.
(d) Displaying the bodies of the colonized or dominated.

11. The first war photographer, whose work garnered him the position as "official photographer" of the Crimean War, was which of the following?
(a) Ernst Friedrich.
(b) Edmund Gosse.
(c) Roger Fenton.
(d) Robert Capa.

12. Which Virginia Woolf book does Sontag discuss in detail?
(a) The Hours.
(b) Three Guineas.
(c) Orlando.
(d) Mrs. Dalloway.

13. Sontag describes a famous photograph from the Spanish Civil War in which two things occur simultaneously. What are those two things?
(a) A boy died and a helicopter landed.
(b) A shot was fired and a soldier fell.
(c) The photograph was snapped and the soldier was hit by a bullet.
(d) A soldier was shot and the commander surrendered.

14. The conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s stood out to many onlookers for which of the following reasons?
(a) Most people believe that atrocities like that do not happen in Europe.
(b) The media hyped the conflicts by airing footage during each broadcast.
(c) The violence was more extreme than other conflicts of the era.
(d) Government propaganda incited great public interest.

15. Sontag claims that Jacques Callot's 1633 painting, "The Miseries and Misfortunes of War" was unprecedented for which of the following reasons?
(a) The painting was the first anti-war protest work.
(b) The painting portrayed shocking violence and bloodshed.
(c) The painting emphasized the savagery of the conquering army.
(d) The painting glorified the horrors of war.

Short Answer Questions

1. Goya's "Los Desastres de la Guerra" (The Disasters of War) was a series of etchings published in 1863. Which of the following events does this series depict?

2. Sontag lists which of the following as images that the artist "makes"?

3. The media may inform the public of war crimes and atrocities, but often fails to capture the:

4. Sontag discusses reactions to the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Which of the following is NOT a reaction Sontag recalls hearing?

5. How many images did the "Here Is New York" exhibit originally receive?

(see the answer keys)

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