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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sontag cites William Hazlitt's claim that sympathy is no more a part of human nature than is which of the following?
(a) Fear of pain.
(b) Love of cruelty.
(c) Love of power.
(d) Fear of death.

2. How many soldiers did Wall's photograph depict?
(a) Three.
(b) Thirteen.
(c) Five.
(d) Twelve.

3. Sontag cites the Japanese narrative "Chushingura" in which the protagonist stops to appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms one last time before committing ritual suicide as an example of which kind of shocking art?
(a) The type which is often underestimated for its emotional impact.
(b) The type which, through the narrative form of pathos, continually induces emotional reactions.
(c) The type which is only relative to a particular culture, and thus has little effect on outsiders.
(d) The type which is perennially performed, but which achieves less of a reaction with each performance.

4. Sontag argues that which of the following effects keeps the television viewer's attention "light", "mobile" and fairly "indifferent" to the images on the screen?
(a) Image-glut.
(b) Media coverage.
(c) Overload.
(d) Advertising.

5. Sontag cites one of her earlier books published in 1977. Which of the following is it?
(a) "Against Interpretation."
(b) "On Photography."
(c) "Reborn."
(d) "Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors."

6. When Baudelaire expressed his concerns about the effects of the newspaper in 1860, which of the following was true?
(a) Newspapers had begun printing images alongside the stories.
(b) Newspapers did NOT yet print images.
(c) Newspapers had recently become more widely available to the public.
(d) Newspapers had begun to sensationalize headlines.

7. Concerned with the public health risk posed by cigarette smoking, officials in which country suggested that images of black lungs, damaged hearts or periodontal disease be included on the warning label for tobacco products?
(a) France.
(b) United Kindgom.
(c) United States.
(d) Canada.

8. Which of the following terms does Sontag define as a commonly used term for those whose profession like journalists takes them into war zones?
(a) Conflict exploitation.
(b) War voyeurism.
(c) Atrocity tourism.
(d) War tourism.

9. The West had a long tradition of viewing war as which of the following?
(a) Honorable.
(b) Atrocity.
(c) Necessary.
(d) Spectacle.

10. It was generally thought that public awareness was largely guided by which of the following?
(a) Government propaganda.
(b) Media coverage.
(c) Educational programming.
(d) Book industry.

11. Many of the scenes in "Saving Private Ryan" were based on works by which famous World War I photographer?
(a) Roger Fenton.
(b) Robert Capa.
(c) Gilles Peress.
(d) Ernst Friedrich.

12. Which sense did the ancient Greeks consider superior?
(a) Sight.
(b) Hearing.
(c) Smell.
(d) Touch.

13. Sontag writes that provocative images may have which of the following effects on viewers?
(a) Provocative images may spur viewers to examine how their own privileges are possible through the suffering of others.
(b) Provocative images of suffering may incite humanitarian actions to end exploitative actions.
(c) Provocative images of suffering may compel viewers to stop subscribing to newspapers for fear of seeing more disturbing photographs.
(d) Provocative images of suffering may enable a deep sense of human empathy.

14. Sontag claims that witnessing atrocity through images is not much different than witnessing them in person. What does she say these activities had in common?
(a) Callousness, exploitation and distance.
(b) Callousness, distance and apathy.
(c) Ease, distance and the ability to be redirected.
(d) Ability to be redirected, callousness and ease.

15. Sontag suggests that photographs do NOT ask which of the following tasks of the viewers?
(a) To evaluate the morality of the situation depicted in the image.
(b) To work toward peace.
(c) To retain specific knowledge about each human atrocity.
(d) To put an end to human cruelty.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sontag insists that images may be ineffective; however, they do serve one basic and significant function. What is that function?

2. Sontag claims that the model for public space in modern society is which of the following?

3. Sontag suggests that, for the most part, photographs received more serious attention when placed in which of the following scenarios?

4. According to Sontag, if one feels sympathy for the victims of suffering, it helps ensure that one cannot be ___________.

5. Sontag suggests that it is still possible to "feel the pulse of Christian iconography" in much war photography. Which famous work of art does she suggest can be seen in W. Eugene Smith's photograph of the woman in Minamata cradling her child?

(see the answer keys)

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