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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. "Dead Troops Talk (A Vision After an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol near Moqor, Afghanistan, Winter 1986" was a photograph taken by which of the following types of photographer?

2. Which Dreiser novel does Sontag reference in the final chapter?

3. Sontag claims that shock used for rhetorical purposes can become _________.

4. Sarajevans were angered by a photography exhibit which featured photographs of their suffering alongside images of which other country's people?

5. Recounting a conversation with a Sarajevan woman, Sontag claims that when people are safe, they will feel which of the following toward atrocities committed abroad?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the photograph that Georges Batailles kept on his desk. Why does Sontag discuss this particular photograph?

2. Why is a museum, in Sontag's opinion, an inappropriate place to display atrocity photographs?

3. Discuss the significance of the photograph's intended purpose. If a photograph is intended to convey a message, but because of the context in which it is displayed does not, is the photograph still successful?

4. Sontag claims that there is historical evidence to suggest that, despite contemporary belief, war has always been the norm, and peace the exception to that norm. Discuss one of the examples Sontag provided.

5. Sontag discusses Sebastiao Salgado's series entitled "Migrations: Humanity in Transition" and points out one very problematic effect of the series. Discuss this effect.

6. Sontag discusses the emergence of apathy and cynicism toward war. According to her discussion, what feeling underlies cynicism about war and atrocity? What is the purpose of this cynicism?

7. Sontag discusses two widespread ideas about the influence of photography. What is the first idea? Discuss it including one example.

8. According to Sontag, how does Goya's "The Disasters of War" differ from most depictions of mutilated and tortured bodies?

9. Sontag asserts that many people become frustrated by their inability to act on the images of suffering they see in the media. What does this frustration often become?

10. How does Sontag refute claims that photography is somehow inherently more voyeuristic than other forms of observation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sontag suggested that specific memory of atrocities may be detrimental to peace efforts. Is this necessarily true? Is there a way in which memories and memorials might contribute to establishing and maintaining peace? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

Media coverage of the Vietnam War produced a mass outcry against war, while the media coverage of 9/11 produced more divergent effects on individuals. What do you think accounts for this difference? Is it perhaps the difference between a far-off conflict and an attack at "home"? Is it perhaps something in the nature of the wars themselves? Is it the difference in media coverage? Or is it something altogether different? Defend your position with evidence and support.

Essay Topic 3

Are images sufficient to provoke anti-war sentiment? Sontag ultimately concluded that photographs alone could not achieve this end. Do you agree or disagree? Are some images striking, shocking, horrifying, or compelling enough to effect change? Do some of Sontag's examples, such as the coverage of the Vietnam War, work for or against her assertion?

(see the answer keys)

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