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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 was the first literary work according to Boorstin?

2. Of what are Chaucer's Canterbury Tales comprised?

3. What was unique about the first literary work in Boorstin's account?

4. What is a dithyramb?

5. What does Boorstin say the Renaissance offered to Shakespeare?

Short Essay Questions

1. What contribution did the Egyptians make to writing and self-expression?

2. How does Boorstin describe the birth of drama?

3. How do Muslims differ from Greeks and Christians in their approach to making images?

4. What explanation does Boorstin offer for the cave paintings of Altamira, Lascaux and Les Trois Freres?

5. How does Boorstin characterize the Gothic style of art?

6. What was St. Augustine's contribution to imaginative culture according to Boorstin?

7. What contribution did the Egyptians make in building the pyramids?

8. How does Boorstin characterize Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?

9. What contribution does Boorstin say Boethius made to imaginative culture?

10. How does Boorstin describe the difference between tragedy and comedy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do women play so small a part in The Creators? Analyze the text to describe Boorstin's ideas about women and women's contribution to Western culture and the development of the imagination. Are they principally muses instead of creators? Are they principally biological creators instead of artistic creators? How does Boorstin describe women's roles in culture?

Essay Topic 2

Make an annotated timeline and map to show Boorstin's progress through the history of imagination in World culture. Describe how you arrived at the graphic representation at which you arrived. Account, too, for Boorstin's departures from straight chronology.

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

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