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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. How should materialism be disclaimed, in "Materialism"?

2. When did Bataille publish "W.C."?

3. How does Bataille describe the Mithraic cult ritual of the sun in "Rotten Sun"?

4. What does the other self-mutilator (besides Van Gogh) do in "Sacrificial Mutilation and the Severed Ear of Vincent Van Gogh"?

5. In what piece of writing did Bataille record his childhood?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bataille say about surrealism in "The 'Old Mole' and the Prefix Sur in the Words Surhomme [Superman] and Surrealist"?

2. How does the notion of parody apply to the sun in "The Solar Anus"?

3. How does the mouth in "Mouth" compare with the eyeball in ''The Eye'?

4. What was Bataille's relationship with Andrea Breton?

5. What experience does Bataille elevate in "Rotten Sun"?

6. What were Bataille's early publications?

7. What is the value of Gnosticism in "Base Materialism and Gnosticism"

8. Describe the importance of the 'cephalus' in Bataille's thinking.

9. What claim did Bataille make in "The Lugubrious Game"?

10. What does Bataille say about 'freaks' in "The Deviations of Nature"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bataille aligned himself with Catholicism before he broke with it as a young man--but what religion can we interpolate from Bataille's writing? Analyze his writings and describe the religion or lack of religion in Bataille's writing.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the importance of Nietzsche's ideas and writing in Bataille's work--what did Bataille say by referring to Nietzsche's work?

Essay Topic 3

Bataille valued revolutionary concepts from Marx and Hegel, but when the National Socialists came to power in Germany, he organized the Popular Front to oppose it. Characterize Bataille's desire for revolution, in art, in culture, and in European politics.

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