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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 did Leiris portray Bataille to Breton?

2. When was George Bataille born?

3. What are the rats doing in "[Dream]"?

4. What does Bataille say about monsters in "The Deviations of Nature"?

5. What critique does Bataille make in "The Critique of the Foundations of Hegelian Dialectic"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the paradox at the heart of "Materialism".

4. Describe Bataille's religion in childhood.

5. How does self-mutilation in "Sacrificial Mutilation and the Severed Ear of Vincent Van Gogh" relate to Bataille's description of body parts in other essays.

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

7. Describe Bataille's schooling.

8. What were Bataille's early publications?

9. What type of essay is "Formless"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Assess the value of Andre Breton's claim that Bataille was an 'excremental philosopher'. Is this a fair characterization of Bataille's work, or is Breton missing the point?

Essay Topic 2

How did the Popular Front fulfill Bataille's ideal of heterogeneity? Analyze his description of the organization in relation with his other essays about revolution and order.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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