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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 tone did Andre Masson establish in his drawings?

2. What does Bataille say would result from a difference of events in his experience?

3. What does Bataille say is the only religion for fascists?

4. With whose picture does Bataille say Nietzsche's picture was paired?

5. What does Bataille say democracy is based on?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does a man find himself in "The Labyrinth"?

2. What is fascism's relationship with homo- and heterogeneity?

3. How does Bataille portray Engels' interpretation of Hegel's philosophy in "The Critique of the Foundations of the Hegelian Dialectic"?

4. How did Nietzsche respond to the decay of his culture, according to Bataille's essay "Nietzschean Chronicle"?

5. What pattern for self-discovery does Bataille offer in "The Sacred"?

6. What will cause the death and resurrection of God, in Bataille's account in "Propositions"?

7. What is the difference between homogeneous and heterogeneous culture as Bataille defines them in "Psychological Structure of Fascism"?

8. What aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy did the Fascists appropriate, in Bataille's account in "Nietzsche and the Fascists"?

9. Summarize Nicolai Hartmann's interpretation of Hegel.

10. How does Bataille reconcile the opposition between self and world in "Sacrifices"?

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

What exactly is it that Bataille wants people to see about reality and human experience? Describe the value of pornographic or chaotic or revolutionary things in Bataille's work.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Bataille's relationship with other authors or thinkers, and describe how Bataille navigates between keeping the writer's thoughts and rejecting them. He doesn't just throw them out, does he? How would you characterize his relationship with the work that precedes him? Use examples from the text to explain.

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