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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 4: Optimism, Irving finds significance in the fact that she did not live through which historical event?
(a) The Great Depression.
(b) The Korean War.
(c) The Red Scare.
(d) The Jonestown Flood.

2. At which institution was Dr. McIntosh teaching when she wrote an influential essay about white privilege?
(a) William and Mary.
(b) Princeton.
(c) Wellesley.
(d) Yale.

3. In Chapter 3: Race Versus Class, Irving states that "Understanding" what, "regardless of class, is key to understanding racism" (26)?
(a) Whiteness.
(b) Privilege.
(c) Assimilation.
(d) Wealth.

4. Which American generation is defined as having been born between the years of 1946 and 1964?
(a) Generation X.
(b) Baby Boomers.
(c) The Lost Generation.
(d) Generation Y.

5. Irving discusses the acronym WASP in Chapter 3: Race Versus Class, stating that the W stands for which word?
(a) Wealthy.
(b) White.
(c) Women.
(d) Weathered.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 7: The GI Bill, Irving uses the bill to underscore "the meaning of" (45) what?

2. Irving states that American culture and government have always rejected the idea of America as what object?

3. Irving asserts that American culture and government have always embraced the idea of America as what object?

4. Which word does Irving define as "a collective character that describes a set of beliefs and behaviors that identify the group" (79)?

5. Irving writes in Chapter 7: The GI Bill, "The GI Bill is one of the best examples of affirmative action for" (48) whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Irving explore the origins of the desirability of white skin in Chapter 8: Racial Categories?

2. What message does Irving send in Chapter 3: Race Versus Class about the distinction between those two elements of society?

3. What is the significance of Jean Elliott's experimentation in 1968?

4. What is the motivation for the dominant culture's stance regarding America as either a melting pot or a mosaic?

5. What solution does Irving offer for creating a more complete picture of American history?

6. Describe one theme present within the epigraph presented at the beginning of Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race.

7. What is the symbolism of the set of diplomas described in Chapter 16: Logos and Stereotypes?

8. For what reason does Irving use an allusion to the television show I Love Lucy in Chapter 12: Icebergs?

9. What was the Carlisle School and what effect did it have on the rest of the country?

10. What is another term for inattentional blindness and what do the two terms mean?

(see the answer keys)

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