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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung," which group of Americans does Wilkerson say is facing declining life expectancy?
(a) Young, educated Blacks.
(b) Middle-aged, less-educated Blacks.
(c) Middle-aged, less-educated whites.
(d) Young, educated whites.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Eight: Democracy on the Ballot," what term does Wilkerson introduce for the period between Reconstruction and WWII?
(a) The Nadir.
(b) Jim Crow.
(c) The Segregation Era.
(d) The Long Shadow.

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Price We Pay for a Caste System," what does Wilkerson blame for the relatively low quality of life in the United States?
(a) The cost of suppressing Black talent.
(b) A two-tiered educational system.
(c) Rivalry based in a caste system.
(d) Governmental dysfunction.

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what does Wilkerson say political scientists call "the belief that undeserving groups are getting ahead while your group is left behind" (325)?
(a) Caste loyalty.
(b) Collective narcissism.
(c) Status threat.
(d) Racialized economics.

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," whom does Wilkerson quote as saying that there was nothing more important than making sure that Obama did not win a second election?
(a) An Arizona governor.
(b) The leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
(c) The Republican Senate Majority Leader.
(d) The pastor of the largest evangelical church in Alabama.

6. In "Chapter Sixteen: Last Place Anxiety: Packed in a Flooding Basement," what kind of stratification within America's lowest caste does Wilkerson note?
(a) Stratification based on gender.
(b) Stratification based on skin tone.
(c) Stratification based on educational achievement.
(d) Stratification based on wealth.

7. According to "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what percentage of White voters voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012?
(a) 43 and 39%, respectively.
(b) 32% each time.
(c) 38 and 23%, respectively.
(d) 45% each time.

8. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," Wilkerson relays the story of a Black woman who visits a new white neighbor. What is the white neighbor's response?
(a) He assumes that she works for the dry cleaners he is expecting to pick up his clothing.
(b) He assumes that she is trying to steal the packages that he has on his porch.
(c) He calls the police and reports and intruder in his home.
(d) He calls for his wife, because he assumes that she is there to apply for their nanny position.

9. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," Wilkerson relates the story of a white Brooklyn woman who called the police because of an alleged "sexual assault." How old was the Black person she told the police had assaulted her?
(a) 70.
(b) 9.
(c) 60.
(d) 14.

10. In the opening of "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what does Wilkerson call "The greatest departure from the script of the American caste system" (311)?
(a) The toppling of the Confederate monuments.
(b) The Voting Rights Act.
(c) Reconstruction.
(d) The election of Barack Obama.

11. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what does Wilkerson say caused analysts to be taken by surprise by Trump's victory?
(a) They failed to consider the impact of caste.
(b) They were too limited by their own perspective.
(c) They did not take the economic woes of the heartland seriously.
(d) They listened too much to overseas reactions to Trump.

12. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," Wilkerson says that marginalized people have to learn the "idiosyncrasies" of the ruling class. In this content, what is the best definition of "idiosyncrasy"?
(a) Characteristic particular to one person or group.
(b) Preference or choice.
(c) Peculiarity; eccentricity.
(d) An illogical mannerism, perspective, or habit of speech.

13. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," how did the incident at People's Grocery begin?
(a) When a Black soldier arrived in uniform.
(b) When a Black man tried to vote.
(c) With an argument between two children.
(d) When a Black man did not show enough deference to a white bus driver.

14. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," Wilkerson says that Clinton might have suffered from the "Bradley Effect." What does this mean?
(a) During relatively good economic times voters are more likely to vote for conservative candidates.
(b) Polls tend to under-represent older white voters in agricultural states.
(c) White women did not support Clinton because their primary loyalty was to their caste.
(d) Because of social stigma around Trump, voters told people they were going to vote for Clinton but actually voted for Trump.

15. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what error of John McCain's does Wilkerson say contributed to Obama's victory?
(a) His involvement in the 2008 financial crisis.
(b) He refusal to discuss his war record.
(c) His choice of a vice-presidential candidate.
(d) His open appeals to Black and Mexican voters.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," whose work on collective narcissism does Wilkerson discuss?

2. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," to which narcissistic family role does Wilkerson compare indigenous peoples?

3. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what does Wilkerson say Austin police initially said about the bomb-related death of Stephan House?

4. On page 283 of "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does Wilkerson quote anthropologist Edmund Leach as saying about the lowest caste in India?

5. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what does Wilkerson imply is true about the American response to the 2013 Ebola outbreak?

(see the answer keys)

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