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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. The first mode of double consciousness is particular to whom?

2. What heresy did Richard Wright commit, in Gilroy's account?

3. What is the last period of black history, according to DuBois, in The Souls of Black Folk?

4. What does Gilroy say is wrong with contemporary criticism of African-American literature?

5. What is the effect of turning toward tradition in Gilroy's account?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did DuBois conclude from his observations of black culture?

2. What was James Weldon Johnson's contribution to Gilroy's book?

3. What are the three modes of thinking, seeing and being which DuBois says are the basis of double consciousness?

4. What does Gilroy say DuBois reminded blacks?

5. What distinction does Gilroy say Richard Wright holds?

6. What did DuBois argue was the only way to deal with the brutality of modern civilized life in the South?

7. Why was Wright criticized for his characterizations, according to Gilroy?

8. What is the relationship between black and Jewish cultures, as Gilroy defines it?

9. What is the importance of the theme of love and loss in black popular arts, according to Gilroy?

10. What does Gilroy have to say about violence in American culture?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does Paul Gilroy use contradictions or paradoxes to define the black Atlantic? Citing examples from the text and from the texts he cites, make an argument about whether the cultural forms and trends Gilroy describes are meant to be reconciled, or whether they are meant to persist in pregnant opposition.

Essay Topic 2

Gilroy celebrates black music for its ability to avoid the monotone discourse that takes place in other parts of black culture. How does Gilroy himself preserve the sound of other voices and perspectives throughout his book?

Essay Topic 3

Write an evaluative review of The Black Atlantic. What is this book's place in culture? What are its uses? Who is its audience? What are its limitations?

(see the answer keys)

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