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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. Mozart composed eight symphonies, four divertimentos and some sacred works in a few months at what age?

2. Out of what did Milton create poetry in Boorstin's account?

3. Of what is the Florence Foundling Hospital the first according to Boorstin?

4. When did Goethe start Faust?

5. How was Gibbon perceived in Boorstin's account?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Boorstin characterize Michelangelo's contribution to human culture?

2. How does Boorstin characterize Johann Sebastian Bach's contribution to human imaginative work?

3. How does Boorstin describe the evolution of the orchestra over time?

4. Where does Boorstin put Kafka in his portrait of imaginative thinkers?

5. How did visual arts change as artists came to appreciate the power of light?

6. What is the place of the essay in the history Boorstin is describing?

7. How does Boorstin characterize Dickens' contribution to imaginative culture?

8. What is Coleridge's importance in imaginative literature according to Boorstin?

9. What does Boorstin say is Dostoevsky's contribution to imaginative literature?

10. What is the skyscraper's role in the development of the human imagination?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Make an annotated timeline and map to show Boorstin's progress through the history of imagination in World culture. Describe how you arrived at the graphic representation at which you arrived. Account, too, for Boorstin's departures from straight chronology.

Essay Topic 2

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Assess the proposition that Boorstin's inclusion of non-Western art and culture amounts to tokenism that reflects a Western bias.

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This section contains 673 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample