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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. How should materialism be disclaimed, in "Materialism"?

2. What relationship do the writings in Section II have to the writings in Section I?

3. What critique does Bataille make in "The Critique of the Foundations of Hegelian Dialectic"?

4. What does Bataille say surrealism is, in "The 'Old Mole' and the Prefix Sur in the Words Surhomme [Superman] and Surrealist"?

5. What does Bataille say his father looked like in "[Dream]"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the paradox at the heart of "Materialism".

2. What was Bataille's relationship with Andrea Breton?

3. Describe Bataille's involvement with the Popular Front.

4. Describe the importance of the 'cephalus' in Bataille's thinking.

5. What claim did Bataille make in "The Lugubrious Game"?

6. How does the mouth in "Mouth" compare with the eyeball in ''The Eye'?

7. How does the notion of parody apply to the sun in "The Solar Anus"?

8. Describe the change in Bataille's early work to his more mature work and values.

9. How was Bataille's first book received?

10. What were Bataille's early publications?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bataille valued revolutionary concepts from Marx and Hegel, but when the National Socialists came to power in Germany, he organized the Popular Front to oppose it. Characterize Bataille's desire for revolution, in art, in culture, and in European politics.

Essay Topic 2

Research Andre Breton's personality and his effect on surrealism, and assess the value of the proposition that Bataille was better off with Breton as an enemy than he would have been with him as a friend.

Essay Topic 3

How has the importance of obscenity in literature changed since Bataille's time? Research the reactions to Bataille and to other writers who used disorienting or profane language during Bataille's time, and describe the changes that have taken place in readers' response to obscene or profane or sacrilegious material.

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