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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. What does Bataille say about a man who knows his neighbors?

2. What type of men's 'being' does Bataille compare in "The Labyrinth"?

3. What does Bataille say Nietzschean pride comes from?

4. What are the two classes Bataille divides consumption into?

5. With whose picture does Bataille say Nietzsche's picture was paired?

Short Essay Questions

1. Summarize Nicolai Hartmann's interpretation of Hegel.

2. What is the difference between homogeneous and heterogeneous culture as Bataille defines them in "Psychological Structure of Fascism"?

3. What will cause the death and resurrection of God, in Bataille's account in "Propositions"?

4. Judging by "The Critique of the Foundations of the Hegelian Dialectic" and his other essays, what does Bataille see as the value of dialectics?

5. What is the essence of Bataille's essay "The Practice of Joy before Death"?

6. What does Bataille say is the only true liberating act, in "Propositions"?

7. What does contemporary society offer men in "The Sacred Conspiracy", and what does man demand for himself?

8. What do Masson's drawing symbolize for Bataille?

9. Briefly describe the theory of conspicuous consumption.

10. When does Bataille date the origin of the Popular Front to?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bataille aligned himself with Catholicism before he broke with it as a young man--but what religion can we interpolate from Bataille's writing? Analyze his writings and describe the religion or lack of religion in Bataille's writing.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Bataille's relationship with other authors or thinkers, and describe how Bataille navigates between keeping the writer's thoughts and rejecting them. He doesn't just throw them out, does he? How would you characterize his relationship with the work that precedes him? Use examples from the text to explain.

Essay Topic 3

How did the Popular Front fulfill Bataille's ideal of heterogeneity? Analyze his description of the organization in relation with his other essays about revolution and order.

(see the answer keys)

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