MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 43: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 43

5. Elsewhere the author writes, "Images of India circulated during the colonial rule of the British raj by writers like Rudyard Kipling seem innocent, but reveal an entrenched argument for white superiority and worldwide domination of other races." This, if taken as an example of cultural studies, illustrates the author's belief that such studies:

  • A. deny the separation between lowbrow culture like Kipling's innocent stories and highbrow culture like discussions of political power.
  • B. examine questions of power and influence, such as the structure of colonial society in India, and raise questions about who was circulating Kipling's writing.
  • C. include mass culture such as Kipling's stories The Jungle Book and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.
  • D. transcend historical analysis.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

B This is a New Information question.

A: No. Nothing indicates that Kipling's stories are or would have been considered lowbrow.

B: Yes. This is consistent with the author's description of the second major goal of cultural studies ("They question inequalities within power structures"), as detailed in paragraph 3; it is also consistent with the author's description of the fourth major goal of cultural studies ("Marxist critics have long recognized the importance of such paraliterary questions as, Who supports a given artist? Who publishes his or her books, and how are these books distributed?") as described in paragraph 5. (Note: Marxist critics are referred to as part of the description of cultural critics.)

C: No. Nothing indicates that Kipling's stories constitute mass culture. Note that A and C are saying basically the same thing, and thus have the same problem-so you can cross them both out.

D: No. This perspective is rooted in history, so it doesn't illustrate how cultural studies transcends, or goes beyond, history.

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