MH Master of Humanities 4

Question 1

Which Renaissance humanist wrote 'The Prince,' a foundational text in political theory?

Accepted Answer

Niccolò Machiavelli

Answer

Niccolò Machiavelli wrote 'The Prince' (1532), a pragmatic treatise on political power that separated politics from conventional morality.

Question 2

What is the 'linguistic turn' in humanities scholarship?

Accepted Answer

The recognition that language shapes and limits our understanding of reality

Answer

The linguistic turn refers to the late 20th-century shift in humanities toward viewing language not just as a tool but as constitutive of social reality and knowledge.

Question 3

In literary theory, what is the 'death of the author' as proposed by Roland Barthes?

Accepted Answer

The argument that the author's intentions are irrelevant to a text's meaning

Answer

Roland Barthes argued in 1967 that the author's intentions and biography should not constrain literary interpretation, liberating meaning to emerge from the reader.

Question 4

Which period in Western history is characterized by the phrase 'the Dark Ages,' and what do most modern historians think of this term?

Accepted Answer

The Early Middle Ages; most historians reject it as misleading and Eurocentric

Answer

The 'Dark Ages' typically refers to the Early Middle Ages in Europe, but most historians reject the term as an oversimplification that ignores significant cultural and intellectual activity of the period.

Question 5

What is 'intersectionality' as a concept in humanities and social theory?

Accepted Answer

The interconnected nature of social identities like race, gender, and class, and how they create overlapping systems of discrimination

Answer

Kimberlé Crenshaw coined intersectionality to describe how overlapping social identities create compounded forms of discrimination and privilege.

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test

MH Master of Humanities 4