AP World History : Cultural History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1750 To 1900

Jean Francois Champollion is notable for ______________.

Possible Answers:

organizing a failed rebellion against Napoleon in French conquered Italy

discovering the source of the Nile River

deciphering the Rosetta Stone and allowing people to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics

uncovering the preserved tomb of King Tutankhamen

being the first man to circumnavigate the Earth

Correct answer:

deciphering the Rosetta Stone and allowing people to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics

Explanation:

Jean Francois Champollion is notable for deciphering the Rosetta Stone and allowing people to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics for the first time. He achieved this in 1822, following the discovery of the Rosetta stone by French troops, fighting for Napoleon in North Africa.

Example Question #461 : Cultural History

Leo Tolstoy's, War and Peace, is partly an account of which conflict?

Possible Answers:

Russian Civil War

Napoleonic Wars

World War I 

Russo-Turkish War

World War II

Correct answer:

Napoleonic Wars

Explanation:

Tolstoy's War and Peace is set in Tsarist society during the Napoleonic wars and details, in part, the French invasion of Russia in 1812. 

Example Question #462 : Cultural History

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone led to the translation of which of these ancient languages?

Possible Answers:

Hebrew

Egyptian

Phoenician

Sumerian

Bantu

Correct answer:

Egyptian

Explanation:

The Rosetta Stone was found in the early nineteenth century. It contained both Egyptian hieroglyphics and Greek writing. This allowed Egyptian hieroglyphs to be translated for the first time.

Example Question #463 : Cultural History

Which of the following authors published the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus?

Possible Answers:

Jonathan Swift

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

George Gordon Byron

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Correct answer:

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Explanation:

Percy Bysshe Shelley was the husband of Mary Shelley, and while he wrote in the same time period, he is an incorrect answer. Byron was a friend to both the Shelley's — well known for the poem Don Juan — although he did not write Frankenstein, so he would not be a good choice. Jonathan Swift was best known for A Modest Proposal and he died before Frankenstein was published, so he would not be a suitable choice. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a well known literary figure in the time, but he was predominantly a poet, so he would not be a good choice either. Lastly, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is the author, and although she published anonymously originally, she is now widely credited as the author, making her the best choice.

Example Question #1 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1900 To Present

Which artistic movement originated in the Soviet Union?

Possible Answers:

Impressionism

Socialist-Modernism

Art Deco

Expressionism

Socialist Realism

Correct answer:

Socialist Realism

Explanation:

Socialist realism was a rejection of "bourgeoisie" artistic styles in favor of sculptures, paintings, and works of literature that celebrated the lives of workers and peasants. It was also used as propaganda to promote the rule of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government.  

Example Question #2 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1900 To Present

Which German-language writer was a strong opponent of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler during World War II?

Possible Answers:

Knut Hamsun

Thomas Mann

Franz Kafka

Arno Schmidt

Gunter Grass

Correct answer:

Thomas Mann

Explanation:

Thomas Mann fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and recorded anti-Nazi speeches during the WWII period that were disseminated through the BBC in Britain. Kafka died in 1924 before the rise of Hitler. Grass and Schmidt both served in the German army during parts of WWII, though they later came to criticize the regime. Hamsun was not a German-language writer but rather Norwegian, and also a well-known supporter of the Nazi regime. 

Example Question #2 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1900 To Present

In response to the aftermath of World War I, poet T.S. Eliot created what quintessential modern poem?

Possible Answers:

The Second Coming

Lament Por Ignacia Sanchez Mejias

The Waste Land

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

In the Station at the Metro

Correct answer:

The Waste Land

Explanation:

First published in 1922, Thomas Stearns Eliot's 'The Waste Land' is widely considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century. The poem has a complex structure and draws on ancient mythology, other famous works of literature, and various moments in history. The poem reflects the general feeling of existential angst following the devastation of World War I and the not-uncommon notion that the future of humanity was, indeed, hopeless.

Example Question #3 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1900 To Present

What title is often attributed to the period following World War I during which a considerable population of expatriate artists migrated to Paris?

Possible Answers:

The Surrealists

Post-Colonialism

The Victorian Era

The Realists

The Golden Age, or the Jazz Age

Correct answer:

The Golden Age, or the Jazz Age

Explanation:

During the Golden Age, writers like Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, painters such as Picasso and Dali, along with musicians like Cole Porter, created something of a community of expatriate artists. They often drank to excess while also providing key artistic feedback to one another. It was a period of prolific creativity and the possibility for the artistic community to respond to the state of the world after World War I. Various literary movements resulted through their collaborations, including Surrealism, Imagisme, and stream of consciousness. The time period is chronicled in Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast.

Example Question #4 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1900 To Present

The artistic Age of Anxiety followed _____________.

Possible Answers:

the Russo-Japanese War

the rise of nuclear armament

the end of World War II

decolonization and the end of imperialism

the end of World War I

Correct answer:

the end of World War I

Explanation:

The so-called Age of Anxiety is used to describe artistic endeavor in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. This was a time period marked by the horrors of the First World War and the uncertainties of the Great Depression. Artists like Hemingway and Picasso are said to exemplify the Age of Anxiety.

Example Question #4 : Literature, Art, And Architecture 1900 To Present

In post-Revolution Mexico, which of the following was included as part of the policy of "indigenism"?

Possible Answers:

Removal of Spanish influences from Mexican culture

Indigenism influenced the style of the 1917 constitution

Attempts to Westernize Mexican art and remove indigenous influences

Emulation of Soviet "Social Realism"

The Mexican muralist movement, including the works of Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco

Correct answer:

The Mexican muralist movement, including the works of Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco

Explanation:

Indigenistas believed that creating national artistic and cultural production as essential to creating a national identity. It was argued that national artists' inspiration should be derived from ancient Indigenous aesthetics such as the Aztec. During the Mexican Revolution, indigenous images were used as official nationalist symbols and after the revolution the government continued to use indigenous symbols to establish the roots of Mexican culture and identity. Much of this expansive artistic production was done if the form of murals on public buildings. Important artists included Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco.

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