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RC Passage
Direction for the questions 1 to 5: The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
The claims advanced here may be condensed into two assertions: [first, that visual] culture is what images, acts of seeing, and attendant intellectual, emotional, and perceptual sensibilities do to build, maintain, or transform the worlds in which people live. [And second, that the study of visual culture is the analysis and interpretation of images and the ways of seeing (orgazes) that configure the agents, practices, conceptualities, and institutions that put images to work. . . .
Accordingly, the study of visual culture should be characterized by several concerns. First, scholars of visual culture need to examine any and all imagery - high and low, art and non art. . . . They must not restrict themselves to objects of a particular beauty or aesthetic value. Indeed, any kind of imagery may be found to offer up evidence of the visual construction of reality. . . .
Second, the study of visual culture must scrutinize visual practice as much as images themselves, asking what images do when they are put to use. If scholars engaged in this enterprise inquire what makes an image beautiful or why this image or that constitutes a masterpiece or a work of genius, they should do so with the purpose of investigating an artist’s or a work’s contribution to the experience of beauty, taste, value, or genius. No amount of social analysis can account fully for the existence of Michelangelo or Leonardo. They were unique creators of images that changed the way their contemporaries thought and felt and have continued to shape the history of art, artists, museums, feeling, and aesthetic value. But study of the critical, artistic, and popular reception of works by such artists as Michelangelo and Leonardo can shed important light on the meaning of these artists and their works for many different people. And the history of meaning-making has a great deal to do with how scholars as well as lay audiences today understand these artists and their achievements.
Third, scholars studying visual culture might properly focus their interpretative work on life worlds by examining images, practices, visual technologies, taste, and artistic style as constitutive of social relations. The task is to understand how artifacts contribute to the construction of a world. . . . Important methodological implications follow: ethnography and reception studies become productive forms of gathering information, since these move beyond the image as a closed and fixed meaning-event. . . .
Fourth, scholars may learn a great deal when they scrutinize the constituents of vision, that is, the structures of perception as a physiological process as well as the epistemological frameworks informing a system of visual representation. Vision is a socially and a biologically constructed operation, depending on the design of the human body and how it engages the interpretive devices developed by a culture in order to see intelligibly. . . . Seeing . . . operates on the foundation of covenants with images that establish the conditions for meaningful visual experience.
Finally, the scholar of visual culture seeks to regard images as evidence for explanation, not as epiphenomena.
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
"The word ‘anarchy’ comes from the Greek 'anarchy', meaning contrary to authority or without a ruler, and was used in a derogatory sense until 1840, when it was adopted by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon to describe his political and social ideology."
Explanation: The word ‘anarchy’ originally meant "against authority" or "without a ruler" in Greek. It had a negative meaning until 1840, when Pierre-Joseph Proudhon used it positively to express his political beliefs.
"Proudhon argued that organization without government was both possible and desirable."
Explanation: Proudhon believed that society could be well-organized even without a government, and he saw this as a good thing.
"In the evolution of political ideas, anarchism can be seen as an ultimate projection of both liberalism and socialism, and the differing strands of anarchist thought can be related to their emphasis on one or the other of these."
Explanation: Anarchism developed as a more extreme form of liberalism and socialism. Different types of anarchist thinking align more closely with either liberal or socialist principles.
Paragraph 2
"Historically, anarchism arose not only as an explanation of the gulf between the rich and the poor in any community, and of the reason why the poor have been obliged to fight for their share of a common inheritance,"
Explanation: Anarchism emerged to explain the inequality between the rich and the poor, and why the poor had to struggle to get their fair share of wealth and resources.
"but as a radical answer to the question ‘What went wrong?’ that followed the ultimate outcome of the French Revolution."
Explanation: It also acted as a bold response to the disappointment and failure felt after the French Revolution.
"It had ended not only with a reign of terror and the emergence of a newly rich ruling caste, but with a new adored emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, strutting through his conquered territories."
Explanation: The revolution resulted in widespread violence, a new elite class, and the rise of Napoleon as an emperor, which seemed like a betrayal of the revolution’s original ideals.
Paragraph 3
"The anarchists and their precursors were unique on the political Left in affirming that workers and peasants, grasping the chance that arose to bring an end to centuries of exploitation and tyranny, were inevitably betrayed by the new class of politicians, whose first priority was to re- establish a centralized state power."
Explanation: Unlike other left-wing groups, anarchists believed that every time workers and peasants tried to overthrow oppression, they were betrayed by new leaders who simply rebuilt state power.
"After every revolutionary uprising, usually won at a heavy cost for ordinary populations, the new rulers had no hesitation in applying violence and terror, a secret police, and a professional army to maintain their control."
Explanation: Post-revolution governments often turned to brutal methods—like violence, secret policing, and military force—to keep their power, despite the sacrifices made by ordinary people.
Paragraph 4
"For anarchists the state itself is the enemy, and they have applied the same interpretation to the outcome of every revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries."
Explanation: Anarchists view the state as inherently bad and interpret all revolutions as ultimately reinforcing oppressive state power.
"This is not merely because every state keeps a watchful and sometimes punitive eye on its dissidents, but because every state protects the privileges of the powerful."
Explanation: Their opposition to the state isn’t only about surveillance or repression; it’s also because states consistently defend the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
Paragraph 5
"The mainstream of anarchist propaganda for more than a century has been anarchist- communism, which argues that property in land, natural resources, and the means of production should be held in mutual control by local communities, federating for innumerable joint purposes with other communes."
Explanation: For over 100 years, the main form of anarchist thought has been anarchist-communism, which proposes that land and resources should be collectively managed by local groups that work together.
"It differs from state socialism in opposing the concept of any central authority."
Explanation: Unlike state socialism, anarchist-communism rejects any form of central government or authority.
"Some anarchists prefer to distinguish between anarchist-communism and collectivist anarchism in order to stress the obviously desirable freedom of an individual or family to possess the resources needed for living, while not implying the right to own the resources needed by others."
Explanation: Some anarchists make a distinction between types of anarchism to highlight that while individuals or families should own what they need to live, they shouldn’t own resources others depend on.
Paragraph 6
"There are, unsurprisingly, several traditions of individualist anarchism, one of them deriving from the ‘conscious egoism’ of the German writer Max Stirner (1806–56),"
Explanation: There are multiple types of individualist anarchism. One form is based on Max Stirner’s idea of ‘conscious egoism,’ which emphasizes self-interest.
"and another from a remarkable series of 19th-century American figures who argued that in protecting our own autonomy and associating with others for common advantages, we are promoting the good of all."
Explanation: Another form came from 19th-century American thinkers who believed that by preserving personal freedom and cooperating with others, everyone benefits.
"These thinkers differed from freemarket liberals in their absolute mistrust of American capitalism, and in their emphasis on mutualism."
Explanation: These individualist anarchists were unlike free-market advocates because they distrusted capitalism and instead focused on mutual support and cooperation.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
The term 'anarchy' was once used negatively but was redefined by Proudhon to support a system of organization without government. Anarchism grew out of liberal and socialist thought, with various interpretations leaning more towards one or the other.
Paragraph 2 Summary
Anarchism developed partly as a response to wealth inequality and partly as a critique of the failures of the French Revolution, which ended in authoritarianism and the rise of a new ruling elite.
Paragraph 3 Summary
Anarchists believe that revolutions often betray the working class by replacing one oppressive government with another, with new leaders resorting to violence and control to maintain power.
Paragraph 4 Summary
To anarchists, the state is fundamentally oppressive because it not only monitors dissent but also secures the privileges of the elite, making it a consistent enemy across all revolutions.
Paragraph 5 Summary
The dominant form of anarchism, anarchist-communism, promotes community control over resources and opposes centralized authority, although some prefer variations that balance individual ownership with collective needs.
Paragraph 6 Summary
Individualist anarchism has roots in European and American thought, advocating autonomy and cooperation. Unlike market liberals, these thinkers reject capitalism and favor mutualism.
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | Anarchism redefined by Proudhon as a viable system beyond government. |
| Paragraph 2 | Anarchism emerged in response to inequality and the failure of the revolution. |
| Paragraph 3 | Revolutions betray the people by reinstating state control and oppression. |
| Paragraph 4 | The state is the core enemy in all anarchist interpretations of revolution. |
| Paragraph 5 | Anarchist-communism supports communal control and rejects centralized power. |
| Paragraph 6 | Individualist anarchism promotes autonomy and mutualism, not capitalism. |
RC Questions
Ques 1. “Seeing . . . operates on the foundation of covenants with images that establish the conditions for meaningful visual experience.” In light of the passage, which one of the following statements best conveys the meaning of this sentence?
Ques 2. All of the following statements may be considered valid inferences from the passage, EXCEPT:
Ques 3. Which one of the following best describes the word “epiphenomena” in the last sentence of the passage?
Ques 4. “No amount of social analysis can account fully for the existence of Michelangelo or Leonardo.” In light of the passage, which one of the following interpretations of this sentence is the most accurate?
Ques 5. Which set of keywords below most closely captures the arguments of the passage?
