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Historians who study European
women of the Renaissance try to measure
“independence,” “options,” and
Line other indicators of the degree to which
(5) the expression of women’s individuality
was either permitted or suppressed.
Influenced by Western individualism,
these historians define a peculiar form
of personhood: an innately bounded
(10) unit, autonomous and standing apart
from both nature and society. An
anthropologist, however, would contend
that a person can be conceived in ways
other than as an “individual.” In many
(15) societies a person’s identity is not
intrinsically unique and self-contained
but instead is defined within a complex
web of social relationships.

In her study of the fifteenth-century
(20) Florentine widow Alessandra Strozzi, a
historian who specializes in European
women of the Renaissance attributes
individual intention and authorship of
actions to her subject. This historian
(25) assumes that Alessandra had goals
and interests different from those of her
sons, yet much of the historian’s own
research reveals that Alessandra
acted primarily as a champion of her
(30) sons’ interests, taking their goals as
her own. Thus Alessandra conforms
more closely to the anthropologist’s
notion that personal motivation is
embedded in a social context. Indeed,
(35) one could argue that Alessandra did
not distinguish her personhood from
that of her sons. In Renaissance
Europe the boundaries of the conceptual
self were not always firm
(40) and closed and did not necessarily
coincide with the boundaries of
the bodily self.

Q1.The passage suggests that the historian mentioned in the second paragraph (lines 19-42) would be most likely to agree with which of the following assertions regarding Alessandra Strozzi?
A. Alessandra was able to act more independently than most women of her time because she was a widow.
B. Alessandra was aware that her personal motivation was embedded in a social context.
C. Alessandra had goals and interests similar to those of many other widows in her society.
D. Alessandra is an example of a Renaissance woman who expressed her individuality through independent action.
E. Alessandra was exceptional because she was able to effect changes in the social constraints placed upon women in her society.

Q2.It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes which of the following about the study of Alessandra Strozzi done by the historian mentioned in the second paragraph (lines 19-42)?
A. Alessandra was atypical of her time and was therefore an inappropriate choice for the subject of the historian’s research.
B. In order to bolster her thesis, the historian adopted the anthropological perspective on personhood.
C. The historian argues that the boundaries of the conceptual self were not always firm and closed in Renaissance Europe.
D. In her study, the historian reverts to a traditional approach that is out of step with the work of other historians of Renaissance Europe.
E. The interpretation of Alessandra’s actions that the historian puts forward is not supported by much of the historian’s research.

Q3.In the first paragraph, the author of the passage mentions a contention that would be made by an anthropologist most likely in order to
A. present a theory that will be undermined in the discussion of a historian’s study later in the passage
B. offer a perspective on the concept of personhood that can usefully be applied to the study of women in Renaissance Europe
C. undermine the view that the individuality of European women of the Renaissance was largely suppressed
D. argue that anthropologists have applied the Western concept of individualism in their research
E. lay the groundwork for the conclusion that Alessandra’s is a unique case among European women of the Renaissance whose lives have been studied by historians

Please explain your choices.

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