Q.1 Who is most associated with the concept of 'Cultural Hegemony'?
Karl Marx
Antonio Gramsci
Max Weber
Pierre Bourdieu
Explanation - Antonio Gramsci developed the idea of cultural hegemony to explain how ruling classes maintain dominance through culture and ideology, not just force.
Correct answer is: Antonio Gramsci
Q.2 According to Gramsci, cultural hegemony works primarily through:
Military dominance
Economic exploitation
Consent of the governed
Legal enforcement
Explanation - Gramsci argued that hegemony is maintained by securing the consent of people through cultural institutions, not just coercion.
Correct answer is: Consent of the governed
Q.3 Which sociologist introduced the concept of 'habitus' in relation to culture and power?
Emile Durkheim
Pierre Bourdieu
Talcott Parsons
Herbert Spencer
Explanation - Pierre Bourdieu used 'habitus' to describe how individuals internalize social structures and reproduce power relations through everyday practices.
Correct answer is: Pierre Bourdieu
Q.4 What does Michel Foucault’s concept of 'power/knowledge' suggest?
Power and knowledge are separate entities
Knowledge is always objective
Power shapes knowledge and vice versa
Knowledge eliminates power
Explanation - Foucault argued that power and knowledge are intertwined; those in power shape knowledge, which in turn reinforces power structures.
Correct answer is: Power shapes knowledge and vice versa
Q.5 Which of the following is an example of 'symbolic power'?
Military force
Economic sanctions
Language and cultural prestige
Physical punishment
Explanation - Symbolic power refers to the influence of cultural symbols, language, and prestige in maintaining social hierarchies.
Correct answer is: Language and cultural prestige
Q.6 According to Bourdieu, 'cultural capital' can include:
Money
Education and tastes
Land ownership
Military rank
Explanation - Cultural capital refers to non-economic assets such as education, manners, and cultural knowledge that help maintain social advantage.
Correct answer is: Education and tastes
Q.7 Foucault’s idea of 'disciplinary power' is most visible in which institution?
Markets
Prisons
Religious temples
The family
Explanation - Foucault studied prisons to show how disciplinary power regulates behavior through surveillance and normalization.
Correct answer is: Prisons
Q.8 Which concept explains how dominant groups secure acceptance of their worldview?
Alienation
Cultural hegemony
Social solidarity
Structural functionalism
Explanation - Cultural hegemony ensures that dominant ideologies are accepted as 'common sense' by the masses.
Correct answer is: Cultural hegemony
Q.9 Which of the following best describes 'counter-hegemony'?
Reinforcing dominant ideologies
Challenging ruling cultural norms
Government propaganda
Neutral cultural practices
Explanation - Counter-hegemony refers to social movements and ideologies that resist and challenge dominant cultural frameworks.
Correct answer is: Challenging ruling cultural norms
Q.10 Which type of power did Foucault associate with everyday regulation and surveillance?
Sovereign power
Disciplinary power
Military power
Economic power
Explanation - Disciplinary power is exercised through institutions like schools, prisons, and hospitals, shaping individuals’ behavior.
Correct answer is: Disciplinary power
Q.11 Which of the following is NOT a form of capital in Bourdieu’s framework?
Economic capital
Cultural capital
Symbolic capital
Biological capital
Explanation - Bourdieu identified economic, cultural, and symbolic capital, but not biological capital.
Correct answer is: Biological capital
Q.12 Foucault used the metaphor of the 'Panopticon' to describe:
Global capitalism
Religious authority
Constant surveillance
Cultural diversity
Explanation - The Panopticon, a prison design, illustrates how surveillance becomes internalized, leading to self-regulation.
Correct answer is: Constant surveillance
Q.13 Which institution plays a major role in spreading cultural hegemony according to Gramsci?
The military
The media
The police
The courts
Explanation - Gramsci emphasized the role of cultural institutions like the media in spreading and maintaining ruling class ideologies.
Correct answer is: The media
Q.14 What type of power is exercised when dominant groups influence tastes, fashions, and lifestyles?
Economic power
Symbolic power
Military power
Political power
Explanation - Symbolic power works through cultural influence and social prestige, shaping how people value and act.
Correct answer is: Symbolic power
Q.15 Which concept did Bourdieu use to explain the reproduction of inequality across generations?
Habitus
Anomie
Alienation
Rationalization
Explanation - Habitus shapes people’s practices and expectations, reproducing social inequalities over time.
Correct answer is: Habitus
Q.16 Which thinker analyzed how schools reproduce class-based inequalities through culture?
Karl Marx
Pierre Bourdieu
Emile Durkheim
Max Weber
Explanation - Bourdieu argued that schools legitimize cultural capital of the upper classes, reproducing inequality.
Correct answer is: Pierre Bourdieu
Q.17 What is an example of 'hidden curriculum' in education?
Math lessons
Respect for authority
Science experiments
Language classes
Explanation - Hidden curriculum refers to the unspoken lessons schools teach, like discipline and obedience, reinforcing cultural power.
Correct answer is: Respect for authority
Q.18 Foucault suggested that power is:
Only repressive
Always top-down
Everywhere and relational
Based solely on wealth
Explanation - For Foucault, power is not held only by the state but circulates in all social relations.
Correct answer is: Everywhere and relational
Q.19 In Bourdieu’s theory, 'field' refers to:
A physical landscape
A social arena of struggle
Agricultural land
A government office
Explanation - Fields are structured spaces of competition where different forms of capital are used to gain advantage.
Correct answer is: A social arena of struggle
Q.20 Which cultural form can act as resistance to dominant power structures?
Popular culture
Mass media
Elite art
Bureaucracy
Explanation - Popular culture often provides alternative voices and can challenge dominant ideologies.
Correct answer is: Popular culture
Q.21 What role does language play in cultural power?
It has no influence
It only communicates facts
It shapes thought and social hierarchies
It is politically neutral
Explanation - Language is a tool of symbolic power, structuring how people think and reinforcing inequalities.
Correct answer is: It shapes thought and social hierarchies
Q.22 Which of the following best illustrates cultural imperialism?
Local festivals
Global dominance of Hollywood films
Traditional rituals
Regional dialects
Explanation - Cultural imperialism refers to the imposition of one culture’s values and practices over others.
Correct answer is: Global dominance of Hollywood films
Q.23 According to Foucault, modern power operates mainly through:
Punishment of the body
Surveillance and normalization
Religious authority
Feudal systems
Explanation - Modern power regulates behavior through subtle surveillance and the creation of norms, not just punishment.
Correct answer is: Surveillance and normalization
Q.24 Cultural capital can be transmitted through:
Inheritance of money
Formal education and family upbringing
Government jobs
Genetics
Explanation - Bourdieu emphasized how families and schools pass down cultural knowledge that maintains social advantage.
Correct answer is: Formal education and family upbringing
Q.25 When marginalized groups adopt elements of dominant culture strategically, it is called:
Assimilation
Cultural appropriation
Strategic essentialism
Counter-hegemony
Explanation - Strategic essentialism is when groups adopt dominant traits to resist oppression or gain political ground.
Correct answer is: Strategic essentialism