Q.1 Who is often considered the founding figure of Structuralism in anthropology?
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Émile Durkheim
Karl Marx
Max Weber
Explanation - Claude Lévi-Strauss applied structuralist methods to anthropology, analyzing myths, kinship, and culture through underlying structures.
Correct answer is: Claude Lévi-Strauss
Q.2 Structuralism emphasizes the study of what?
Surface meanings
Underlying structures
Individual experiences
Random events
Explanation - Structuralism focuses on the underlying structures—such as language, culture, or myths—that shape human thought and society.
Correct answer is: Underlying structures
Q.3 In structural linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between:
Myth and ritual
Langue and parole
Subject and object
Culture and nature
Explanation - Saussure distinguished 'langue' (the structured system of language) and 'parole' (individual speech acts), a foundational idea for structuralism.
Correct answer is: Langue and parole
Q.4 Structuralism views myths as:
Random stories
Historical records
Expressions of unconscious structures
Entertainment only
Explanation - For Lévi-Strauss, myths reflect universal unconscious structures and binary oppositions in human thought.
Correct answer is: Expressions of unconscious structures
Q.5 Which concept is central to Saussure’s structural linguistics?
Signifier and signified
Ego and superego
Means of production
Collective consciousness
Explanation - Saussure proposed that a linguistic sign is composed of the 'signifier' (sound/image) and the 'signified' (concept).
Correct answer is: Signifier and signified
Q.6 Structuralism often analyzes culture through:
Binary oppositions
Individualism
Class struggle
Economic systems
Explanation - Lévi-Strauss emphasized binary oppositions (life/death, nature/culture) as fundamental to cultural structures.
Correct answer is: Binary oppositions
Q.7 In Structuralism, meaning arises from:
Isolated terms
Relationships within a system
Individual intent
Random associations
Explanation - Structuralism argues that meaning is generated by the relational position of elements within a system, not by individual terms alone.
Correct answer is: Relationships within a system
Q.8 Which French philosopher influenced Structuralism with his work on language and signs?
Jean-Paul Sartre
Ferdinand de Saussure
Michel Foucault
Pierre Bourdieu
Explanation - Saussure’s structural linguistics laid the foundation for structuralist approaches in many disciplines.
Correct answer is: Ferdinand de Saussure
Q.9 Lévi-Strauss compared myths to:
Dreams
Economic systems
Works of art
Biological processes
Explanation - Lévi-Strauss argued that myths function like dreams, expressing unconscious structures of human thought.
Correct answer is: Dreams
Q.10 Structuralism seeks to uncover:
Surface events
Underlying rules and systems
Personal opinions
Spontaneous changes
Explanation - Structuralists focus on discovering the deep structures that shape human culture and social life.
Correct answer is: Underlying rules and systems
Q.11 In structural anthropology, kinship systems are analyzed as:
Personal choices
Random arrangements
Structured relations
Political institutions
Explanation - Lévi-Strauss studied kinship as a system of structured relations shaped by cultural rules.
Correct answer is: Structured relations
Q.12 Which idea distinguishes structuralism from functionalism?
Focus on roles
Focus on underlying structures
Focus on institutions
Focus on change
Explanation - While functionalism emphasizes social roles and functions, structuralism focuses on hidden structures that generate social meaning.
Correct answer is: Focus on underlying structures
Q.13 Structuralism argues that culture is:
Randomly formed
Structured like language
Purely economic
Based only on power
Explanation - Lévi-Strauss compared cultural systems to language, where meaning emerges from structured relations.
Correct answer is: Structured like language
Q.14 Which term refers to individual speech acts in Saussure’s model?
Langue
Parole
Syntax
Dialect
Explanation - ‘Parole’ refers to actual speech acts, while ‘langue’ is the structured system of language.
Correct answer is: Parole
Q.15 Which binary opposition did Lévi-Strauss often analyze?
Life vs. death
Rich vs. poor
Urban vs. rural
Old vs. new
Explanation - Lévi-Strauss emphasized universal binary oppositions such as life/death in myth and culture.
Correct answer is: Life vs. death
Q.16 Structuralism is most closely associated with which century?
18th century
19th century
20th century
21st century
Explanation - Structuralism developed mainly in the mid-20th century, influencing anthropology, linguistics, and sociology.
Correct answer is: 20th century
Q.17 What method did structuralists use to study myths?
Psychoanalysis
Comparative analysis
Statistical surveys
Laboratory experiments
Explanation - Structuralists compared myths across cultures to reveal common underlying structures.
Correct answer is: Comparative analysis
Q.18 Structuralism sees social phenomena as:
Unstructured and random
Guided by hidden rules
Purely biological
Entirely subjective
Explanation - Structuralism assumes that hidden rules and structures shape human behavior and thought.
Correct answer is: Guided by hidden rules
Q.19 Who applied structuralist analysis to psychoanalysis?
Jacques Lacan
Sigmund Freud
Karl Marx
Max Weber
Explanation - Jacques Lacan used structuralist ideas in psychoanalysis, reinterpreting Freud through linguistic structures.
Correct answer is: Jacques Lacan
Q.20 Which field did Structuralism first emerge in?
Anthropology
Linguistics
Psychology
Economics
Explanation - Structuralism began in linguistics with Saussure’s theories before spreading to anthropology and other fields.
Correct answer is: Linguistics
Q.21 For Saussure, the relationship between signifier and signified is:
Natural
Arbitrary
Fixed
Biological
Explanation - Saussure argued that the link between signifier and signified is arbitrary, based on social convention.
Correct answer is: Arbitrary
Q.22 Structuralism was especially influential in which decade?
1920s
1940s
1960s
1980s
Explanation - Structuralism reached its peak of influence in the 1960s, especially in France.
Correct answer is: 1960s
Q.23 Which structuralist analyzed literature using myth and archetypes?
Northrop Frye
Roland Barthes
Michel Foucault
Pierre Bourdieu
Explanation - Northrop Frye used structuralist approaches to analyze literature through recurring myths and archetypes.
Correct answer is: Northrop Frye
Q.24 Structuralism assumes that human thought is shaped by:
Free will
Cultural structures
Economic systems
Political ideologies
Explanation - Structuralism emphasizes that cultural and linguistic structures shape human thought and perception.
Correct answer is: Cultural structures
Q.25 Which thinker introduced the idea of 'mythemes' in analyzing myths?
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Émile Durkheim
Jacques Derrida
Louis Althusser
Explanation - Lévi-Strauss coined 'mythemes' as the basic structural units of myths, similar to phonemes in language.
Correct answer is: Claude Lévi-Strauss