Taking the explication of experience as its object as well as its meth

Question

Taking the explication of experience as its object as well as its method, Marjorie Shostak’s  Nisa The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman  weaves together three narrative strands, and in doing so challenges the ethnographer’s penchant for the general and the anonymous. The first strand, the autobiographical details of a 50-year-old woman’s life among the seminomadic ! Kung hunter-gatherers of Botswana, adds to the ethnographical literature on the ! Kung. The second presents Nisa’s story as a metaphor for a woman’s experience, a story that reflects many of the experiences and dilemmas addressed in recent feminist writing. The third tells the story of an intercultural encounter in which the distinction between ethnographer and subject becomes blurred.

Nisa explains Nisa’s personality in terms of !Kung ways and, for the general reader, corrects and qualifies a number of  received attitudes  about “simple” societies. Michel Leiris’ warning that “We are all too inclined to consider a people happy if considering them makes us happy” applies particularly to the !Kung, whose seemingly uncomplicated way of life, enlightened attitudes toward child rearing, and undeniable charm make them prime candidates for Western appreciation. But Nisa’s answer to Shostak’s question, “What is it to be a !Kung woman?” makes us feel the force of ugly facts we might otherwise skim over. Only 54 percent of !Kung children live to marry Nisa loses all four of her children and a cherished husband. Nisa’s memories of sibling rivalries, of her terrible rages when denied her mother, of nasty fights over food undermine the idyllic vision Westerners cherish of childhoods lived in such “simple” circumstances.

Woven into Nisa’s autobiography are allusions to Shostak’s personal engagement with issues of gender. Nisa’s response to “What is it to be a !Kung woman?” also seems to answer another question, “What is it to be a woman?” In fact, Nisa’s answers illuminate not just one woman’s experience, but women’s experience in general. It is a salutary shock to realize how much ethnographic literature omits the perspective of women about women.

Nisa’s story is interwoven with Shostak’s presentation of their encounter at times each seems to exist primarily in response to the other. Nisa’s autobiography is a distinct narrative in a particular voice, but it is manifestly the product of a collaboration. Indeed, by casting Nisa in the shape of a “life,” Shostak employs a  potent Western literary convention . Real lives, in fact, do not easily arrange themselves as stories that have recognizable shapes. Nisa, for example, often says  “We lived in that place, eating things. Then we left and went somewhere else.”  It is in the process of the dialogue between Nisa and Shostak that a shaped story emerges from this seemingly featureless background.    1 
 1. Shostak’s approach to ethnography differs from the approach of most ethnographers in which one of the following ways?

(A) She observes the culture of one group in order to infer the cultural characteristics of other, similar groups.
(B) She studies the life experiences of individuals apart from the cultural practices of a group.
(C) She contrasts individuals’ personal histories with information about the individuals’ culture.
(D) She exemplifies her general hypotheses about a culture by accumulating illustrative empirical data.
(E) She emphasizes the importance of the personal and the individual.

2 
 2. Which one of the following best expresses the author’s opinion of the way most ethnographic literature deals with women’s views of women?

(A) It is admirable that many ethnographic studies avoid the narrow focus of some recent feminist thought as it deals with women’s views of women.
(B) It is encouraging that most women ethnographers have begun to study and report the views of women in the groups they study.
(C) It is unfortunate that most ethnographic literature does not deal with women’s views of women at all.
(D) It is surprising that more ethnographic studies of women do not use the information available through individual interviews of women about women.
(E) It is disappointing that most ethnographic studies of women’s views about women fail to connect individual experiences with larger women’s issues.

3 
 3. It can be inferred that which one of the following best exemplifies the “received attitudes” ( Highlighted )?

(A) The !Kung are people of undeniable charm.
(B) Considering the !Kung makes Western observers happy.
(C) People who live seminomadic lives have few serious problems.
(D) A large percentage of !Kung children die before reaching adulthood.
(E) The experience of seminomadic women is much like that of other women.

4 
 4. Which one of the following would most clearly support the author’s contention that Nisa’s experience as a !Kung woman illuminates women’s experience in general?

(A) A systematic survey of a representative sample of Western women indicates that these women sympathize with Nisa’s tragedies.
(B) The use of the explication of experience as both a subject and a method becomes an extremely fruitful technique for ethnographers studying issues facing both men and women in non- Western cultures.
(C) Critics of feminist writers applaud the use of Shostak’s dialogue technique in the study of women’s issues.
(D) Another ethnographer explores the experiences of individual women in a culture quite different from that of the !Kung and finds many issues that are common to both cultures.
(E) Ethnographers studying the !Kung interview !Kung women other than Nisa and find that most of them report experiences similar to those of Nisa.

5 
 5. It can be inferred that the “potent Western literary convention” ( Highlighted ) is most probably which one of the following? 
 
(A) personal revelation
(B) dramatic emphasis
(C) expository comparison
(D) poetic metaphor
(E) novelistic storytelling

6 
 6. The approach of which one of the following is most similar to Shostak’s approach as her approach is described in the passage? 
 
(A) The producer of a documentary film interacts on film with the film’s subject to reveal insights about the subject’s life.
(B) A work presented as an athlete’s autobiography is actually ghostwritten by a famous biographer.
(C) An ethnographer describes the day-to-day life of an individual in order to exemplify the way of life of a group of desert dwellers.
(D) A writer illustrates her views of women’s experience by recounting stories from her own childhood.
(E) The developer of a series of textbooks uses anecdotes based on the experiences of people of many cultures to highlight important points in the text.

7 
 7. It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes that the quotation in  lines in Red  best exemplifies which one of the following?

(A) the cultural values of seminomadic peoples such as the !Kung
(B) the amorphous nature of the accounts people give of their lives
(C) the less-than-idyllic nature of the lives of nomadic people
(D) an autobiographical account that has a recognizable story
(E) a distinction between ethnographer and subject

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. Shostak’s approach to ethnography differs from the approach of most ethnographers in which one of the following ways?

Explanation

The question asks how Shostak’s approach differs from that of other ethnographers. The first paragraph discusses some differences in its introduction of Shostak’s approach.

A. No.  Shostak’s approach does not infer cultural characteristics of groups other than the !Kung.

B. No.  Shostak studies individuals as part of their culture.

C. No.  Shostak uses individual stories to emphasize characteristics of their culture.

D. No.  This answer choice describes the standard of other ethnographers.

E.  Yes.   Shostak uses the story of an individual as well as her own interaction in order to tell her story.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

7. It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes that the quotation in lines in Red best exemplifies which one of the following?

Explanation

This question tests your ability to read the entire sentence, which says the following:  “Real lives, in fact, do not easily arrange themselves as stories that have recognizable shapes: Nisa, for example, often says ‘We lived in that place, eating things. Then we left and went somewhere else.’ ”  The punctuation is key to understanding here, since the sentence has the structure fact: example of that fact. The question then asks what the quotation exemplifies. The answer is guaranteed to be right before the colon. The quote (you don’t even need to pay much attention to the quote itself) exemplifies real lives not easily arranging themselves as stories that have recognizable shapes.

A. No.  While cultural values are discussed elsewhere in the passage, this does not match anything in the same paragraph as the quote.

B.  Yes.   Since amorphous means something  “without shape,”  this matches the first part of the sentence: real lives not easily arranging themselves as stories that have recognizable shapes.

C. No . While the idea of an  “idyllic vision”  appears in the first paragraph, this does not match anything in the same paragraph as the quote.

D. No.  While this partially matches something in the first paragraph, this does not match anything in the same paragraph as the quote.

E. No.  This does not match anything in the same paragraph as the quote.

Answer: B

Raman109 · Answer

4. Which one of the following would most clearly support the author’s contention that Nisa’s experience as a !Kung woman illuminates women’s experience in general?

We need an answer that showcases the applicability of Nisa's experiences in general (outside of !Kung as well)

(A) A systematic survey of a representative sample of Western women indicates that these women sympathize with Nisa’s tragedies. - Sympathy means emotional support and not necessarily having the same experiences. Wrong.

(B) The use of the explication of experience as both a subject and a method becomes an extremely fruitful technique for ethnographers studying issues facing both men and women in non- Western cultures. - It talks about the technique which is not the scope of the question.

(C) Critics of feminist writers applaud the use of Shostak’s dialogue technique in the study of women’s issues. - Again, this talks about technique. Out of scope.

(D) Another ethnographer explores the experiences of individual women in a culture quite different from that of the !Kung and finds many issues that are common to both cultures. - commonality across different cultures supports the author's view. Ok.

(E) Ethnographers studying the !Kung interview !Kung women other than Nisa and find that most of them report experiences similar to those of Nisa. - while this aligns, this is limited in scope to just the !Kung women. Wrong.

MuskaanMittal · Answer

QUESTION 1

Good question! Let’s break it down carefully:

The passage emphasizes that most ethnographers tend to focus on the general and the anonymous. Shostak, by contrast, highlights Nisa’s personal, individual life and uses that as a lens to understand !Kung culture, women’s experiences, and even cross-cultural encounters.

So let’s check the answer choices:

(A) No — she’s not using one group to generalize to others.

(B) No — she doesn’t study life experiences apart from culture; she integrates the two.

(C) Close, but not quite — she doesn’t really contrast histories with culture, she blends them.

(D) No — that’s the traditional “general hypothesis → data” model she’s moving away from.

(E) ✅ Yes — this directly matches the passage: Shostak emphasizes the personal and the individual (Nisa’s life and voice) rather than just the broad, generalized cultural picture.

👉 The correct answer is (E).

MuskaanMittal · Answer

QUESTION 2

🔹 Step 1: Recall what the passage says about ethnographic literature & women

From the Nisa passage:

Shostak’s work shows how much ethnographic literature leaves out women’s perspective on women.

Quote: “It is a salutary shock to realize how much ethnographic literature omits the perspective of women about women.”

👉 The author’s opinion = most ethnographic literature omits women’s views of women entirely.

🔹 Step 2: Prediction before answer choices

The correct answer should say something like:

It’s unfortunate/problematic that ethnographic literature largely ignores women’s perspectives.

🔹 Step 3: Eliminate wrong answers

(A) “It is admirable that many ethnographic studies avoid the narrow focus of some recent feminist thought as it deals with women’s views of women.”

❌ Wrong tone. The passage never praises ethnography for avoiding women’s perspectives. In fact, it criticizes omission.

(B) “It is encouraging that most women ethnographers have begun to study and report the views of women in the groups they study.”

❌ Not supported. The passage never says “most women ethnographers” have done this. It says the opposite: ethnography in general omits women’s views.

(C) “It is unfortunate that most ethnographic literature does not deal with women’s views of women at all.”

✅ Perfect match. The author literally says ethnographic literature omits women’s perspective on women.

(D) “It is surprising that more ethnographic studies of women do not use the information available through individual interviews of women about women.”

❌ “Surprising” is not the author’s tone. She is critical/disappointed, not surprised.

(E) “It is disappointing that most ethnographic studies of women’s views about women fail to connect individual experiences with larger women’s issues.”

❌ This sounds close, but the passage says ethnography omits women’s perspectives altogether, not that it “fails to connect” them to broader issues.

✅ Correct Answer: (C)

Because the passage clearly states ethnographic literature omits women’s perspective on women.

MuskaanMittal · Answer

QUESTION 5

Great — let’s break this down carefully.

---

🔹 Step 1: Recall the passage line

From the last paragraph:

“Indeed, by casting Nisa in the shape of a ‘life,’ Shostak employs a potent Western literary convention. Real lives, in fact, do not easily arrange themselves as stories that have recognizable shapes ... It is in the process of the dialogue ... that a shaped story emerges.”

So:

The “convention” is the Western habit of shaping a real life into a coherent, story-like narrative — giving it a beginning, middle, end, and dramatic shape, much like a novel.

🔹 Step 2: Match to answer choices

(A) personal revelation

❌ Too narrow. The point isn’t about confession or inner truths.

(B) dramatic emphasis

❌ Vague. Not about highlighting drama; it’s about shaping into story.

(C) expository comparison

❌ Doesn’t fit. There’s no comparing here.

(D) poetic metaphor

❌ Wrong. The passage isn’t about metaphorical language.

(E) novelistic storytelling

✅ Perfect. The passage explicitly says Shostak arranges Nisa’s life into a shaped story, using the Western tradition of telling life stories like novels or biographies.

✅ Correct Answer: (E) novelistic storytelling

Because the “potent Western literary convention” = structuring a real life into a story form (like a novel or biography), even though real lives don’t naturally unfold that way.

MuskaanMittal · Answer

QUESTION 6

Alright, let’s solve this carefully.

🔹 Step 1: Recall Shostak’s approach

From the passage:

Shostak blends Nisa’s individual life story with broader insights into !Kung culture and women’s experience.

She also highlights the interaction between ethnographer and subject — their dialogue shapes the story.

So, her method is:
👉 individual narrative + cultural context + feminist themes + active presence of the ethnographer.

🔹 Step 2: Evaluate choices

(A) The producer of a documentary film interacts on film with the film’s subject to reveal insights about the subject’s life.

✅ Very close. Like Shostak, the filmmaker both records the subject’s life and shows their interaction shaping the story.

(B) A work presented as an athlete’s autobiography is actually ghostwritten by a famous biographer.

❌ Wrong. Ghostwriting hides the author’s presence, while Shostak openly shows the collaboration.

(C) An ethnographer describes the day-to-day life of an individual in order to exemplify the way of life of a group of desert dwellers.

❌ Too narrow. Shostak doesn’t just use Nisa as a “representative case”; she also emphasizes individuality, women’s experience, and her own interaction.

(D) A writer illustrates her views of women’s experience by recounting stories from her own childhood.

❌ Wrong subject. That’s self-autobiography, not shaping another’s life through ethnographic dialogue.

(E) The developer of a series of textbooks uses anecdotes based on the experiences of people of many cultures to highlight important points in the text.

❌ Too general and didactic. Shostak isn’t sprinkling anecdotes; she builds one woman’s life story into a deep narrative.

✅ Correct Answer: (A)

Because Shostak’s method = collaborative storytelling shaped by both subject and researcher, just like a filmmaker appearing in the film to interact with the subject.

MuskaanMittal · Answer

QUESTION 7

Perfect — let’s solve this one step by step.

🔹 Step 1: Recall where that quotation appears

From the last paragraph:

“Real lives, in fact, do not easily arrange themselves as stories that have recognizable shapes. Nisa, for example, often says ‘We lived in that place, eating things. Then we left and went somewhere else.’ It is in the process of the dialogue between Nisa and Shostak that a shaped story emerges...”

So:

The quotation is used as an example of how unshaped, plain, featureless, and amorphous people’s real accounts of their lives can be, until structured into a “story” by the ethnographer.

🔹 Step 2: Check answer choices

(A) the cultural values of seminomadic peoples such as the !Kung

❌ No. It’s not about values; it’s about how her words lack narrative shape.

(B) the amorphous nature of the accounts people give of their lives

✅ Exactly. That’s what the author is saying: real-life recollections don’t naturally form neat narratives.

(C) the less-than-idyllic nature of the lives of nomadic people

❌ That’s covered elsewhere (e.g., child mortality, loss). The quotation isn’t about hardships, just shapeless storytelling.

(D) an autobiographical account that has a recognizable story

❌ Opposite of what the passage says! The quote shows no recognizable story until Shostak helps shape it.

(E) a distinction between ethnographer and subject

❌ The quotation is about Nisa’s way of speaking, not the ethnographer–subject divide.

✅ Correct Answer: (B) the amorphous nature of the accounts people give of their lives

Because the line exemplifies how people’s raw life narratives are plain and shapeless until structured into a “story.”

gullyboy09 · Answer

Hi  MartyMurray , can you please help me with Question 1 option B here, why it is wrong? Is it because of the second part "..apart from the cultural practices of a group." or because she only studied Nisa and not many individual(s).

guddo · Answer

Shostak’s approach to ethnography differs from the approach of most ethnographers in which one of the following ways?

The passage’s main point is that  Shostak departs from traditional ethnography by focusing on an individual woman’s personal voice and experience rather than treating people as general examples of an anonymous culture . The opening sentence directly says her book challenges the ethnographer’s tendency toward “the general and the anonymous.”

(A) She observes the culture of one group in order to infer the cultural characteristics of other, similar groups.

The passage does not say this. It does not describe Shostak as using one group to draw conclusions about other groups.

(B) She studies the life experiences of individuals apart from the cultural practices of a group.

This goes too far. Nisa’s life is not presented apart from !Kung culture. The passage says Shostak explains Nisa’s personality in terms of !Kung ways and adds to ethnographic literature on the !Kung.

(C) She contrasts individuals’ personal histories with information about the individuals’ culture.

This is not the main distinction. The passage does show interaction between personal story and cultural context, but the key contrast with most ethnographers is not that she sets them against each other.

(D) She exemplifies her general hypotheses about a culture by accumulating illustrative empirical data.

This describes a more conventional ethnographic method, not Shostak’s distinctive one.

(E) She emphasizes the importance of the personal and the individual.

This is the best answer. The passage explicitly says Shostak challenges ethnography’s preference for “the general and the anonymous” by centering Nisa’s individual life, voice, and personal experience.

Answer: (E)

Taking the explication of experience as its object as well as its meth

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Taking the explication of experience as its object as well as its meth

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