Q21

[ryangdollar]

I'm not sure why the answer is E over A.

A says "correcting a misconception about" while E says "shaping a conception of". In the passage, there are multiple lines that make it seem like there are prevailing misconceptions. For example, lines 6-9 state, "This was true for several reasons, not the least of which was the necessity of doing so if certain aspects of the history of AA in the US were to be treated honestly". More significantly, right after the use of "reconstructing" it says "for the purposes of overturning degrading representations of blackness and establishing a firm cultural basis for shared identity".

[ohthatpatrick]

Great question, and I'm glad to see you already have your "proof" sentences handy.

Let's remember first that whichever answer we're testing could be imported into line 47 and make sense.

So we're really choosing between
a) correcting a misconception about a glorious African past
and
b) shaping a perception about a glorious African past

One of your supporting ideas for (A) was lines 6-9: "This was true for several reasons, not the least of which was the necessity of doing so if certain aspects of the history of AA in the US were to be treated honestly".

This excerpt seems to be suggesting there were misconceptions about the history of African Americans in the United States, not about their "glorious African past". If they just meant the history of the African Americans (which could potentially extend back to their African past), then there would be no need for the phrase "in the United States".

The other supporting idea you mentioned was:
right after the use of "reconstructing" it says "for the purposes of overturning degrading representations of blackness and establishing a firm cultural basis for shared identity"

It's unclear from the passage whether the degrading representations of blackness are mainly applicable to "within the United States" or whether they extend to the African Americans' African past as well. You would need to assume the latter in order for (A) to be supported.

I do see how (A) has something going for it there, though. The identity the black historians were creating was intended to be a corrective for the fact that blackness in America was perceived negatively. But was it to correct for a misconception about blackness in Africa?

Let me suggest some of the indirect support I saw for (E). Lines 31-34 in the 3rd paragraph speak of nation-building as "the creation of new genealogies, myths, temperaments, destinies". Since the 4th paragraph explains how black historians were engaged in their own nation building, these same ideas would apply. The emphasis here would be on "the creation of new" (which is more like E) rather than "the clarification of old" (which is more like A).

Also, line 46 says "they contributed to the formation of a collective identity". Again, the word "formation" is more suggestive of creating something new, rather than amending something flawed.

So, between the fact that I can't find anything in the passage that tells me concretely that there was "a misconception about the glorious African past" and the language of nation-building seeming to mean "constructing a [new] narrative that inspires nationalistic pride for its group members", I think that (E) is better supported.

But, again, great question and analysis. Let me know if you remain unconvinced.

[ryangdollar]

Got it, great explanation. Thanks!

[jacobjsohn]

The reason why I chose A was because of the prefix "re-" in reconstructing. The prefix "re-" implies something is being done for the second time, or repeatedly.

The answer A is the only answer that implies that something has been done before, and therefore they are reconstructing a misconception.

Is it wrong to take apart the word like this and look at the prefixes/suffixes?

[willzyling]

The reason why I chose A was because of the prefix "re-" in reconstructing. The prefix "re-" implies something is being done for the second time, or repeatedly.

The answer A is the only answer that implies that something has been done before, and therefore they are reconstructing a misconception.

Is it wrong to take apart the word like this and look at the prefixes/suffixes?

I'm also in the process of preparing for the LSAT's and find reading comprehension to be the most difficult section for me. I used to be horrible at the definition questions because I kept trying to consider the actual dictionary definitions and prefixes/suffixes of the words while answering the questions, much like you've done with "reconstructing".

I found that if instead, I plug in the various answer choices into the sentence referenced by the passage, it generally leads to much better results.

In this case, plugging in A gives, "Deliberately or not, they contributed to the formation of a collective identity, correcting a misconception about a glorious African past for the purposes of overturning degrading representations of the blackness..." This is wrong because as previous posters have said, there is no indication that the African past has any misconceptions that need to be corrected.

Plugging in E gives " "Deliberately or not, they contributed to the formation of a collective identity, shaping a conception about a glorious African past for the purposes of overturning degrading representations of the blackness..." which overall fits much better into the paragraph.