In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists in the English-speaking world began to draw attention to music from around the...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists in the English-speaking world began to draw attention to music from around the globe—such as mbaqanga from South Africa and quan họ from Vietnam—that can't be easily categorized according to British or North American popular music genres, typically referring to such music as 'world music.' While some scholars have welcomed this development for bringing diverse musical forms to prominence in countries where they'd previously been overlooked, musicologist Su Zheng claims that the concept of world music homogenizes highly distinct traditions by reducing them all to a single category.
Which finding about mbaqanga and quan họ, if true, would most directly support Zheng's claim?
Mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently of each other and have little in common musically.
Mbaqanga is significantly more popular in the English-speaking world than quan họ is.
Mbaqanga and quan họ are now performed by a diverse array of musicians with no direct connections to South Africa or Vietnam.
Mbaqanga and quan họ are highly distinct from British and North American popular music genres but similar to each other.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists in the English-speaking world began to draw attention to music from around the globe—such as mbaqanga from South Africa and quan họ from Vietnam—that can't be easily categorized according to British or North American popular music genres" |
|
| "typically referring to such music as 'world music.'" |
|
| "While some scholars have welcomed this development for bringing diverse musical forms to prominence in countries where they'd previously been overlooked," |
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| "musicologist Su Zheng claims that the concept of world music homogenizes highly distinct traditions by reducing them all to a single category." |
|
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to identify which finding about the two musical examples (mbaqanga and quan họ) would most directly support Su Zheng's specific claim that "world music" homogenizes distinct traditions by reducing them to a single category.
What type of answer do we need? Evidence that would support Su Zheng's criticism of the "world music" concept.
Any limiting keywords? Most directly support, specific claim about homogenizing distinct traditions.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- To support Zheng's claim, we need evidence that shows mbaqanga and quan họ are actually highly distinct from each other
- If we can show that these two examples are indeed very different from each other, it would prove Zheng's point that lumping them together under one label is problematic
Mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently of each other and have little in common musically.
- Shows that mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently and have little in common musically
- This directly supports Zheng's claim by proving these traditions are highly distinct from each other
Mbaqanga is significantly more popular in the English-speaking world than quan họ is.
- States that mbaqanga is more popular than quan họ in English-speaking countries
- Popularity differences don't address whether the musical traditions themselves are distinct
Mbaqanga and quan họ are now performed by a diverse array of musicians with no direct connections to South Africa or Vietnam.
- Describes who performs these musical forms now, not their musical characteristics
- The performers' backgrounds don't tell us whether the musical traditions themselves are distinct
Mbaqanga and quan họ are highly distinct from British and North American popular music genres but similar to each other.
- Claims mbaqanga and quan họ are similar to each other
- This actually undermines Zheng's claim by suggesting these traditions are alike