Many intellectual histories of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s rely heavily on essays and other explicitly...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Many intellectual histories of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s rely heavily on essays and other explicitly ideological works as primary sources, a tendency that can overrepresent the perspectives of a small number of thinkers, most of whom were male. Historian Ashley D. Farmer has shown that expanding the array of primary sources to encompass more types of print material-including political cartoons, advertisements, and artwork-leads to a much better understanding of the movement and the crucial and diverse roles that Black women played in shaping it.
Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Many intellectual histories of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s rely heavily on essays and other explicitly ideological works as primary sources" |
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| "a tendency that can overrepresent the perspectives of a small number of thinkers, most of whom were male." |
|
| "Historian Ashley D. Farmer has shown that expanding the array of primary sources to encompass more types of print material—including political cartoons, advertisements, and artwork—" |
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| "leads to a much better understanding of the movement and the crucial and diverse roles that Black women played in shaping it." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Historian Ashley D. Farmer improved our understanding of the Black Power movement by expanding beyond traditional sources to reveal Black women's important contributions.
Argument Flow: The passage starts by identifying a limitation in how the Black Power movement has been studied, then introduces Farmer's solution of using diverse print materials, and concludes by showing how this approach leads to better understanding.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The main idea of the entire text
What type of answer do we need? A statement that captures the central message of the passage
Any limiting keywords? None specified
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct answer should mention: Farmer's research approach (expanding sources beyond traditional ones), the positive impact this had on understanding the Black Power movement, and specifically how this revealed Black women's contributions.
- Captures Farmer's methods and their positive impact, mentions both improved understanding of the movement overall AND Black women's contributions specifically.
- Claims historians ignored intellectual dimensions before Farmer, but the passage says they focused heavily on essays and ideological works which ARE intellectual dimensions.
- Suggests other historians criticized Farmer's methods, but the passage never mentions any criticism of Farmer's approach.
- Focuses on whether Black Power figures would agree with Farmer's conclusions, but the passage doesn't discuss the views of historical Black Power figures about women's roles.