PT102.S1.P3.Q17 > Analytics

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Even in the midst of its resurgence as a vital tradition, many sociologists have viewed the current form of the powwow, a ceremonial gathering of native Americans, as a sign that tribal culture is in decline. ███

Sociologists' Argument · Tribal culture is in decline

Sociologists' Argument · Intertribal movement will erode dissolve tribes and result in broader assimilation into mainstream American culture

Sociologists' Argument · Pan-Indian Theory

Sociologists believe that greater intertribal activity, greater urbanization, and increasing politicization result in greater intertribalism.

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Concession · Intertribalism has been increasing

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Critique (of Sociologists) · But unique tribal traditions have been increasingly revitalized as well

Examples · Revival of the Sun Dance; of traditional societies

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Critique (of Sociologists) · The change is more complex than just intertribalism and assimilation

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Critique · of Pan-Indian theory's assumption

The sociologists' theory assumes that minority culture will succumb to majority culture upon contact. But there's no evidence that's true.

Concession · It's true that intertribal activities are important now

For example, intertribal dances; intertribal speeches (delivered in English).

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Critique · But that misses the point

Culture borrowing has always happened. What's important is that tribes are consciously making efforts to distinguish themselves.

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Main Point · Tribalism is still very powerful

Intertribalism doesn't threaten tribalism. It reinforces native American identity along a broader front.

Passage Style

Critique or debate

17.

The primary function of the █████ █████████ ██ ██

Question Type

Purpose of paragraph

Structure

This is a purpose or function of a paragraph question. This is the kind of question where we can fully anticipate the answer choice in low-res terms. According to our low-res summary, the function of P3 is to criticize the Pan-Indian theory's core assumption.

search for evidence ██ ███████████ ███ █████ ██████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ █████████████

This is the opposite of the purpose of this paragraph. It's to criticize, not corroborate. Plus, the search for evidence to corroborate the theory does not occur in any paragraph.

demonstrate the incorrectness ██ ███ ██████ ██ █████████████ ██ ████████ ███ ████ ██████ ████████ ██████ ██████████ ████████ ████ ███ ██████

The author's argument is not that Pan-Indianism is wrong because native Americans disagree with the theory. Rather, it's because there is strong evidence for the resurgence of distinctly tribal traditions. The fact that native Americans disagree with the theory is a reason to critically examine the theory's underpinnings.

explain the origin ██ ███ ██████ ██ █████████████ ██ ███████ ███ ██ ███████ ████ █████ ███████████████ ████████

That's not the point of the paragraph. In fact, nowhere in the passage is the origin of the Pan-Indian theory explained. The third paragraph merely points out some similarities between this theory and other assimilationist theories.

examine several assimilationist ████████ ██ █████ ██ ███████████ ████ ████ ████ ██ █ ██████ ██████████

This does not happen anywhere in the passage. The Pan-Indian theory is the only assimilationist examined.

criticize the theory ██ █████████████ ██ ████████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████ ██ ██████████ ███ █████ █████ ██ ██ ██████████ ████████

This accurately describes the main purpose in P3: to point out Pan-Indianism’s assumption for which there is no evidence.

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PrepTest 102 - Section 1 - Passage 3 - Question 17

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