In 1977 the prestigious Ewha Women's University in Seoul, Korea, announced the opening of the first women's studies program in...
GMAT Reading Comprehension : (RC) Questions
In 1977 the prestigious Ewha Women's University in Seoul, Korea, announced the opening of the first women's studies program in Asia. Few academic programs have ever received such public attention. In broadcast debates, critics dismissed the program as a betrayal of national identity, an imitation of Western ideas, and a distraction from the real task of national unification and economic development. Even supporters underestimated the program; they thought it would be merely another of the many Western ideas that had already proved useful in Asian culture, akin to airlines, electricity, and the assembly line.
The founders of the program, however, realized that neither view was correct. They had some reservations about the applicability of Western feminist theories to the role of women in Asia and felt that such theories should be closely examined. Their approach has thus far yielded important critiques of Western theory, informed by the special experience of Asian women.
For instance, like the Western feminist critique of the Freudian model of the human psyche, the Korean critique finds Freudian theory culture-bound, but in ways different from those cited by Western theorists. The Korean theorists claim that Freudian theory assumes the universality of the Western nuclear, male-headed family and focuses on the personality formation of the individual, independent of society. An analysis based on such assumptions could be valid for a highly competitive, individualistic society. In the Freudian family drama, family members are assumed to be engaged in a Darwinian struggle against each other—father against son and sibling against sibling. Such a concept projects the competitive model of Western society onto human personalities.
But in the Asian concept of personality there is no ideal attached to individualism or to the independent self. The Western model of personality development does not explain major characteristics of the Korean personality, which is social and group-centered. The "self" is a social being defined by and acting in a group, and the well-being of both men and women is determined by the equilibrium of the group, not by individual self-assertion. The ideal is one of interdependency.
In such a context, what is recognized as "dependency" in Western psychiatric terms is not, in Korean terms, an admission of weakness or failure. All this bears directly on the Asian perception of men's and women's psychology because men are also "dependent." In Korean culture, men cry and otherwise easily show their emotions, something that might be considered a betrayal of masculinity in Western culture. In the kinship-based society of Korea, four generations may live in the same house, which means that people can be sons and daughters all their lives, whereas in Western culture, the roles of husband and son, wife and daughter, are often incompatible.
Which of the following best summarizes the content of the passage?
1. Passage Analysis:
Progressive Passage Analysis
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| In 1977 the prestigious Ewha Women's University in Seoul, Korea, announced the opening of the first women's studies program in Asia. | What it says: A Korean university started the first women's studies program in Asia in 1977. What it does: Sets up the main topic and establishes its historical significance Source/Type: Historical fact Connection to Previous Sentences: This is the opening - establishes our subject Visualization: Timeline: 1977 → First women's studies program in all of Asia opens at one Korean university Reading Strategy Insight: Clear, simple opening. We're learning about a specific academic program and its significance. |
2. Passage Summary:
Author's Purpose:
To explain how Korean women's studies scholars developed a valuable approach to feminist theory by carefully examining Western ideas through the lens of Asian cultural experience, rather than simply accepting or rejecting them.
Summary of Passage Structure:
In this passage, the author walks us through how a controversial academic program led to important insights about cultural differences in psychology:
- First, the author introduces the 1977 Korean women's studies program and explains that it caused major public controversy, with both critics and supporters misunderstanding its true purpose.
- Next, the author reveals that the program founders had a different, more thoughtful approach - they wanted to carefully examine whether Western feminist theories would actually work for Asian women.
- Then, the author shows how this approach produced valuable insights by giving a detailed example of how Korean scholars critiqued Freudian theory differently than Western feminists did.
- Finally, the author demonstrates the cultural differences by contrasting Western individualistic psychology with Korean interdependent psychology, using examples of family structure and emotional expression to show why Western theories don't fit Korean culture.
Main Point:
Korean women's studies scholars successfully showed that Western psychological theories don't work for Asian cultures because they assume Western values like individualism and independence, while Korean culture is actually based on interdependence and group harmony - and this affects how we understand both men's and women's psychology.
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage doesn't critique the women's studies program - it actually presents the program's work positively
- The author describes the program's approach as yielding "important critiques" and valuable insights
- The criticism mentioned in the passage comes from external critics, not from the author
Common Student Mistakes:
- Did you confuse the external criticism of the program with the passage author critiquing it?
→ Remember that the passage reports on others' criticism but doesn't endorse those criticisms - Did the word "critique" in the passage make you think this was a critique of the program?
→ The passage discusses how the program critiques Western theories, not how the author critiques the program
Why It's Right:
- The majority of the passage (sentences 7-20) describes the theoretical work produced by the Korean women's studies program
- The passage reports on their critique of Freudian theory and their development of culturally-informed psychological theories
- The author presents this as valuable social theory that challenges Western assumptions about psychology and gender
Key Evidence: "Their approach has thus far yielded important critiques of Western theory, informed by the special experience of Asian women" - this explicitly states that the passage is reporting on theoretical work done by the program.
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage doesn't assess both strengths AND weaknesses - it focuses primarily on the positive contributions
- There's no systematic evaluation weighing pros and cons of the program
- The passage is more descriptive than evaluative in tone
Common Student Mistakes:
- Did you think mentioning the initial controversy counts as discussing weaknesses?
→ The controversy was external criticism that the passage suggests was misguided, not actual program weaknesses - Were you looking for a balanced evaluation format?
→ This passage is primarily informative/descriptive rather than evaluative
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage focuses on one specific program at one university, not women's studies programs in general
- The philosophical analysis is limited to the Korean approach, not a general analysis of women's studies philosophy
- Most of the content is about cultural psychology differences, not educational philosophy
Common Student Mistakes:
- Did the discussion of different approaches to feminist theory make this seem like a general philosophical analysis?
→ The passage only discusses philosophy in the context of this one specific program's approach - Did you generalize from the Korean program to all women's studies programs?
→ Stay focused on what the passage actually discusses - one specific program
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage is about one specific program at one university, not multiple Korean programs
- There's very little actual historical information - just the founding date and initial reactions
- The focus is on theoretical contributions, not historical development
Common Student Mistakes:
- Did the 1977 date and mention of "first in Asia" make this seem like a history passage?
→ Historical details are just context; the main content is about theoretical work - Did you assume "Korean" meant covering multiple Korean programs?
→ The passage only discusses one specific program at Ewha Women's University