Intelligence testing, which is an important tool for psychological screening and profiling of subjects, has attracted much criticism from various quarters. Intelligence testing, as in standardized IQ tests, have certain limitations, which render them in-comprehensive. For example, psychologists such as Daniel Goleman have introduced a new dimension to cognitive tests by recognizing the importance of…
Category: Society
Lerone Bennett’s description of the three axial forces of African American life that enabled the community to survive slavery
One constant source of hope for the enslaved African Americans is the prospect of a blissful afterlife that the Christian doctrine offered. While the first generation of black slaves in America brought with them their native religious beliefs and practices, they were soon replaced by Christianity. The white slave owners instilled in their slaves the…
Umar Faruq Abdallah’s and Tariq Ramadan’s views on the relationship between culture and religion in Islam
One of the misconceptions in the Occidental discourse on Islam is that the latter is a monolithic entity. Islam has spread far and wide across the planet. It has a significant presence from China in the East to Spain and Northern Africa toward the West. And through this broad range, there is considerable diversity and…
The problem of slavery in today’s world
One of the convenient myths being perpetrated is that slavery no longer exists in modern societies. As the experience of black Americans clearly shows, attaining nominal legal recognition as freed people need not translate into real, meaningful independence. The condition of black Americans before 1861 and in the decades after it were not drastically different….
Overview of Orientalism by Edward Said
Orientalism as a geo-political and sociological concept has attracted much controversy. It remains author Edward Said’s definitive work, alongside other titles such a The Question of Palestine and Covering Islam. Orientalism as a scholarly work is the combined study and analysis of Oriental “philology, linguistics, ethnography, and the interpretation of culture through the discovery, recovery,…
Max Weber’s views on bureaucracy
Sociologist and philosopher Max Weber has contributed significantly toward our understanding of social and political institutions’ role in everyday situations. If economists such as John Kenneth Galbraith and, more recently, Joseph Stiglitz have brought clarity to the study of dominant institutions, it was Weber who paved the way for this field of study. Weber’s work…
Is Max Weber’s analysis of the rise of modern society a “debate with the ghost of Karl Marx”?
Intellectuals such as Karl Marx and Max Weber have proposed important theories toward understanding the dynamics of societies. Marx’s ideas in particular have profoundly affected later generations of sociologists, including his compatriot Max Weber. Marx’s achievement lies in attempting to explain social situations and problems from the point of view of economic class of constituent…
Do sociological theories weaken taking personal responsibility for our actions?
Yes, there are obvious dangers in adopting sociological perspectives wholesomely. Firstly, sociology as a branch of rational enquiry, alongside psychology, is the most contested among all sciences. Several sociological theories such as Conflict Theory, Functionalism and Network Theory have elicited substantial proofs to the contrary, that their validity cannot be taken for universal truths. In…
The need for a liberal review of the Niqab and the Hijab
The issue of dress codes for women has been a debating point for long. Some Islamic scholars believe that there is no such decree in the holy books, while others interpret it counter-wise to make their case. Even with so much new research conducted on the subject, there is no consensus among Islamic scholars and…
The Beauty Myth: Why do women often view their bodies as a source of despair, especially in a patriarchy?
Firstly, despite several rights won over by women, our society is largely a patriarchal one. The most important offices of cultural institutions are still disproportionately occupied by men. And since these influential men tend to be drawn from an elite group of Caucasians, it is inevitable that their idea of beauty and appeal is imposed…