http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/1340/aminata-m-kone Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:20:12 -0400 Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:20:12 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/761/between-linguistic-universalism-and-linguistic-relativism-perspectives-on-human-understandings-of-reality By Aminata M. Kone - The most striking feature of language seems to be its diversity: contrary to the rather limited physical variations of the human species, there are 6,909 known languages worldwide – none of which are identical in sound, syntax, lexicon or grammar (statistic from Lewis 2009). This fact raises interesting questions about human understandings of reality: is it innate and universal, shared by all despite ‘surface’ differences in expression, or relative to the language one speaks? This essay begins with a discussion of linguistic structuralism and refutes its central claim, which... Thu, 19 Sep 2013 08:45 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/761/between-linguistic-universalism-and-linguistic-relativism-perspectives-on-human-understandings-of-reality http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/753/americas-misguided-war-on-terror-contrasting-samuel-huntingtons-clash-of-civilizations-with-ibn-khalduns-theory-of-social-solidarity By Aminata M. Kone - Islam has been under siege since 2001 and in today's political environment, Muslims are too often associated with terrorism. The heinous attacks of 9/11 were treated by the U.S. not as crimes – which would require criminal prosecution and law enforcement – but as a statement of war against Americans, freedom, democracy, and “the Western way of life” (Hossein-zadeh 2006: 91). From this standpoint, and viewing acts of terrorism as acts of war, a military response seemed appropriate. So far, however, the global war on terror has done little to eradicate terrorism. On the contrary... Mon, 02 Sep 2013 02:31 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/753/americas-misguided-war-on-terror-contrasting-samuel-huntingtons-clash-of-civilizations-with-ibn-khalduns-theory-of-social-solidarity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/749/the-military-industrial-complex-in-the-united-states-evolution-and-expansion-from-world-war-ii-to-the-war-on-terror By Aminata M. Kone - After World War II, the United States military gradually came into a position of overwhelming dominance in the world. Military spending in the United States far outpaces that of other countries, with their world share of military expenditures at 41% in 2011, followed by Russia and China with only eight and four percent respectively (SIPRI 2012). This has been the case since the Second World War and has been justified in different ways over time. The arguments for continued military dominance have ranged from “long-term economic gains” at the start of the war (Shoup and Murray 1977,... Mon, 26 Aug 2013 08:50 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/749/the-military-industrial-complex-in-the-united-states-evolution-and-expansion-from-world-war-ii-to-the-war-on-terror