http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/structuralism 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 Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:10:20 -0400 Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:10:20 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1937/knowledge-production-in-international-relations-a-poststructural-feminist-critique-of-liberal-feminism By Dana K.J. Al-Thani - In popular international relations (IR) theory, knowledge production is often dismissed as an objective process between the researcher and the empirical world. This article rejects this notion and contends that the process of knowledge production is always inherently political in the conduct and study of IR. In order to achieve this argument, a poststructural lens is adopted in order to critique the liberal understanding of knowledge production within IR as a scientific process capable of revealing ‘universal truths.’ Additionally, in discussing ‘the political’ this article... Wed, 09 Feb 2022 01:27 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1937/knowledge-production-in-international-relations-a-poststructural-feminist-critique-of-liberal-feminism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1805/poststructuralism-and-female-identity-in-sylvia-plaths-ariel By Lillian G. Robles - Sylvia Plath’s posthumously published collection of poetry, Ariel, is perhaps best defined by the vivid imagery that delves deep into Plath’s psyche. Throughout the collection, Plath explores dimensions of herself: her past, present, and future; her demons; her place in the world. Time and time again, Ariel seems to return to essential questions about Plath’s identity. If not providing a clear answer, then Ariel, at the very least, tracks the complexity and even impossibility of any single answer. Because Ariel is an exploration of a woman’s identity and existence, it may... Wed, 30 Sep 2020 10:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1805/poststructuralism-and-female-identity-in-sylvia-plaths-ariel http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1543/is-western-political-science-applicable-to-the-islamic-world-on-the-universality-of-particularism-in-the-middle-east By Samuel W. Singler - Given pervasive representations of its geostrategic and global economic significance, the Middle East constitutes an important area of political and academic study far beyond its geographical boundaries. A key debate underlying such research is whether the region represents a “unique case, quite different from the rest of the world and incomprehensible to outsiders,” or if it is rather open to analysis by an “intellectual system of general application” (Halliday, 1996: 2). By critically evaluating Fred Halliday’s view that the Middle East’s “uniqueness... Thu, 23 Feb 2017 11:12 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1543/is-western-political-science-applicable-to-the-islamic-world-on-the-universality-of-particularism-in-the-middle-east 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/420/admirable-echoes-intellectual-debts-of-dramaturgical-sociology By Tony N. Buell - Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 – November 19, 1982) left an indelible imprint on contemporary sociological theory and research. Discourse on the intellectual roots of his dramaturgical approach tends to position Goffman within the school of symbolic interactionism. Textual analysis of Goffman and Herbert Blumer reveals both similar and contrasting intellectual debts. Exposition of the key concepts of “self,” “frame,” “situation,” “impression management,” “teams,” and “regions” reveals the error in situating Goffman squarely... Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/420/admirable-echoes-intellectual-debts-of-dramaturgical-sociology