“The Souls of Black Folk,” by W.E.B. Du Bois details the author’s understanding of the status of African-Americans in the Early 20th century. Recounting Emancipation and suffrage effect on black people’s consciousness - namely the transformation from double to self-consciousness - Du Bois explains the importance of education in the fight to limit inequality. By asking the question, “how does it feel to be a problem?” and communicating the different ways in which people ask this question, Du Bois explains the obstacles faced by African-Americans. Uniting a person as both a man of African descent and as an American, the author argues, would reconcile the consciousness of the individual with himself. Furthermore, the disappointment faced by the
…show more content…
Alford, “The Craft of Inquiry” examines the discipline of sociology by studying the processes in which it is performed. The author’s illustration of the distinctions between theory, method, and research, conveys the importance of considering academic specialization and interdisciplinary study. Furthermore, Alford details the key aspects of theory and methods related to evidence while considering the different aspects of each process - specifically grand and middle range theory and abstracted empiricism, types of analysis, gathering data, research, quantitative and qualitative methodologists, etc. Alford continues on to examine Durkheim, Weber and Marx’s role in the understanding of inquiry. Consequently, the author details each of their approaches, Durkheim's being social fact and the crisis of solidarity in a divided society, Weber’s as ideal type and the crisis of rationality in industrialized societies, and Marx’s as dialectic and the crisis of production in capitalist society. By relating each approach to academia, Alford argues his claims about each social scientist - in this, he examines the nature of sociology as well as the proposed way in which to conduct an inquiry. He concludes by stating the intent of the book as a whole as a tool for the research
Alford, “The Craft of Inquiry” examines the discipline of sociology by studying the processes in which it is performed. The author’s illustration of the distinctions between theory, method, and research, conveys the importance of considering academic specialization and interdisciplinary study. Furthermore, Alford details the key aspects of theory and methods related to evidence while considering the different aspects of each process - specifically grand and middle range theory and abstracted empiricism, types of analysis, gathering data, research, quantitative and qualitative methodologists, etc. Alford continues on to examine Durkheim, Weber and Marx’s role in the understanding of inquiry. Consequently, the author details each of their approaches, Durkheim's being social fact and the crisis of solidarity in a divided society, Weber’s as ideal type and the crisis of rationality in industrialized societies, and Marx’s as dialectic and the crisis of production in capitalist society. By relating each approach to academia, Alford argues his claims about each social scientist - in this, he examines the nature of sociology as well as the proposed way in which to conduct an inquiry. He concludes by stating the intent of the book as a whole as a tool for the research