Formal Academic Critique of “No Room at the Inn”
Mohamed Shashaa
American University of Sharjah
Formal Academic Critique of “No Room at the Inn”
Introduction
In her article “No Room at the Inn,” Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (2002) addresses the issues of immigration and multiculturalism with considering the objectionable and the advantageous consequences of them. Alibhai-Brown is a British columnist in the Independent and London’s evening standard newspapers. Meanwhile, she is a television broadcaster and an author. She has a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University in 1975. She has written many books associated with racism and immigration. Moreover, she was a research colleague at the institute for public policy research which deal out …show more content…
One of the most prominent objections in this article is the hasty generalization Alibhai-Brown uses in drawing conclusions without validating the fact of them. As an example, she claims that white refugees are habitually seen by people as a source of benefit, whereas refugees with darker skin are usually perceived as a source of chaos (Alibhai-Brown, 2002, para.12). In this particular example, she oversimplifies a deduction without giving a reference to a fact. Additionally, she claims that Europe has always been made by people from outside the continent who now prefer staying in Europe because of freedom and rights they gain (Alibhai-Brown, 2002, para.16). In this case, she declares a conclusion based on her own assumption not through testable hypothesis and adequate statistical proof of large sample size that may support such a claim. In another fallacy, she provides some second-hand anecdotal evidences instead of providing authentic evidences as when she refers to the email request from the Kurdish person who ask for help in finding ways to avoid racism and being influenced by racists (Alibhai-Brown, 2002, para.9). Considering the language, there is a noticeable usage of pathos and negative connotations as she speaks out about how people look at …show more content…
Even though she has good credentials regarding the subject of the article, she unreasonably uses some pathos and connotative language along with a cluster of logical fallacies such as hasty generalizations, second-hand anecdotal examples, and the non-tested assumptions. All together prove an informality and oversimplification to readers, which both in return decline the logic of the argument. On the contrary, she provides a clear purpose of the argument, few verifiable statistical evidences, facts, authentic examples, and the most prominent support among all is the awareness she raises by shedding a light on crucial and continuous issues as immigration and racism. Therefore, I think that Alibhai-Brown’s article turn out to be as a blend of uncertainties and benefits. The article could be better if it was fully based on verifiable statistical evidences, accurate examples and facts over opinions, in conjunction with supplementary logos over pathos. Mostly, I disagree with what she claims about the way people distinguish immigrants in regard to their colors as well as other personal assumptions she concludes without validating them with evidences.
Mohamed Shashaa
American University of Sharjah
Formal Academic Critique of “No Room at the Inn”
Introduction
In her article “No Room at the Inn,” Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (2002) addresses the issues of immigration and multiculturalism with considering the objectionable and the advantageous consequences of them. Alibhai-Brown is a British columnist in the Independent and London’s evening standard newspapers. Meanwhile, she is a television broadcaster and an author. She has a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University in 1975. She has written many books associated with racism and immigration. Moreover, she was a research colleague at the institute for public policy research which deal out …show more content…
One of the most prominent objections in this article is the hasty generalization Alibhai-Brown uses in drawing conclusions without validating the fact of them. As an example, she claims that white refugees are habitually seen by people as a source of benefit, whereas refugees with darker skin are usually perceived as a source of chaos (Alibhai-Brown, 2002, para.12). In this particular example, she oversimplifies a deduction without giving a reference to a fact. Additionally, she claims that Europe has always been made by people from outside the continent who now prefer staying in Europe because of freedom and rights they gain (Alibhai-Brown, 2002, para.16). In this case, she declares a conclusion based on her own assumption not through testable hypothesis and adequate statistical proof of large sample size that may support such a claim. In another fallacy, she provides some second-hand anecdotal evidences instead of providing authentic evidences as when she refers to the email request from the Kurdish person who ask for help in finding ways to avoid racism and being influenced by racists (Alibhai-Brown, 2002, para.9). Considering the language, there is a noticeable usage of pathos and negative connotations as she speaks out about how people look at …show more content…
Even though she has good credentials regarding the subject of the article, she unreasonably uses some pathos and connotative language along with a cluster of logical fallacies such as hasty generalizations, second-hand anecdotal examples, and the non-tested assumptions. All together prove an informality and oversimplification to readers, which both in return decline the logic of the argument. On the contrary, she provides a clear purpose of the argument, few verifiable statistical evidences, facts, authentic examples, and the most prominent support among all is the awareness she raises by shedding a light on crucial and continuous issues as immigration and racism. Therefore, I think that Alibhai-Brown’s article turn out to be as a blend of uncertainties and benefits. The article could be better if it was fully based on verifiable statistical evidences, accurate examples and facts over opinions, in conjunction with supplementary logos over pathos. Mostly, I disagree with what she claims about the way people distinguish immigrants in regard to their colors as well as other personal assumptions she concludes without validating them with evidences.