The Roots of 'Woke' Culture
Analysis23 Maalis 2020

The Roots of 'Woke' Culture

Barack Obama condemned it. Black American activists championed it. Meghan Markle brought it to the Royal Family. “Wokeness” has become a shorthand for one side of the culture wars, popularising concepts like “white privilege” and “trigger warnings” - and the idea that “language is violence”.

Journalist Helen Lewis is on a mission to uncover the roots of this social phenomenon. On her way she meets three authors who in 2017 hoaxed a series of academic journals with fake papers on dog rape, fat bodybuilding and feminist astrology. They claimed to have exposed the jargon-loving, post-modern absurdity of politically correct university departments - whose theories drive “woke” online political movements.

But is there really a link between the contemporary language of social justice warriors and the continental philosophy of the 1960s and 70s? And are critics of wokeness just reactionaries, left uneasy by a changing world?

Producer Craig Templeton Smith Editor Jasper Corbett

Jaksot(389)

Muscular Liberalism

Muscular Liberalism

The prime minister has proposed a new 'muscular liberalism', aimed at better integrating Britain's Muslims. It aims to counter the alienation that has led to a few young British Muslim men being prepa...

14 Maalis 201128min

Testing the Emotions

Testing the Emotions

Investigative journalist and author Fran Abrams looks at a popular but controversial programme designed to teach children emotional and social skills in schools. The concept of emotional intelligence ...

7 Maalis 201127min

Rethinking the Middle East

Rethinking the Middle East

The autocratic regimes of North Africa & the Middle East enjoyed many years of military, political and financial support from the United States government. Dr Maha Azzam looks at the recent history of...

28 Helmi 201128min

The Orange Book: Clegg's Political Lemon?

The Orange Book: Clegg's Political Lemon?

The Orange Book, published in 2004, is a collection of political essays by leading Liberal Democrats. Although the writers come from a range of viewpoints, the book has been seen as an attempt by part...

21 Helmi 201128min

The Big Society

The Big Society

The "big society" - the idea that volunteers should take over some of the functions of the state - is the most over-used policy phrase of the moment. But how will the theory work in practice? Chris Bo...

14 Helmi 201128min

Radical Economics: Escaping Credit Serfdom

Radical Economics: Escaping Credit Serfdom

The role of credit in the build up to the global financial crisis is well known - but what has our reliance on credit been doing to the wider economy and to human behaviour? The expansion of consumer ...

7 Helmi 201128min

Radical Economics: Yo Hayek!

Radical Economics: Yo Hayek!

Was the economic crisis caused by fundamental problems with the system rather than a mere failure of policy?Over two weeks, Analysis investigates two schools of economics with radical solutions.This w...

31 Tammi 201128min

Trust

Trust

Trust was the subject of moral philosopher Professor Onora O'Neill's acclaimed Reith Lectures in 2002. Enron, political sleaze, the foot and mouth crisis, the Bristol heart babies scandal and the coll...

24 Tammi 201128min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-tekkipodi
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
linda-maria
the-ulkopolitist
rss-polikulaari-humanisti-vastaa-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat