The Roots of 'Woke' Culture
Analysis23 Mar 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

Episoder(389)

Death Is a Bore

Death Is a Bore

Most of us are resigned to the fact that we won't escape death in the end. But there are people who have dedicated their entire lives to conquering death. This relatively new movement of 'transhumanis...

18 Jun 201828min

Disconnected Britain

Disconnected Britain

New infrastructure such as major transport projects promises huge benefits. London and the South East are currently looking forward to Crossrail, the start of HS2 and much more besides. But how does a...

11 Jun 201828min

Algorithm Overlords

Algorithm Overlords

How can we be sure that the technology we are creating is going to do the right thing? Machines are merging into our lives in ever more intimate ways. They interact with our children and assist with m...

4 Jun 201828min

#metoo, moi non plus

#metoo, moi non plus

Do French women really think differently about sexual harassment - and if so, does feminism have national borders? Catherine Deneuve was one of 100 prominent women who signed an open letter to Le Mond...

28 Mai 201828min

Too Young to Veil?

Too Young to Veil?

This year, St. Stephen's primary school in east London found itself at the centre of an incendiary and increasingly far-reaching debate that is rocking not only Muslim communities and campaigners acro...

24 Apr 201837min

The End of Arms Control?

The End of Arms Control?

Existing arms control treaties are under threat - at the same time that new types of weapon emerge, with nothing to regulate them. There is a growing crisis in the arms control regimes inherited from ...

26 Mar 201828min

Screens and Teens

Screens and Teens

Do we need to "do something" about the effects of smartphones on teenage children? The backlash against the omnipresent devices has begun. Parents on both sides of the Atlantic are increasingly worrie...

19 Mar 201828min

What Are Universities For?

What Are Universities For?

Almost half of the UK's school leavers are now going to university. But the university sector is under more scrutiny than ever before. Sonia Sodha argues that it's time to take a profound look at what...

12 Mar 201828min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
i-retten
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
fotballpodden-2
det-store-bildet
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
bt-dokumentar-2
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
nokon-ma-ga
rss-ness
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
frokostshowet-pa-p5
chit-chat-med-helle