Reflecting on the Musa al-Gharbi article, it was always clear to me that woke-ism was a mass phenomenon, not one built upon intense text scrutiny. Ideas of oppressor-oppressed or intersectionality function because of the simplicity they can be reduced to. They still have intellectual roots though, and on-line movement leaders may have done more readings than the average college student.
Also clear that the movement did not rely on natural in- or into-group selection alone. As an example consider this from FIRE, addressing the following mandate to teachers within California’s community college system:
Professors were required to acknowledge that “cultural and social identities are diverse, fluid and intersectional” and to develop “knowledge of the intersectionality of social identities and the multiple axes of oppression that people from different racial, ethnic and other minoritized (sic) groups face” Professors were informed that "persons that think they are not racists are in denial" and that the drive towards color blindness in society "perpetuates existing racial inequalities". They were warned not to “weaponize academic freedom” to “inflict curricular trauma on our students” (FIRE Quarterly, Fall 2023)
FIRE successfully sued for this. They stated: "These regulations are a totalitarian triple whammy. The government is forcing professors to teach and preach politicized viewpoints they do not share, imposing incomprehensible guidelines, and threatening to punish professors when they cross an arbitrary indiscernible line."
Not just censorship, but the impulse to mandate speech not generally accepted, that is the core of cancel culture.
As always enjoy your links.
Reflecting on the Musa al-Gharbi article, it was always clear to me that woke-ism was a mass phenomenon, not one built upon intense text scrutiny. Ideas of oppressor-oppressed or intersectionality function because of the simplicity they can be reduced to. They still have intellectual roots though, and on-line movement leaders may have done more readings than the average college student.
Also clear that the movement did not rely on natural in- or into-group selection alone. As an example consider this from FIRE, addressing the following mandate to teachers within California’s community college system:
Professors were required to acknowledge that “cultural and social identities are diverse, fluid and intersectional” and to develop “knowledge of the intersectionality of social identities and the multiple axes of oppression that people from different racial, ethnic and other minoritized (sic) groups face” Professors were informed that "persons that think they are not racists are in denial" and that the drive towards color blindness in society "perpetuates existing racial inequalities". They were warned not to “weaponize academic freedom” to “inflict curricular trauma on our students” (FIRE Quarterly, Fall 2023)
FIRE successfully sued for this. They stated: "These regulations are a totalitarian triple whammy. The government is forcing professors to teach and preach politicized viewpoints they do not share, imposing incomprehensible guidelines, and threatening to punish professors when they cross an arbitrary indiscernible line."
Not just censorship, but the impulse to mandate speech not generally accepted, that is the core of cancel culture.