‘Woke’ is a way of characterising the culture created though the dominance of the left-wing ideologies of social justice and critical theory in universities and other institutions. The left seems have given up on free speech as now they have gained institutional power. The right condemns this dominance as a threat to our freedoms and civilisation as we know it. Both are engaged in a toxic culture war.
Professor Özkırımlı argues that the left and right are more similar than they think, and that by focusing on our common humanity we can find a consensual way out of woke that is in tune with the love of freedom both sides seem to have lost.
This talk is one of a series of Free Speech Seminars organised by the University of Buckingham branch of Academics For Academic Freedom with support fromt he University of Buckingham. We are holding it on 20 May as one of many activities to celebrate International Academic Freedom Day.
About Umut
Umut is a Senior Research Fellow at IBEI (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals), a professor at Blanquerna, Ramon Llull University, and a Senior Research Associate at CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). His most recent book is Cancelled: the left way back from woke. He is also the author of the acclaimed Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. His writings appear frequently in The Guardian, openDemocracy, Times Higher Education, Huffington Post, and Al Jazeera, among others.
Two related readings:
Alan Sokal: The left-wing defence of free speech (4 March 2024)
Frank Furedi : Woke is not the problem – it is the symptom of something far worse (13 April 2024)
(Photo Credit: Umut Özkırımlı)
