Date of Award
5-2021
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
English: Rhetoric and Writing: M.A.
Department
English
College
College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Dr. James Heiman
Second Advisor
Dr. Matt Barton
Third Advisor
Dr. Dan Wildeson
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
cancel culture, academy, academic freedom
Abstract
Calls for social justice have been around since the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s, but it wasn’t until recently that America has seen a resurgence of these calls. Social media has made it easier for average people who wouldn’t normally consider themselves social justice warriors to fight for the social justice of others. With the help of social media, speaking up about social injustices has become easy and convenient. Out of this recent resurgence, we have seen a new culture form: cancel culture. Cancel discourse – the language that perpetuates cancel culture – is threatening the very fabric of our academic institutions. Colleges and universities across America are overwhelmingly trading their long-held ideals – particularly those related to academic freedom – for new ideals created under cancel discourse – specifically, silencing any discourse that may be interpreted as transgressive in nature. By allowing cancel discourse to continue, colleges and universities give up ideals that form a liberal society, particularly those related to open-mindedness. Ultimately, the goals cancel discourse attempt to achieve work to reinforce the very social injustices they attempt to tear down. Cancel discourse is the newest way of attempting to use the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house (Lorde, 1984).
Recommended Citation
Gondringer, Mary, "Cancel Culture and Cancel Discourse: Cultural Attacks on Academic Ideals" (2021). Culminating Projects in English. 9.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/eng_etds/9
