• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Don't Divide Us

  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Black History Month
    • Calvin Robinson on How Commonwealth Nations Contributed To World War II
    • Alka Sehgal Cuthbert’s KS3 resource on the British Empire in India
    • Tarjinder Gill’s Primary Resources
  • Reading and Resources
  • Education
  • Original Content
  • Personal Stories
  • Reports and Submissions
  • Universities
    • Universities Statement
    • Letter to a Vice-Chancellor by a DDU member No.1
    • Letter to a Vice-Chancellor by a DDU member no.2
  • Letter Templates
    • Model Letter For Parents
    • Model Letter For Teachers
    • Model Letter for Academics
  • News
  • Video
  • Privacy
  • Credits
  • Contact us
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Donate

October 7, 2020 By counsell

David Butterfield reviews Cynical Theories

And he declares it a polemic all the more damning for its scrupulousness.

The research behind Cynical Theories is substantial – evidently exhausting, if not exhaustive. Despite ploughing through some 250 articles and books of very variable quality, the authors resist the temptation to descend into mockery. This will surprise some, since the writers are best known to the public for their involvement in the ‘Grievance Studies Affair’, in which twenty bogus academic papers – which used sloppy scholarship and junk science to breed social-justice chimeras – were submitted to academic social science journals. By the time the hoax was revealed, seven had been accepted for publication, and seven were actively under review. To some observers, this was a cynical, politically-motivated betrayal of hard-won academic trust; to others, it exposed real problems in the methodology and practice of activism-driven social sciences. It is to the credit of Cynical Theories that its contentions, however damning and depressing, cannot be dismissed without engagement.

Filed Under: Blogpost, Featured

Footer

If you would like to share your experiences and insights tweet @DontDivideUsNow on Twitter and Instagram.

Help our work

Donate

Join the mailing list

Subscribe

* indicates required
Email Format
Read our privacy policy.

Copyright © 2021 Fourth World Group Limited except most photos · Web development by counsell.com · Log in