Political Correctness: A Sociocultural Black Hole (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)

This book explores the nature of political correctness as but one of the faces of today’s widespread sociocultural hypocrisy; it is a critique of a phenomenon that constitutes a threat to the Enlightenment hope that humanity might one day achieve maturity. The author identifies political correctness as a drive towards shallowness, anti-intellectualism and self-flagellation – and a culture in which perception is everything. With attention to the emergence and growth of political correctness in a country, Greece, where it can be observed from a bottom-up perspective, this volume demonstrates that although at first glance it appears as a well-intentioned social movement informed by values with which no moral and judicious person could disagree, political correctness actually represents, at best, a distraction from graver concerns; at worst, a manifestation of human foolishness and malevolence. A study of the destruction of honest and rational debate, characterized by trials of intention, often by social media, __Political Correctness: A Sociocultural Black Hole__ will appeal to scholars of sociology and media studies with interests in contemporary political culture. This book explores the nature of political correctness as but one of the faces of today’s widespread sociocultural hypocrisy, and symptomatic of a drive towards shallowness, anti-intellectualism and self-flagellation, as part of a political culture in which perception is everything and the possibility of honest, rational debate is eroded. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Chapter 1 Introduction: A Lannister Always Dates His Pets 8 Chapter 2 PC in Greece: An Atypical, yet Revealing, Case Study 22 Introduction 22 Politics 23 Art 30 Media 32 Everyday Life 39 Academia 44 Chapter 3 A Culture of Hypocrisy 51 Introduction 51 Still Got the Blues . . . Or Do I? 52 A Well-Rounded Education Versus PTSD Playacting 55 On Jordan B. Peterson [but not really . . . ] 58 Grêt-à-porter: On Greta Thunberg 67 The Bechdel Test 69 Blackface and Halloween 73 The Evergreen State College Debacle, and “White Guilt” 77 Get up, Stand up: Stand-up Comedy for and against PC 81 Chapter 4 The Story Thus Far: A Critical Review of the Literature on PC 87 Introduction 87 A Genealogy of the Term and Attempts at Definition 89 Points in Favor of and Against PC 99 Chapter 5 Alceste . . . and the Rest: A Misanthropic Pessimist’s Outlook on PC 126 Introduction 126 A Case for Misanthropic Pessimism 127 The PC Elephant in the Chat Room 133 Chapter 6 [In Lieu of a] Conclusion 143 Works Cited 154 Index 163 political,correctness;,socio-cultural;,black,hole;,hypocrisy;,humor;,humour;,Jordan,Peterson;,misanthropic,pessimism;,media;,Greece;,academic;,politics;,sociology;,media,studies;,debate;,cultural,studies;,power;,political,culture;,social,problems political correctness,socio-cultural,black hole,hypocrisy,humor,humour,Jordan Peterson,misanthropic pessimism,media,Greece,academic,politics,sociology,media studies,debate,cultural studies,power,political culture,social problems "This book explores the nature of political correctness as but one of the faces of today's widespread sociocultural hypocrisy; it is a critique of a phenomenon that constitutes a threat to the Enlightenment hope that humanity might one day achieve maturity. The author identifies political correctness as a drive towards shallowness, anti-intellectualism and self-flagellation - and a culture in which perception is everything. With attention to the emergence and growth of political correctness in a country, Greece, where it can be observed from a bottom-up perspective, this volume demonstrates that although at first glance it appears as a well-intentioned social movement informed by values with which no moral and judicious person could disagree, political correctness actually represents, at best, a distraction from graver concerns; at worst, a manifestation of human foolishness and malevolence. A study of the destruction of honest and rational debate, characterised by trials of intention, often by social media, Political Correctness: A Sociocultural Black Hole will appeal to scholars of sociology and media studies with interests in contemporary political culture"-- Provided by publisher "This book explores the nature of political correctness as but one of the faces of today's widespread sociocultural hypocrisy; it is a critique of a phenomenon that constitutes a threat to the Enlightenment hope that humanity might one day achieve maturity. The author identifies political correctness as a drive towards shallowness, anti-intellectualism and self-flagellation - and a culture in which perception is everything. With attention to the emergence and growth of political correctness in a country, Greece, where it can be observed from a bottom-up perspective, this volume demonstrates that although at first glance it appears as a well-intentioned social movement informed by values with which no moral and judicious person could disagree, political correctness actually represents, at best, a distraction from graver concerns; at worst, a manifestation of human foolishness and malevolence. A study of the destruction of honest and rational debate, characterized by trials of intention, often by social media, Political Correctness: A Sociocultural Black Hole will appeal to scholars of sociology and media studies with interests in contemporary political culture"-- Provided by publisher