What the new Sokal hoax reveals about the university

Next Sokal sent this jabber to Social text, a peer-reviewed academic journal that was, at the time, a leading intellectual forum for renowned scholars such as Edward Said, Oscar Negt, Nancy Fraser, Étienne Balibar and Jacques Ranciere. It was published.

In the eyes of his followers, what would become Sokal's hoax seemed to prove the most damning accusations that the critics of postmodernism had long been against him. Postmodern discourse does not make much sense, they argue, that even "experts" can not distinguish between those who make sincere statements and those who make up deliberate mumbo jumbo.

In the months following the publication of Sokal, Social text was much ridiculed. But its influence – and that of the biggest "deconstructive" investigation mode that it has spread – has continued to grow. Indeed, many university departments that are dedicated to the study of particular ethnic, religious, and sexual groups are deeply influenced by some Social textFundamental convictions, including the radical subjectivity of knowledge.

That's why Lindsay, Pluckrose and Boghossian decided to re-examine the original hoax, but on a much larger scale. Call it Sokal Squared.

In general, the journals that fell for Sokal Squared publish respected researchers from respected programs. Gender, place and cultureFor example, who has accepted one of the hoax papers, has published in recent months works by professors from UCLA, Temple, Penn State, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Manchester and the University of Manchester. Humboldt University of Berlin, among others.

The sheer madness of the papers concocted by the authors makes this fact all the more shocking. One of their papers reads like a simple riff on the original Sokal hoax. Rejecting "Western astronomy" as sexist and imperialist, he urges physics departments to study feminist astrology – or to practice interpretative dance – instead:

Other means superior to the natural sciences exist for extracting alternative knowledge about stars and the enrichment of astronomy, including ethnography and other social science methodologies, a careful examination of the intersection of existing astrologies from around the world, the integration of mythological narratives and their modern feminist analysis, feminist interpretive dance (especially with regard to the movements of the stars and their astrological significance ) and direct application of feminist and postcolonial discourses on alternative knowledge and cultural narratives.

The paper that was published in Gender, place and culture seems downright stupid. "Human reaction to queer rape culture and performativity in urban dog parks in Portland, Oregon" claims to be based on in situ observing the culture of canine rape in a Portland dog park. "Do dogs suffer oppression based on (perceived) gender?" Asks the newspaper.