Wokeness doesn’t work: SoCJ hosts talk about social justice and hypocrisy

Tuesday, Oct. 8, the School of Communication and Journalism will host a conversation, "We were promised social justice. We got symbolic gestures. Why 'wokeness' can't deliver the goods," with Musa al-Gharbi, assistant professor of communication and journalism.

The talk is connected to al-Gharbi's book, "We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite," that hits bookstores the day of the event.

We were promised social justice. We got symbolic gestures.
Why "wokeness" can't deliver the goods.
7 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 8
Wang Lecture Hall 2

In the book, al-Gharbi takes a sharp look at what he calls "symbolic capitalists," those who earn and maintain a livelihood largely on the basis of ideas, technical skills and social prestige, including journalists, academics, bureaucrats, consultants, artists and others.

Many "symbolic capitalist" professions are explicitly oriented around serving altruism and the common good. And today, symbolic capitalists are the Americans who are most likely to self-identify as antiracists, feminists, environmentalists, or allies to LGBTQ+ people.

Over the past half-century, symbolic capitalists have gained more power and influence than ever before. However, many social problems have grown worse rather than better over this same period - largely as a result of symbolic capitalists' own behaviors and lifestyles - social justice commitments notwithstanding.

"My hope, in putting together this book and in hosting this conversation, is that we may start to see something new and important that we otherwise wouldn't have," said al-Gharbi, whose background blends sociology, journalism, philosophy and political science, among others. "The goal is to sharpen the contradiction between symbolic capitalists' expressed positions with respect to feminism, antiracism and LGBTQ rights now how they behave in the world. By folding ourselves and our allies into the analytical picture, we can get a much richer understanding of how social problems arise and persist, and what can be done about them."

Al-Gharbi is unafraid to call out the contradictions and hypocrisy he sees in this new elite class' vocal support of social justice and their actions to uphold the status quo. However, he is also clear that he counts himself among those he analyzes so closely and deeply, giving his analysis a compassionate, self-reflective tone.

"Musa's thoughtful and deep analysis of the contradictions between expressed ideas and behaviors of this new class of elites, including academics, is already sparking conversations in media, on college campuses and in other places social capitalists gather," said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the SoCJ and executive director of the Alda Center for Communicating Science. "I eagerly await the Stony Brook conversation, and hope it will be as inspiring as Musa's book itself."

The conversation is free and open to the public.

After the event, books will be available for purchase and signing.

The event is sponsored by the School of Communication and Journalismand the Stony Brook Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives(DI3).

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