Sociology is an academic discipline that I generally steer clear of. It seems as full of trendy guff as Education. But there is a minority report, a subculture that questions progressive orthodoxies.
A new book co-written by Jennie Bristow and Ellie Lee called Growing Up in the Culture Wars is in this frail tradition. They offer some excellent insights into what has gone wrong. One insight is that mainstream sociologists have become confused about the idea of normality; it has become seen as an oppressive threat. They acknowledge that there is a healthy sociological tradition of criticising ‘normativity’, meaning the way in which societies reinforce the status quo by presenting it as natural. ‘But challenging normative assumptions about how things should be is very different from the current onslaught on the very idea of normality.’ If all social norms are presented to young people as dubious, they will feel very at sea.
This dark new habit of sucking up to students has led universities to become politically partisan in a new way
Their thoughts on higher education are particularly sharp. Once universities started competing for paying students, they drifted into flattering their muddled radicalism, which might be more ascribed to them than real. And they even flatter their lack of expertise on their chosen subjects, fearing to intimidate them. The courses must be tailored to their imagined needs, lest they are scared off.
