Cambridge PhD on 'Politics of Smell' Triggers Online Backlash and Debate

Dr. Ally Louks' academic research on the role of scent in literature faces criticism and support after going viral on social media.

Dr. Ally Louks, a Cambridge University graduate, completed her PhD titled 'Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose,' exploring how smell is used to shape power dynamics in literature.
Her celebratory social media post announcing her PhD achievement garnered over 42 million views and sparked heated reactions online.
Critics, particularly from right-leaning segments, dismissed the research as overly niche, 'woke,' or a waste of resources, with some comments becoming aggressively misogynistic.
Supporters defended the study as a valuable academic contribution, highlighting the importance of exploring underexamined aspects of literature like scent's influence on identity and societal structures.
The online discourse highlights broader issues of anti-intellectualism and the tendency of social media to amplify uninformed criticism of specialized academic work.