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Cambridge University stands with teacher trolled for her ‘politics of smell’ PhD: ‘It’s harassment and misogyny’
Dr Ally Louks, a Cambridge University teacher, was trolled for her “Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose" PhD thesis.
Dr Ally Louks recently found herself in the midst of a social media trolling session after she shared about her achievement of earning a PhD. Her thesis subject received several snide and sarcastic comments from social media users. Following this controversy, Cambridge University, where she completed her PhD, took to Instagram to share a post supporting Dr Louks. They also expressed that the trolls had turned her achievement into “harassment and misogyny.”
Dr Ally Louks unconventional PhD thesis:
In a post, the teacher at Cambridge University revealed that her thesis is titled “Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose.” The beginning chapter of her thesis explores how smell is used to express class distinctions.
What did Cambridge University say?
“Dr Louks, we support you,” the university wrote, adding, “Last week, Cambridge PhD student @allylouks published this photo on X to celebrate passing her viva with no corrections. Her tweet went viral, attracting over 100 million views.”
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“But the attention that Ally's achievement received turned to harassment and misogyny when trolls attacked Ally's PhD topic, her education, her achievement, and her gender,” the university further expressed.
The prestigious institution also briefly explained her topic and congratulated her on passing her viva with no corrections
Take a look at the entire post here:
A wave of support:
The Cambridge University’s post went viral, with many supporting the teacher.
An individual posted, “She handed this thesis into me! Such a lovely lady! I stand with her, humanity can be vile to good people.” Another added, “People often criticise what they can’t achieve or what they feel they lack, especially when they see others excel in those areas.”
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A third expressed, “Congratulations Dr, would love to read your thesis. Also kudos Cambridge for supporting your learners offline and online.” A fourth wrote, “Actually, it's good to see that the institution supports their students.”
After her post about her thesis attracted negative comments, Dr Louks took to X to share a post addressing this unwanted attention. “Busy day, but just to say I am obsessed with all the tweets that are applying olfactory ethics to real world scenarios. I love that I have somehow equipped everyone with new terminology and frameworks!” she wrote.
