Duke University sociologist Kieran Healy is, at least in my opinion, one of the funniest academics on Twitter. Maybe that’s not a high bar, but his mock syllabus for a graduate seminar in social theory is still pretty hilarious:
This satirical class syllabus perfectly captures academia’s silliness
Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. His book on democracy, The Reactionary Spirit, was published 0n July 16. You can purchase it here.
If my imaginary Soc 101 is not to your taste, consider taking Soc 710: Social Theory Through Complaining, instead. pic.twitter.com/5wyneVwDxO
— Kieran Healy (@kjhealy) August 25, 2014 The syllabus is mostly a jab at academic cliches, of which there are many. But what’s really fun about Healy’s fake syllabus, especially for those of us who went to grad school in social science, is that he makes fun of the different feuding camps inside the academy. Math nerds, postmodern priests (“If Everything is Socially Constructed, Then Nothing IS”), and identity politics mavens all get poked.
And that’s deserved. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard someone offer every one Healy’s parody course titles, essentially verbatim, as a nominally constructive contribution to one seminar or another.
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