Musa al-Gharbi
@musaalgharbi.bsky.social
1K followers 100 following 350 posts
Asst. Professor of Communication, Journalism and (by courtesy) Sociology at Stony Brook University. Author of, "We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite" -- out now via Princeton University Press.
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Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
If you've already consumed the hardcover or audio version -- thanks so much for your interest and support!

For those who've gone through the book already but are interested in the new preface, I've posted it today on Symbolic Capital(ism): musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/175347869/...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
If you haven't picked up a copy of We Have Never Been Woke yet, now is the perfect time to see what all the fuss is about.

Details on how to order the refreshed edition in your preferred format and from your preferred vendor available here: musaalgharbi.com/paperback-ed...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
I'm pleased to announce that We Have Never Been Woke is now available in paperback!

It has a lower price point, it's smaller and lighter (easier to pack and carry), and has a new preface where I reflect on the reception and impact of the book.

🧵
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
katehanch.bsky.social
I just listened to this podcast with @musaalgharbi.bsky.social and need to process with someone!!

Why progressives may not be as 'woke' as they think | Ideas | On Demand | CBC Listen share.google/rrq9iVXb4bFN...
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musaalgharbi.bsky.social
If you've already consumed the hardcover or audio version -- thanks so much for your interest and support!

For those who've gone through the book already but are interested in the new preface, I've posted it today on Symbolic Capital(ism): musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/175347869/...
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
If you haven't picked up a copy of We Have Never Been Woke yet, now is the perfect time to see what all the fuss is about.

Details on how to order the refreshed edition in your preferred format and from your preferred vendor available here: musaalgharbi.com/paperback-ed...
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
I'm pleased to announce that We Have Never Been Woke is now available in paperback!

It has a lower price point, it's smaller and lighter (easier to pack and carry), and has a new preface where I reflect on the reception and impact of the book.

🧵
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
pawistik.bsky.social
This talk @musaalgharbi.bsky.social on CBC Ideas that just finished was super interesting. Give it a listen.

Why progressives may not be as 'woke' as they think
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
princetonupress.bsky.social
How a new “woke” elite uses the language of social justice to gain more power and status—without helping the marginalized and disadvantaged.

@musaalgharbi.bsky.social's We Have Never Been Woke is now available in #paperback: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
Paperback cover of We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite by Musa al-Gharbi
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
In general, if one wants to understand the culture wars, it's helpful to attend to specific cultural processes in concrete populations and institutions. That seems obvious, on the one hand, but it's rarely done. But it can be quite revelatory.

Full post here, no paywall.
Inserting “Culture” Into the Culture Wars
Ideology and formal rules are less consequential than most seem to think. This matters for institutional reform.
musaalgharbi.substack.com
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
The "conservatives are from Mars, progressives are from Venus" framing of culture wars attribute many behavioral tendencies and institutional dynamics to specific ideologies -- despite the fact that people from the "other" camp think and behave the same way: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/174760441/...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
The symbolic professions are easily "captured" -- i.e. unrepresentative, unpopular and extreme views can easily attain institutional dominance despite their lack of support (even from many of the leaders who impose them). Why? Look to culture: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/174760441/...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
The symbolic professions are currently being steamrolled by Trump. They're also easily steamrolled by angry teens on the internet, foreign actors, and lots of other stakeholders -- despite having lots of resources to resist. Why? Look to culture: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/174760441/...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
Academic tenure was created to enable bold + ambitious work. It provide reals protections. Yet, tenured faculty self-censor no less than contingent peers and the process of securing tenure has become a conformity gauntlet. To understand why, look to culture: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/174760441/...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
Many institutions have immense formal freedoms and protections but are, nonetheless, highly censorious.

Why? Because people are often far more concerned about social sanctions than formal sanctions: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/174760441/...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
Attending to specific processes of cultural transformation can shed profound light on how people behave, why institutions operate as they do, and which types of narratives and interventions are likely dead-ends. 🧵

musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/inserting-...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
My latest for Symbolic Capital(ism) explores how many analyses of the "culture wars" largely neglect the "culture" part of the equation.

Instead, many continue to run with the formulation JD Hunter initially formulated the concept in the 90s: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/inserting-...
Reposted by Musa al-Gharbi
robsica.bsky.social
"Our key takeaway is that researchers (including us) may need to update our beliefs on the relationship between ideology and rigidity and move away from asking *who* is more rigid and toward examining *when* and *where* political ideology and extremism predict rigidity."
An adversarial collaboration on the rigidity‐of‐the‐right, symmetry thesis, or rigidity‐of‐extremes: The answer depends on the question
In an adversarial collaboration, two preregistered U.S.-based studies (total N = 6181) tested three hypotheses regarding the relationship between political ideology and belief rigidity (operationaliz...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
musaalgharbi.bsky.social
In general, if one wants to understand the culture wars, it's helpful to attend to specific cultural processes in concrete populations and institutions. That seems obvious, on the one hand, but it's rarely done. But it can be quite revelatory.

Full post here, no paywall.
Inserting “Culture” Into the Culture Wars
Ideology and formal rules are less consequential than most seem to think. This matters for institutional reform.
musaalgharbi.substack.com