Future of Work
Immigration
Belonging
Social Isolation
Gender
Climate Policy
Social Media
Food
Supply Chains
Circular Economy
Community
Nature
Waste
Identity
Housing
Art
Climate
Fashion
Media
Wellbeing
Health
Sport
Culture
Technology
Care System
Government
Politics
Law
Urban Design
Inequality
AI
Education
Maddie Winchester
BASc Year 1

Socio-Political Impacts of Political Correctness

The socio-political impacts of political correctness within academia & wider society.
Politics
Culture

Summary

Methods
Interviews
Data Analysis
Disciplinary perspectives
No items found.

My project addresses the tension between "political correctness" and "freedom of speech," with the former seen as a constraint on the latter. It explores public perceptions of free speech on controversial issues and gathers insights from academics who have faced political correctness first-hand.

Defined here, political correctness involves conforming to liberal norms to avoid offending political sensibilities, while freedom of speech entails expressing opinions without fear of repercussion. This issue is prominent in current events like the Israel-Palestine conflict and the UK Rwanda migration plan, and is increasingly felt in academia, with 34% of students reporting threats to free speech in their institutions. Furthermore, despite the Human Rights Act of 1998 guaranteeing free expression, 57% of adults at least sometimes refrain from sharing political opinions due to fear of repercussions.

Approach and Methodology

I began with the problem area of freedom of speech, as it was particularly relevant in my personal life at the time. I then undertook long-form, qualitative interviews with academics who have faced controversy, alongside quantitative analysis of YouGov survey data on cancel culture.

I hypothesised that conservative voters and 50-64s will show more discomfort discussing controversial topics than Labour voters and 18-25s. This mixed-method approach illuminated both personal and general perspectives on this critical issue.

Proposal/Outcome

Interviewing both participants provided unique and rich insights into the impacts of political correctness, including the direct threat it poses to free speech and the fear it perpetuates. Furthermore, an overarching take away was that of the negative consequences it has in the academic domain and the potential hinderance it could cause to research and societal development.

Using the chi-square test of independence to test eight hypotheses regarding the perceptions of political correctness and freedom of speech for different age and voter demographics has provided rich and interesting insights into political correctness and freedom of speech in wider society. Of the four tests performed to  investigate the differences in perceptions on the issues among different political affiliations – Labour and Conservative – three of these resulted in sufficient evidence to reject the null hypotheses and helped evidence my initial theory that this factor would be significant. This highlights a divide in society which needs addressing, prompting further investigation and the necessity for more studies to be conducted in order to better understand the correlation between political affiliation and freedom of speech.

My final output was titled 'Social Suicide' . It is a visual commentary on the effects of political correctness in society. The piece shows over a 100 opinions gathered through an anonymous survey of members of the public who were asked to express views they would not feel comfortable expressing in their places of work, education or social circles.

Beyond Outcomes

I am most proud of the discussions and debates my project has sparked. It has challenged people’s ideas and comfort zones and I strongly advocate for this to be encouraged and fostered in all university institutions.

Want to learn more about this project?

Here is some student work from their formal assignments. Please note it may contain errors or unfinished elements. It is shared to offer insights into our programme and build a knowledge exchange community.

Summary

Methods
Interviews
Data Analysis
Disciplinary perspectives
No items found.

My project addresses the tension between "political correctness" and "freedom of speech," with the former seen as a constraint on the latter. It explores public perceptions of free speech on controversial issues and gathers insights from academics who have faced political correctness first-hand.

Defined here, political correctness involves conforming to liberal norms to avoid offending political sensibilities, while freedom of speech entails expressing opinions without fear of repercussion. This issue is prominent in current events like the Israel-Palestine conflict and the UK Rwanda migration plan, and is increasingly felt in academia, with 34% of students reporting threats to free speech in their institutions. Furthermore, despite the Human Rights Act of 1998 guaranteeing free expression, 57% of adults at least sometimes refrain from sharing political opinions due to fear of repercussions.

Approach and Methodology

I began with the problem area of freedom of speech, as it was particularly relevant in my personal life at the time. I then undertook long-form, qualitative interviews with academics who have faced controversy, alongside quantitative analysis of YouGov survey data on cancel culture.

I hypothesised that conservative voters and 50-64s will show more discomfort discussing controversial topics than Labour voters and 18-25s. This mixed-method approach illuminated both personal and general perspectives on this critical issue.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3

Unordered list

  • Item A
  • Item B
  • Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

Superscript

Subscript

Project Journey

I am most proud of the discussions and debates my project has sparked. It has challenged people’s ideas and comfort zones and I strongly advocate for this to be encouraged and fostered in all university institutions.

Proposal/Outcome

Interviewing both participants provided unique and rich insights into the impacts of political correctness, including the direct threat it poses to free speech and the fear it perpetuates. Furthermore, an overarching take away was that of the negative consequences it has in the academic domain and the potential hinderance it could cause to research and societal development.

Using the chi-square test of independence to test eight hypotheses regarding the perceptions of political correctness and freedom of speech for different age and voter demographics has provided rich and interesting insights into political correctness and freedom of speech in wider society. Of the four tests performed to  investigate the differences in perceptions on the issues among different political affiliations – Labour and Conservative – three of these resulted in sufficient evidence to reject the null hypotheses and helped evidence my initial theory that this factor would be significant. This highlights a divide in society which needs addressing, prompting further investigation and the necessity for more studies to be conducted in order to better understand the correlation between political affiliation and freedom of speech.

My final output was titled 'Social Suicide' . It is a visual commentary on the effects of political correctness in society. The piece shows over a 100 opinions gathered through an anonymous survey of members of the public who were asked to express views they would not feel comfortable expressing in their places of work, education or social circles.

Author's Final Reflection

This project was challenging in all the right ways - with it my own perceptions were greatly altered and I feel awakened to issues out in the world I was potentially ignorant of. The diverse plethora of overwhelmingly positive and equally negative reactions from various individuals highlights the need for further investigation into the matter.

Overall LIS Journey

Academic References

Further Information

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Pharetra vestibulum praesent sapien bibendum id egestas leo pellentesque adipiscing.

View the full project

About me

My name is Maddie Winchester, and I am a first year student at the London Interdisciplinary School. The disciplines which I am passionate about include politics, philosophy, linguistics, sociology and literature. This translates into my aspiration to work in public policy, and one day to help to change the world for the better. I advocate strongly for freedom of speech, and hope to further investigate this issue throughout my time at LIS.

In my free time, I enjoy going to concerts, watching plays, musicals and movies, reading, and socialising. I work part-time in a busy pub, and will be undergoing an internship with Fidelity International this summer.

Other Related Projects

Language, Learning, and YouTube

Automating the CEFR Assessment of User-like Generated videos for Language Learning

Education
Community-Scale Plastic Recycling Workspaces

From Waste to Resource: A Cost Model for Efficient Community-Scale Plastic Recycling

Waste
Community
Community Land Ownership and Native Woodland Restoration

Investigating Community-Owned Forest Initiatives as a Vehicle for Native Woodland Restoration in the Scottish Highlands: A Case Study Approach

Nature
Community
Climate