University of Cambridge PhD student's thesis exploring 'smell' goes viral, internet has thoughts
Dr. Ally Louks, a Cambridge scholar, went viral on X after announcing her PhD completion on the unique thesis topic, "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose." Her research explores how smell shapes societal structures, including class, gender, and race.
A social media user recently took to X (previously Twitter) to report that they have completed their doctorate by delivering the dissertation and passing the "viva with no corrections". While the news of obtaining a PhD would have been quite harmless and not received much attention, the post became viral due to the OP's choice of thesis topic.
Dr Ally Louks, an X user who claims to teach at the University of Cambridge, claimed that her thesis topic was "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose," which immediately piqued the internet's interest.
PhD student's thesis goes viral
Thrilled to say I passed my viva with no corrections and am officially PhDone. pic.twitter.com/4qwCyFYocX
¡ª Dr Ally Louks (@DrAllyLouks) November 27, 2024
"Thrilled to say I passed my viva with no corrections and am officially PhDone," Dr. Louks captioned the photo, which featured her dissertation. She also provided the abstract of her research to give "more context for anyone interested in learning" about her findings.
"This thesis studies how literature registers the importance of olfactory discourse-the language of smell and the olfactory imagination it creates in structuring our social world," read the brief. "The broad aim of this thesis is to offer an intersectional and wide-ranging study of olfactory oppression by establishing the underlying logics that facilitate smell's application in creating and subverting gender, class, sexual, racial and species power structures," it added.
Since there is some confusion about the nature of my research, here is the abstract for my PhD thesis, which I hope will provide more context for anyone interested in learning more about my work! pic.twitter.com/eN9OsldQ2E
¡ª Dr Ally Louks (@DrAllyLouks) November 29, 2024
The first chapter of the thesis investigated how "smell can be used to indicate class antipathies, partly as they relate to homelessness" through an examination of George Orwell's work and other popular media works.
How did people on the internet react?
As the post went viral, thousands of users swarmed Dr Louks' page, questioning her for devoting time and money to explore a topic that may have no real-world implications.
Here's what people wrote.
I¡¯m really enjoying the huge variety of smell-related puns under this post! I¡¯ve provided my thesis abstract now if you¡¯re interested in learning more about my work! :)
¡ª Dr Ally Louks (@DrAllyLouks) November 29, 2024
You might be pleased to hear that I¡¯m working on a postdoc project on cultures of olfactory dysfunction then!
¡ª Dr Ally Louks (@DrAllyLouks) November 28, 2024
I concur! (in my expert opinion)
¡ª Dr Ally Louks (@DrAllyLouks) November 27, 2024
I¡¯ll certainly let everyone know if I secure a book contract! Thank you for your interest in my work! :)
¡ª Dr Ally Louks (@DrAllyLouks) November 29, 2024
Also read: 'My Best Hype Person': Woman Shares Her Desi Mom's Reaction To Her PhD Thesis & It's Adorable
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