Through an examination of the 2018 “grievance studies” hoax this essay considers the role hoaxing plays in the articulation of both internal and external modes of institutional critique that pertain to the production, verification, and dissemination of knowledge. By examining the grievances of three academics who wrote over twenty false/fraudulent articles—seven of which were published in (and later retracted from) peer-reviewed journals—this research attends to the different kinds of boundary work and repair that are performed and enacted by academics to shed light on the conflicting ways knowledge production and academic labour are currently contextualized and understood.
Articles by Ian Reilly
Ian Reilly is an Associate Professor in Communication Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. His research explores the intersections of politics, humor, civic engagement, and media activism. He is the author of Media Hoaxing: The Yes Men and Utopian Politics (2018), published by Lexington Books.