Focuses on how educational institutions and knowledge-production systems (universities, journals, disciplines) regulate what is considered valid truth and who is allowed to speak it. Control is exerted through gatekeeping (credentials, tenure), defining legitimate topics and methodologies, and marginalizing "non-scholarly" or dissenting forms of knowledge.
Theory of Academic Social Control Example: The rigid requirement for a Ph.D. and peer-reviewed publications in a specific style to be considered a legitimate voice on a public health issue. This academic control marginalizes practical community healers or those using indigenous knowledge systems. It dictates whose expertise "counts," controlling the narrative by credentialing and methodology, not just by evidence.
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 7, 2026
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