Ally Louks
Ally Louks | |
|---|---|
 Louks in 2025 | |
| Born | Amelia Mary Louks 8 December 1997[2] |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater |
|
| Thesis | Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose[1] (2024) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kasia Boddy |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Literature |
| Main interests | Sense of smell in literature |
Amelia Mary Louks (/luːks/;[3] born 8 December 1997), known online as Dr. Ally Louks, is an English literary academic. She gained prominence after a photograph of her holding her PhD dissertation went viral on social media, bringing attention to the politics of how smell is described and utilised in English literature.
Education
Amelia Mary Louks[4] was born in December 1997.[5][6] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Literature from the University of Exeter in 2019 and a Master of Arts (MA) in Issues in Modern Society from University College London (UCL) in 2020.[7] The topic of her final undergraduate project was perfume marketing.[8]
On a grant and supervised by Kasia Boddy,[4] Louks completed her PhD at Peterhouse, Cambridge in 2024.[7] Her dissertation was titled Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose.[9] It examines "morally exigent olfactory language in relation to disgust and desire affects."[7]
When explaining her thesis to the broader audience, she has said, "I draw on the well-documented history of olfactory prejudice in order to examine its contemporary relevance...We tend to think that our desire to avoid bad smells is an instinctual, protective mechanism, but evidence suggests that we are taught which smells to find disgusting, since, the disgust response is almost entirely lacking in children under the age of two. The sense of smell, then, is shaped by society and is influenced by the prejudices that pervade it."[10]
PhD virality
Ally Louks @DrAllyLouksThrilled to say I passed my viva with no corrections and am officially PhDone.
27 November 2024[11]
On 27 November 2024, Louks posted a photo of herself on Twitter holding her dissertation, with the caption "Thrilled to say I passed my viva with no corrections and am officially PhDone."[12] Louks's post went viral with over 120 million views.[13] The reception to her post was largely positive, although some attacked her work as worthless or a waste of university resources.[14] It also led to Louks being subjected to personal attacks and sexist trolling. Much of the backlash came from right-wing accounts,[15] often attacking women's place in academia or even the notion of women with careers.[9][12] She also received rape and death threats, which she reported to police.[16] Louks noted that one of the threats was sent to her personal email, which is not readily available online.[5]
In response to the backlash, Louks wrote while she didn't "feel that my work is above criticism....the criticisms levied at me were not based in reality".[5] In an interview with Nil Köksal, she said she hadn't "taken the vitriol to heart because it's ultimately not really about me or my work".[9] Andy Parker, Master of Louks's constituent college Peterhouse,[17] issued a statement of support for her, as did Cambridge University itself, congratulating her for finishing her PhD with no corrections and stating they believed the backlash was a sign of harassment and misogyny.[18]
The viral post inspired discussions about gender, academia, online abuse, and "misogynistic bullying".[19][20][15] Vox called it "a case study in how the online right targets and harasses those who don't fit into the narrow — and often conflicting — standards they've formulated for women."[15] Max La Bouchardiere of Varsity wrote on how this interacts with the neoliberal, anti-intellectual backlash to the humanities and social sciences,[21] which Louks further discussed with Brittany Luse and Jason Stanley on NPR's It's Been a Minute.[22] The journalist Callum Booth wrote that the episode had shown "the worst side of the internet. The part that believes it knows better than experts, that utterly misjudges the point of a post, and the one that resorts to vile insults over discussion."[14]
By December 2024, Louks had gained over 100,000 new Twitter followers.[23] In March 2025, Rolling Stone noted that "Dr. Ally Louks [had] become a beloved fixture of curiosity on an app known for platforming the worst kinds of people."[24]
Post-doctoral career
In February 2025, Louks signed with both a British and an American literary agent.[25]
Personal life
In February 2025, Louks came out as bisexual on Twitter.[26]
See also
References
- ^ Louks, Amelia Mary (6 November 2024). Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose (Thesis). University of Cambridge. doi:10.17863/CAM.113239. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ @DrAllyLouks (8 December 2021). "I'm having Pringles and banana milk for breakfast because it's my birthday and no one can stop me" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 July 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Louks, Amelia Mary [@DrAllyLouks] (4 February 2025). "In case anyone else is interested, my surname is pronounced like "Luke's" ☺️" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 July 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships - Alumni". Funds for Women Graduates. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ a b c Bellware, Kim (7 December 2024). "The internet made a stink over her 'politics of smell' PhD thesis". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ Louks, Ally [@DrAllyLouks] (19 July 2025). "Born December 1997 😌 (Wiki people take notes if you like!)" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 July 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c University of Cambridge. "Faculty of English Graduate Students: Amelia Louks, Peterhouse". Faculty of English, University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ Jones, CT (3 March 2025). "They Attacked Her PhD. Now This Smell Expert Is Making X Her Classroom". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ a b c Goodyear, Sheena (5 December 2024). "She posted about her PhD, and went viral in the worst possible way". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ Louks, Amelia (16 December 2024). "My research on the politics of smell divided the internet – here's what it's actually about". The Conversation. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ (27 November 2024). "Thrilled to say I passed my viva with no corrections and am officially PhDone" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Oldereide, Andréa; RV, Lei (3 December 2024). "Woman Goes Viral And Receives Violent Threats From Aggressive Men After Sharing Her PhD Thesis". Bored Panda. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ Butt, Maira (6 December 2024). "Cambridge University issues statement after woman subjected to 'misogyny' after PhD". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b Booth, Callum. "The Online Reaction To The 'Politics Of Smell' PhD, Examined". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ a b c Jennings, Rebecca (4 December 2024). "Why did the internet lose its mind about a woman getting a PhD?". Vox. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Prickett, Katy; McLeod, Dotty (4 December 2024). "Academic trolled for Cambridge Uni PhD 'unfazed by the vitriol'". BBC Online. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ Parks, Andy (6 December 2024). "A statement of support from the Master". Peterhouse, Cambridge. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Sengupta, Trisha (7 December 2024). "Cambridge University stands with teacher trolled for her 'politics of smell' PhD: 'It's harassment and misogyny'". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Pandey, Nikhil. "Cambridge University Responds To Backlash Over Thesis Linking Body Odour To Racism". NDTV. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ^ "Cambridge University Responds To Backlash Over Dr Ally Louks' 'Politics Of Smell' PhD". News18. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ^ La Bouchardiere, Max (1 January 2025). "Tolerating anti-intellectualism supports the 'career-ification' of university". Varsity. Archived from the original on 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
- ^ Luse, Brittany (27 January 2025). "Intellectuals vs. The Internet". It's Been a Minute. NPR. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Cambridge University issues statement after woman subjected to 'misogyny and harassment' after finishing PhD". Yahoo! Life. 6 December 2024. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Jones, C. T. (3 March 2025). "They Attacked Her PhD. Now This Smell Expert Is Making X Her Classroom". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Bakshi, Mousumi; Heywood, Harriet (22 February 2025). "Academic trolled for Cambridge University PhD gets literary agent". BBC Online. Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ Cramer, Jude (24 February 2025). ""Smell commentator" Ally Louks confirms she's bi and breaks the internet". INTO. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.