The Scholar with the Muck Rake

‘Muckraking’ refers to the reform-minded investigative journalism that took place in the United States during the ‘Progressive Era’ of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The muckrakers contributed to social change by exposing human suffering, political corruption, corporate exploitation, and injustices through detailed empirical documentation, storytelling and activism. In this essay I sketch out some thoughts on how muckraking can inform social scientific inquiry in the twenty-first century; a time when feelings for reform and social transformation are strong. Reflections are organised around four aspects of muckraking: (1) moral and political engagement without ideological blinkers, (2) commitment to truths, (3) methodological depth and weight, and (4) the use of storytelling. Whilst these are well-known hallmarks of much critical social science, I argue that engaging with muckraking offers a useful addition to this field and pathway into thinking about the purpose, promise, and craft of scholarship.