Laughing at the Learned
Penelope Corfield shows that ridiculing the learned professions is not a new thing.
Not surprisingly, teachers are worried by the low esteem in which their profession is currently held. The nation's pedagogues have become targets for political criticism and public mockery. But a historical perspective suggests that this painful experience may have a positive outcome. A General Teaching Council has been mooted for years. Now, with 'education, education, education' on the political agenda of New Labour, its moment seems to have arrived. In that case, public satire will have acted as an unofficial goad to professionalisation. After all, this has happened before, as the history of the learned professions makes clear.
Laughter is not always warm, affectionate and merry. In the right circumstances, it can instead be sharp and subversive. Collective laughter against the powerful is a pointed weapon that can be wielded spontaneously and informally, even by the relatively powerless. Thus Sigmund Freud famously argued that satire and invective constituted a form of not- very-concealed aggression. He called this 'hostile wit'.
Laughter is not always warm, affectionate and merry. In the right circumstances, it can instead be sharp and subversive. Collective laughter against the powerful is a pointed weapon that can be wielded spontaneously and informally, even by the relatively powerless. Thus Sigmund Freud famously argued that satire and invective constituted a form of not- very-concealed aggression. He called this 'hostile wit'.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
