Abstract

Abstract This article explores the rhetorical underpinning of the pedagogics of unlearning by way of a consideration of three figures: first, “the ignorant schoolmaster” as constructed by Jacques Rancière in The Ignorant Schoolmaster; second, “the intimate schoolmaster,” as fantasized and feared by a diverse range of theories and theorists (but attention will specifically go to this figure as he features in a key moment of poststructuralism, namely Derrida's Dissemination); and third, “the ignorant sifu,” as a figure that exemplifies a strong impulse in many modern movements in approaches to martial arts, self-defense, and combat training. I represent these three figures by way Joseph Jacotot, Plato/Socrates, and Bruce Lee, using them as a way to explore an undecidability at the heart of the binary ignorance/knowledge. Ignorance, I maintain, has always been a key (even if unacknowledged) premise of the dominant textual and discourse approaches of poststructuralism, and there are good reasons why we might try to unlearn some of our dominant understandings of or assumptions about the political and cultural importance of pedagogy.

Journal
Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published
2016-11-21
DOI
10.5325/philrhet.49.4.0549
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (15)

  1. Bowman, Paul. 2009. “Aberrant Pedagogies: Jr, Qt and Bruce Lee.” Borderlands 8 (2). www.borderlands.net.au/is…
  2. Bowman, Paul. 2010. Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
  3. Bowman, Paul. 2013. Beyond Bruce Lee: Chasing the Dragon Through Film, Philosophy, and Popular Culture. New Y…
  4. Bowman, Paul. 2015. Martial Arts Studies: Disrupting Disciplinary Boundaries. London: Rowman and Littlefield …
  5. Derrida, Jacques. 1981. Dissemination. London: Athlone.
Show all 15 →
  1. Lee, Bruce. 1971. “Liberate Yourself from Classical Karate.” Black Belt Magazine 9 (9): 24–27.
  2. Miller, Davis. 2000. The Tao of Bruce Lee. New York: Vintage.
  3. Rancière, Jacques. 1987. Le maître ignorant: Cinq leçons sur l'émancipation intellectuelle. Paris: Fayard.
  4. Rancière, Jacques. 1991. The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation. Trans. Kristin…
  5. Rancière, Jacques. 1999. Disagreement: Politics and Philosophy. Trans. Julie Rose. Minneapolis: University of…
  6. Rancière, Jacques. 2009. The Emancipated Spectator. Trans. Gregory Elliott. London: Verso
  7. Rancière, Jacques. 2010. “On Ignorant Schoolmasters.” In Jacques Rancière: Education, Truth, Emancipation, ed…
  8. Smith, Robert W. 1999. Martial Musings: A Portrayal of Martial Arts in the 20th Century. Erie, PA: Via Media.
  9. Stamp, Richard. 2012. “Of Slumdogs and Schoolmasters: Jacotot, Rancière, and Mitra on Self-Organised Learning…
  10. Tom, Teri. 2005. The Straight Lead: The Core of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle…