Humour or humiliation? When classroom banter becomes irresponsible sledging in upper-primary school contexts

Journal article


Wardman, Natasha Penelope. (2020). Humour or humiliation? When classroom banter becomes irresponsible sledging in upper-primary school contexts. Discourse : Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 42(3), pp. 394-407. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2019.1707777
AuthorsWardman, Natasha Penelope
Abstract

In a global context where children are increasingly exposed to hostile humour in cartoons like Adventure Time and Spongebob Squarepants, it is not surprising that we see this play out in school settings. More concerning, however, is how teachers can misuse their position of power to wield such forms of humour against students who dare to question their authority. This paper draws on ethnographic data from three regional Australian primary schools to address how the performative violence of hostile ‘humour’ is enacted by male teachers at the expense of less violent and more ‘responsible’ alternatives. I employ gender-based theories and literature to argue that hostile humour is another mechanism through which hierarchies of hegemonic masculinity are maintained and ‘the top dog’ (or teacher) is positioned to have the last laugh.

Keywordsgender; masculinity; discourse; humour; responsibility; primary school
Year2020
JournalDiscourse : Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
Journal citation42 (3), pp. 394-407
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1469-3739
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2019.1707777
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85078639159
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range394-407
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online08 Jan 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted16 Nov 2019
Deposited08 Aug 2021
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8w8yw/humour-or-humiliation-when-classroom-banter-becomes-irresponsible-sledging-in-upper-primary-school-contexts

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