Didactic negotiations
Abstract Ludvig Holberg’s The Political Tinker (1723) is often interpreted as either politically conservative or as an apolitical, psychological satire. This paper claims we should understand this play as a highly political and educational work with subversive potential – without simplif...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
| Published: |
Scandinavian University Press
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Edda |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.idunn.no/edda/2017/03/didactic_negotiations |
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| Summary: | Abstract
Ludvig Holberg’s The Political Tinker (1723)
is often interpreted as either politically conservative or as an
apolitical, psychological satire. This paper claims we should understand
this play as a highly political and educational work with subversive
potential – without simplifying Holberg’s ideological position as
an absolutist. I use Quentin Skinner to ask the question, what was
Holberg doing? The answer can be found in Stephen Greenblatt’s terms: He
was negotiating. I claim that these two theorists are appropriate
for a rhetorical analysis of this early Enlightenment text, and
that the term “negotiation” provides a richer understanding of communicative
action than Skinner’s approach alone. By considering the context
of the play – that is, its inspiration from rapid changes in the
public sphere, and real events in Hamburg – one can see how Holberg
performed authority and early rhetorical citizenship in a way that
made the comedy a specific, didactic form of negotiation. |
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| ISSN: | 0013-0818 1500-1989 |