The Ignorant Schoolmaster (Rancière)

Jacques Rancière’s The Ignorant Schoolmaster (1987) tells the story of Joseph Jacotot, who taught students without knowing their language, demonstrating that intelligence is universally equal. The book critiques hierarchical pedagogies that presume ignorance and superiority of the master. For Rancière, emancipation begins when students discover their own capacity to learn, independent of instruction. Applied to design and landscape, the concept undermines expert dominance, suggesting that users and publics already possess interpretive power. The ignorant schoolmaster stages equality as a principle, not an outcome.

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