The Lacanian Teacher

"This book is one of the rare and compelling attempts to think through the notion of the "Lacanian teacher"-both within the broader field of educational practice and the more specific practice of teaching. The question "What does it mean to be a teacher?" is posed here with a groundbreaking and deeply rewarding audacity." - Alenka Zupancic, Professor, Institute of Philosophy, Ljubljana

"An uncanny book that lays bare the impossibility of education-not as a failure, but as its very condition. I love it." - Julie Reshe, Visiting Professor, University College Cork, Ireland

What does it mean to be a Lacanian teacher? This book responds through three avenues: what Lacan had to say about teaching, how Lacan taught his seminars, and what his theoretical ideas might have to say about teaching in general. The authors propose a rethinking of the teacher, the relationship between teacher and their fantasmatic educational landscape, a deconstruction of pedagogy, and a consideration of the teacher's enjoyment. An original understanding of the ontological dimension of education is proposed, along with an account of the implications this has for the thinking and being of a teacher.

This book represents a valuable addition to the emerging body of Lacanian critical work in education and offers fresh insights for practitioners and scholars in the fields of education and psychoanalysis.

Dr Nick Stock is a British Academy Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK. He was an English teacher for thirteen years before starting his current research, which explores the unconscious desires of teachers. His work uses psychoanalytic theory, poststructuralist philosophy, literature, radical politics and theories of educational alternatives.

Dr Nick Peim lectured Education, ITT and research philosophy at the University of Birmingham, UK. He has taught and written about cultural and curriculum politics, about education as governance, research theory and philosophy. Recent publications include Rethinking the Politics of Education (2022) and A Critique of Pure Education (2024).