--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An old joke has an Oxford professor…" description: "\"An old joke has an Oxford professor meeting an American former graduate student and asking him what he's working on these days. 'My thesis is on the su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/christopher-hitchens-117_asking_an-old-joke-has-an-oxford-professor-meet_1229494.jpg" --- # An old joke has an Oxford professor meeting an American… ![“An old joke has an Oxford professor meeting an American former graduate student and asking him what he's working on these days. 'My thesis is on the survival of the class system in the United States.' 'Oh really, that's interesting: one didn't think there was a class system in the United States.'…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/christopher-hitchens-117_asking_an-old-joke-has-an-oxford-professor-meet_1229494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/christopher-hitchens-117_asking_an-old-joke-has-an-oxford-professor-meet_1229494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/christopher-hitchens-117_asking_an-old-joke-has-an-oxford-professor-meet_1229494.jpg) > “An old joke has an Oxford professor meeting an American former graduate student and asking him what he's working on these days. 'My thesis is on the survival of the class system in the United States.' 'Oh really, that's interesting: one didn't think there was a class system in the United States.' 'Nobody does. That's how it survives.” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The joke highlights that the belief that a class system doesn't exist helps it persist. **In simple terms:** Denial of class structure sustains it. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge hidden social hierarchies. Themes social inequality class consciousness denial Mood wry critical Type satire humor When to use this quote - academic discussion - policy analysis - public debates - media commentary Key Concepts sociology social critique irony Questions to Reflect On - What evidence shows class stratification in the U.S.? - How does denial affect reform efforts? A Different Perspective The humor may oversimplify complex socioeconomic dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Graduate student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-student/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Graduation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [“Bulgarian professor named John Vincent Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, who were building a machine that was intended to automate the solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/bulgarian-professor-named-john-vincent-atanasoff-and-his-graduate/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Abbas is on his way to becoming a professor of terrorism. After denying the Holocaust in his doctoral thesis, he now claims that Hamas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-danon/abbas-is-on-his-way-to-becoming-a-professor-of-terrorism-after/) [Danny Danon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-danon/) > [I don't think there's a whole lot of class literature at all. I think most of that has become racially based, and people don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-whole-lot-of-class-literature-at-all-i-think/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I think class is still an issue in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rayner/i-think-class-is-still-an-issue-in-this-country/) [Angela Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rayner/) > [I think I was always the class clown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-hahn/i-think-i-was-always-the-class-clown/) [Kathryn Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-hahn/) > [“If you think about the class-size puzzle this way, then what seems baffling starts to make a little more sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-you-think-about-the-class-size-puzzle-this-way-then-what-seems/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I've always maintained that there's no such thing as period acting, I think that's a class thing. I don't believe that people moved and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-lawson/i-ve-always-maintained-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as-period-acting-i/) [Denis Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-lawson/) > [She'd think about class, he'd think about her...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily/she-d-think-about-class-he-d-think-about-her/) [Lily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily/) > [I think I was always a class clown growing up and a funny kid. I never really knew how to channel that until I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lapkus/i-think-i-was-always-a-class-clown-growing-up-and-a-funny-kid-i-never/) [Lauren Lapkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lapkus/) > [I often think about the class differences involved in "jobs" vs. "careers."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walsh/i-often-think-about-the-class-differences-involved-in-jobs-vs-careers/) [Bill Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walsh/) > [I think the class divide is going to change. I think a lot more working class people are going to get published. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-mina/i-think-the-class-divide-is-going-to-change-i-think-a-lot-more/) [Denise Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-mina/) > [Think first class about everyone around you, and you'll receive first-class results in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-schwartz/think-first-class-about-everyone-around-you-and-you-ll-receive-first/) [David J. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-schwartz/) > [For simplicity one can think of the + class as having one extra base at some point or other in the genetic message and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/for-simplicity-one-can-think-of-the-class-as-having-one-extra-base-at/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [The Sixties was a time of breaking down class barriers, although I think class still exists today in some areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bailey/the-sixties-was-a-time-of-breaking-down-class-barriers-although-i/) [David Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bailey/) > [In Britain, by contrast, we still think that class plays a part in determining a person's life chances, so we're less inclined to celebrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/in-britain-by-contrast-we-still-think-that-class-plays-a-part-in/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. 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Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An old joke has an Oxford professor meeting an American former graduate student and asking him what he's working on these days. 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