[ecrea] Mock the Weak: Comedy and the Politics of Representation

*Mock the Weak: Comedy and the Politics of Representation*

**

*14th-15th September 2016, Teesside University/ARC Stockton*

Comedy is an ambivalent medium that ranges from the reactionary and
conservative to the radical and subversive. It has both a political role
in entrenching or overturning existing hierarchies of power, and a
psychological one, in giving voice to taboo topics. At a time when
questions related to comedy (regarding the limits of free speech, the
power dynamic inherent in joking, and the representation of minority
groups frequently othered in mainstream discourse) are increasingly
prominent in political debate and news journalism, this conference makes
space for academic debate to lead the conversation. This conference aims
to bring together delegates from a range of disciplines and covering a
spectrum of research interests, united by the common strand of
representational techniques employed in comedy in its various guises (as
stand-up performance, written or visual text, or joking utterance).

*Confirmed Keynotes:*

*Dr Sharon Lockyer*“Reversing Disability Discourses in Live Comic
Performance”

*Dr Anshuman Mondal*“Taking Liberties? Free speech, multiculturalism and
the ethics of satire”

*Also Included:*

ØAn evening of stand-up comedy by comedian and disability rights
campaigner *Laurence Clark*

ØStudent performance of */NSFW/*//

ØComedy writing workshop with *Eddie Robson* (writer of BBC Radio 4’s
/Welcome to Our Village: Please Invade Carefully/)

ØSocial media for academia postgraduate workshop with *Dr Nadine Muller*

ØPublishing workshop for postgraduates and ECRs with *Dr Rosie White*

We welcome abstracts for *20-minute papers* on comedy and the politics
of representation as it appears in any form, and would particularly
welcome papers in the following areas:

·comedy and disability
·comedy and ethnicity
·comedy and religion
·comedy and gender
·comedy and sexuality
·comedy and class
·comedy and age/ageing
·comedy and national identity
·satire/freedom of speech debates

Please submit a *250-word abstract* to (mocktheweak2016 /at/ gmail.com)
<mailto:(mocktheweak2016 /at/ gmail.com)>along with a 50-word bionote by *31st
March 2016*. Decisions to be communicated by the end of April 2016.

*Follow us on Twitter @MockTheWeak2016*


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