[ecrea] CFP: The Power of Ridicule, 25-26 October 2016, Helsinki

*CALL FOR PAPERS:*

*The Power of Ridicule: *

*Humour and Laughter in Cultural Perspective*

*SYMPOSIUM*

*Organized by the /Research Project “The Dark Side of Humour: Popular 
Culture and the Power of Ridicule”, Area and Cultural Studies, 
University of Helsinki/*

*University of Helsinki, 25^th -26^th October 2016
Unioninkatu 38, Helsinki*

**

Humour and the comic are central to social life, yet laughter is not 
always pleasant and decent. From daily interactions to media 
representations, our experience is shaped by the comic register, used 
for many different purposes and in myriads of situations. While humour 
is often seen in a positive light, our appreciation of humour as a 
cultural asset tends to hide the fact that the more sinister uses of 
humour can create a social arena for expressions of hatred, violence and 
scorn. This symposium examines this negative undergrowth of modern and 
contemporary humour, explores the social, media and discursive contexts 
in which it emerges and traces its various effects on the victims of 
scorn and derision. With multidisciplinary approaches, we will 
investigate the cultural meanings of comic representations that remain 
an unproblematized and undertheorized element of modern and contemporary 
culture. Through an analysis of the hidden power structures inherent in 
humour and laughter, we will offer a novel interpretation of how they 
contribute to our social life and to the web of meanings through which 
we make sense of our world.

We invite 20-minutes papers focusing on the above-described themes, 
focusing for instance on topics such as:

·Theories of humour and laughter

·Digitalization and humour

·Histories of humour and laughter

·Humour, media and popular culture

·Politics of humour and laughter

·Humour and the everyday

·Humour and marginalization

·Humour and space/place

·Cultural contexts of humour

·Humour as discipline

·Jokes and comedy

Confirmed keynote speakers are Leena-Maija Rossi (University of Helsinki 
and University of Turku) and Simon Weaver (Brunel University London).

Please send a 250 words abstract in English, with your name, e-mail 
address and affiliation to both: (outi.j.hakola /at/ helsinki.fi) 
<mailto:(outi.hakola /at/ helsinki.fi)> and (giacomo.botta /at/ helsinki.fi) 
<mailto:(giacomo.botta /at/ helsinki.fi)> no later than August 31, 2016.


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