[Commlist] Call for chapter proposals: Critical Essays on Laughter in War

Critical Essays on Laughter in War

War is hell but can also be funny, whether as a safety valve from 
pressure or catharsis after tragedy, as subversion, as efforts to build 
and maintain morale, or as exercises in nostalgia. Cinema early 
discovered the comedy inherent to conflict including the immensely 
successful 1920 film /Alf’s Button/, made just after and set during the 
First World War and notable as being popular despite (or because of) 
making comedy about the recent war. Comedy about war has since 
proliferated and writing and themes continue to respond to and adapt 
themselves to changing global and political circumstances including 
comedy responding to the Global War on Terror.

Individual works, creators and indeed wars have received scholarly 
attention with for example much attention directed to works acclaimed as 
among the greatest works of popular culture from Charlie Chaplin’s /The 
Great Dictator /(1940) to the Korean-war set/Vietnam-war era comedy 
/M*A*S*H/. Entire conflicts and theatres of war have received scholarly 
interpretation including cultural responses to the First World War which 
have sought ideologies and concepts to interpret war through culture.

Important works have appeared on individual films, television comedies 
or genres including the edited collection on the First World War /Humor, 
Entertainment, and Popular Culture during World War I/ (Palgrave, 2015) 
and  study of comedy and Nazism in /Comedy and the Politics of 
Representation/, as well works such as /Cultural Concepts, Contexts and 
Controversies/ (Palgrave 2016).

However more remains to be said on conflict across time and place and 
this collection is intended as a timely and cohesive collection 
organised around the social, political, ideological aspects of humour 
about and in war.

The proposed volume is intended to be scholarly but accessible in tone 
and approach.

Some examples of genres and productions are indicated below. Please note 
this list is not exhaustive but is intended as a starting point for 
contributors to consider the focus and theme of their chapter.

Parody

/‘Allo, ‘Allo/

/Heil Honey I’m Home/

//

Comic misadventures

/Hogan’s Heroes/

/Gomer Pyle/

/McHales’ Navy/

/Petticoat Affair/

//

Camaraderie and comedy

/Gary Tank Commander/

/At Ease/

/Carry on Sergeant/

/The Army Game/

//

Slapstick

/The General/

/The Great Dictator/

Dark comedy

/Private Schulz/

/Three Kings/

/Stripes/

/JoJo Rabbit/

/Good Morning Vietnam/

//

Women and war

/Private Benjamin/

/Resistance/

/GI Jane/

//

Nostalgia

/Dad’s Army/

/It Ain’t Half Hot Mum/

If you are interested in contributing to this collection, we ask that 
you submit an abstract by *October 4^th *of up to 250 words explaining 
the focus and approach of your proposed essay.

The proposed volume is intended to be scholarly but accessible in tone 
and approach. Each contribution should be 6000 words.

This collection is under contract with an American publisher.


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