[Commlist] Comedy and Racial Justice - Call for Papers

*CFP: Comedy and Racial Justice, 22-23 April 2025, Manchester 
Metropolitan University (UK)*

*Mixed Bill and Manchester Metropolitan University’s Centre for 
Migration and Postcolonial Studies*
Comedy has been employed to challenge racial stereotypes, critique 
structures of power and knowledge, and amplify marginalised voices. Yet 
comedy has also been used to perpetrate racial harm, shore up white 
supremacist attitudes, and facilitate racial exclusion. Humour studies 
to date predominantly draw upon European liberal humanist philosophies 
that privilege and universalise a white, male, and able-bodied 
perspective. Yet comedy can also be understood as a disruptive form of 
political affect that is capable of mobilizing the masses, highlighting 
injustices, and creating new cross-racial solidarities premised on hope 
and shared laughter. These dualities make the relationship between 
comedy and racial justice a compelling subject for academic and creative 
inquiry. As populist and white supremacist politicians seek to weaponise 
humour as a tool for spreading division and derision, there has never 
been a more important time to think collectively on these issues.
This conference seeks to investigate how comedy - as an artistic form, 
performance mode and research discipline - functions as a critical tool 
in the fight for racial justice. In so doing, it will shine a light on 
research that often struggles to be taken seriously within the academy. 
While acknowledging the sometimes-fraught relationship that comedy has 
with racial justice, racism and colonialisation, we hope to centre 
discussion on how comedy can push beyond this heritage and be used 
productively to support racial justice and liberation without 
reproducing racial trauma. We will be joined by *Dr Raúl 
Pérez* (Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of La Verne, 
US, and author of /The Souls of White Jokes/) and *Dr Kavyta 
Raghunandan* (Senior Lecturer in Race and Education at Leeds Beckett 
University, UK, and author of /New Indian Nuttahs/) for keynote addresses.
*Submission information:*
This interdisciplinary conference aims to bring together academics, 
comedy industry practitioners and performers to explore vital questions 
about how comedy works in the pursuit of racial justice and liberation. 
We are particularly keen to include responses from globally or 
nationally under-represented groups and hope to programme a mixture of 
traditional and experimental approaches to presenting.
We invite submissions that explore comedy and racial justice on a local 
and global scale, within the ‘industry’ and in everyday settings, and 
engage with one of the themes listed below. Responses may take the form 
of academic papers, live performances (e.g. stand-up, poetry), video 
essays, academic posters and other forms of creative presentation. Each 
presenter will be given 20 minutes for their presentation as well as 
time for questions and discussion. Themes include (but are not limited to):
**
*Comedy and activism*
Comedy as a tool for activism and advocacy in racial justice movements
Comedy and populist politics
Comedy and the racial impacts of climate crisis
*Comedy and representation*
Comedy and racial representation
Comedy and specific forms of racialised discrimination (Islamophobia, 
antisemitism etc)
Comedy and the intersections of race with other vectors of 
discrimination (gender, sexuality, class, disability, religion etc)
Comedy, race and the ‘postracialist’ or ‘postmulticulturalist’ turn

*Comedy and Decolonisation*
The role of comedy to disrupt racialised systems of knowledge in racial 
liberation and decolonisation movements
Comedy as a form of liberation from racialised systems of knowledge
Comedy as a form of decolonisation (disrupting Eurocentric systems of 
knowledge and power)
Decolonising the discipline of comedy studies
*Comedy industry practice and racial justice*
Industry tensions around ‘cultural diversity’ and ‘creative diversity’
Programming and screening issues around multicultural comedy
Comedy and the politics of censorship
Comedy and racial gatekeeping
Please submit a *250-word abstract and 50-word bio* to 
(_mixedbill /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(mixedbill /at/ gmail.com)>_ by *Monday 
16th December 2024*. Please indicate clearly the format of your 
submission (panel, paper, performance, poster presentation, video essay, 
film etc) and whether you anticipate attending virtually or in person 
(this information is for planning purposes only and will not bias our 
selection). If you are planning to present virtually, then please let us 
know your time zone so that we can programme accordingly.
*Accessibility and Inclusion Statement:*
We will do our best to fulfil your requirements to allow you to 
participate fully in this conference. Conference costs will be kept as 
low as possible (and not exceed £50 for in-person attendance for the two 
days) and optional extras such as evening events will be charged at cost 
price. There will be a hybrid option for speakers and attendees. Please 
let us know if you have any special requirements such as dietary needs 
based on religious or medical grounds, the need for a private room 
during the day, handouts in advance and/or in alternative formats, 
hearing loops, British Sign Language interpreter, wheelchair access, etc.
*Organisers:*
*Mixed Bill* are a Comedy and Gender research group co-ordinated by Dr 
Ellie Tomsett (Birmingham City University), Dr Natalie Diddams 
(University of Warwick) and Dr Sarah Ilott (Manchester Metropolitan 
University)
You can follow us on X (@MixedBill) and find out more on our website 
-_ www.mixedbill.wordpress.com <http://www.mixedbill.wordpress.com/>_
The *Centre for Migration and Postcolonial Studies (MAPS)* is an 
interdisciplinary group of researchers from Manchester Metropolitan 
University who explore the impact of postcolonialism and migration on 
the literary and cultural landscape.
You can find out more on our website: 
_www.mmu.ac.uk/research/groups/centre-migration-and-postcolonial-studies 
<http://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/groups/centre-migration-and-postcolonial-studies>_

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