[Commlist] CfP: Humor and the Right

Call for Papers*/Humor and the Right/*

Organizers: Andrew Bricker (Ghent University), Diego Hoefel (Federal 
University of Ceará), Raúl Pérez (University of La Verne)
Conference: International Society for Humor Studies (ISHS 2026), July 
6–10, Niterói, Brazil
Conference site:ishs2026.org <http://ishs2026.org/>


    Panel overview

Right-wing humor has become increasingly visible, profitable, and 
politically consequential across a wide range of settings. It circulates 
globally through stand-up and late-night formats, satirical news 
outlets, influencer ecosystems, podcasts, and meme networks, and it also 
appears beyond entertainment, in political organizations, communication, 
institutional cultures, and everyday social life. Whether particular 
audiences find this humor “funny” is not the central question. The more 
urgent task is to understand what right-wing humor does: how it 
organizes affect and belonging, how it weaponizes ridicule, how it 
offers plausible deniability through irony and “just joking” frames, and 
how it normalizes exclusionary ideologies and violent ideas and behavior.

This panel invites papers that critically examine the aesthetics, 
ethics, politics, and social functions and consequences of right-wing 
humor in diverse contexts. We aim to expand the dialogue between humor 
studies and right-wing studies, exploring how humor operates across 
institutions, media, and everyday life, engaging with nationalism, race, 
gender, sexuality, religion, and political conflict. Submissions from 
scholars whose work intersects with these questions, even if they do not 
identify as humor or right-wing scholars, are also welcome.


    Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

  *

    The historic and colonial legacies of humor in race making, nation
    building, religious politics, and histories of authoritarianism,
    including racialized and gendered tropes in right-wing comedic content

  *

    The weaponization of humor and ridicule in anti-immigrant,
    anti-refugee, anti-LGBTQI+, and anti-woke discourse, and its role in
    normalizing or justifying violence

  *

    Right-wing humor in non-entertainment settings such as law
    enforcement, education, religious, military, and workplace contexts

  *

    Irony, plausible deniability, and the “just joking” defense in
    political rhetoric and propaganda

  *

    Humor as a tool for elite signaling, subcultural identity formation,
    and ideological mobilization

  *

    Platform politics and the political economy of right-wing humor:
    algorithms, moderation, monetization, and the use of AI in
    generating and disseminating content

  *

    Memes, misinformation/disinformation, and satirical news as forms of
    political communication

  *

    Transnational flows and comparative case studies of right-wing humor
    across regions and under authoritarian regimes or media monopolies

  *

    Counter-humor, parody, and resistance: progressive responses to
    right-wing humor and comparative analyses of left-wing humor

  *

    Ethical and methodological challenges in researching humorous and
    extremist content

Other topics that contribute to an understanding of right-wing humour 
and its uses, including the limitations of a right-left political 
framing, are also very welcome.


    Submission guidelines

Please send the following to (andrew.bricker /at/ ugent.be) 
<mailto:(andrew.bricker /at/ ugent.be)>, (diego.hoefel /at/ ufc.br) 
<mailto:(diego.hoefel /at/ ufc.br)>, and (rperez3 /at/ laverne.edu) 
<mailto:(rperez3 /at/ laverne.edu)> with the subject line “ISHS 2026 Panel: 
Humor and the Right”:

  *

    A 200–300 word abstract

  *

    3–5 keywords

  *

    A short bio (80–120 words)

Abstracts due: February 23, end of day

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