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Humor Studies Caucus
Humor studies has been a central part of American Studies since its inception, as marked by early scholarly contributions from Constance Rourke and Henry Nash Smith, who underscored the importance of humor as a key aspect of studying American character and ideology. The study of humor within American Studies is evolving from the nationalist paradigm of earlier scholarship to a post-nationalist paradigm based on connections between local communities and international mass media; on cross-cultural comparisons and contrasts; and on multi-lingual and multi-ethnic comic practices as central to understanding American humor.[1] The study of humor is also increasingly informed by interdisciplinary modes of inquiry that pay close attention to textual construction, historical context, and cultural norms and the dynamics of race, gender, class, region, sexuality, and other valences of positionality.
The Humor Studies Caucus works to support the critical study of all aspects of American humor at the annual American Studies meeting. Our goal is to create a network of scholars interested in the multidisciplinary study of American humor through a large number of approaches: material and visual culture; ethnography, history, and literary analysis; performance and film studies; audience and reception studies, etc.
We are pleased to welcome you to the Humor Studies Caucus of the American Studies Association. We invite and encourage all ASA members who are interested in exploring the place of humor in American Studies and promoting the study and teaching of humor within American Studies to join.
Contact: Tracy Wuster, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Community Blog
CFP: Teaching Humor and Race
Sponsored by the Humor Studies Caucus, this roundtable will explore the practices, possibilities, and pitfalls of the pedagogy of race and humor. Most, if not all, American humor contains some element of racial meaning–from the central question of black laughter in representations of both ante- and post-bellum America to the complicated intersections of racial categories in 21st century stand-up. Teaching about race through humor, and teaching the racial dimensions of humor, presents unique benefits and challenges.
For this roundtable, participants will present (in 8-10 minutes) a theoretical quandary, insight, question, or inquiry into the connection between humor and race in the classroom. Each presentation should be grounded in one main text–a novel, a stand-up performance, a movie or television show, a joke, a cartoon, etc. We are especially interested in pieces that connect the study of humor and race to other categories of analysis, such as gender, region, sexuality, religion, class, and especially (given the conference theme) nation, empire, and transnationalism.
If you are interested, please contact Tracy Wuster at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) as soon as possible, but by January 13 at the latest. Provide a general idea of your subject and your current ASA membership status.
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Postmodern Structures of Humor in America
The Humor Studies Caucus is assembling a panel that explores the postmodern turn in comedy and humor. While scholars have considered at length the postmodern content of literature, art, history, drama, and other cultural areas, there is a space for considering how postmodernism has manifested in humor in our contemporary moment. As we can see from television shows like 30 Rock and Community, self-referential, intertextual, absurd narratives are increasingly common in television and film. This panel will not only explore how postmodernism has manifested in comedy, but also what this development suggests about American cultural and political life.
Potential topics include self-referential comedy shows, the “mockumentary” medium, the politics of televisual satire, shifting forms of media consumption evidenced by cable-cutting, the cultural role of the stand-up comedian, the blending of comedy and news, do-it-yourself web series and podcasts, transnational comparative studies of postmodern humor, absurdist fiction and theater. Ideally, the conversation will address humor as expressed in a variety of forms and through a variety of media.
Please send proposals and inquiries to Carrie Andersen at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by January 8, 2011. Please also include current ASA membership status.
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CALL FOR PAPERS—ASA 2012
The Humor Studies Caucus of the American Studies Association is seeking papers for the 2012 ASA Conference:
“Dimensions of Empire and Resistance:
Past, Present, and Future”
November 15-18, 2012: Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
http://www.theasa.net/annual_meeting/page/submit_a_proposal/
Proposals on any aspect of American Humor will be welcome, including, but not limited to:
Stand-Up Comedy
Jokes
Wit
Merriment
Literary Humor
(both high- and low-brow)
Richard Pryor
Film
Satire
Will Rogers
Comedy Jokes
Risibility
Sitcoms
Laughter
Mark Twain
Dirty Jokes
Lenny Bruce
Ventriloquism
the Circus
Marietta Holley
subtle humor
broad humor
Margaret Cho
regional humor
transnational humor
ethnic humor
and even puns…
Proposals due by: January 13th
Panels will be assembled for submission by the January 26 deadline.
Proposals should be no more than 500 words and should include a brief CV. Please include current ASA membership status.
Proposals should be sent to Tracy Wuster: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Seeking Visual Humor Editor
“Humor in America”—a collaborative academic blog focused on humor studies—is seeking a visual humor editor to contribute posts on visual humor on a regular basis.
See: humorinamerica.wordpress.com
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ASA 2012—Call for Panel Proposals
The Humor Studies Caucus of the American Studies Association, I am gauging people’s interest in working on panels for ASA next year—November 15-18—in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In the past, we have sought individuals who wanted to propose individual panel topics, which allows/requires you to write a short CFP, choose papers, find a chair, write the abstract, and submit. In order to submit a panel, you must be a current member of the ASA.
Once I have any individual panel ideas, I will send out both the specific CFPs and a general call.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to propose a panel idea. If you have questions, please let me know. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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