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The ISCIA 2023 Conference: The Power of Humour
Call for Papers
Prof Andrea Hurst (SARChI Chair in Identities and Social Cohesion in Africa) and Dr Jennalee Donian (NIHSS Postdoctoral Fellow) at the Humanities Faculty, Nelson Mandela University, invite you to submit an abstract or proposal
for consideration for the ISCIA Conference: The Power of Humour, to be held on 19-21 June 2023, at the Nelson Mandela University,
Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Aim of the conference
Facing a rather grim contemporary existential reality, comedy might appear to be a trivial concern right now, if not an outright distraction. However, numerous studies have illustrated humour’s capacity to inform
positive social change: as a tool for fostering a sense of community (Bergson, Billig, Morreall); as a coping mechanism amidst social ills (Lefcourt 2001); as an escape-valve for repressed feelings (Freud); as a process tool to reframe or reinterpret conflict
or trauma (Beeney); as a catalyst for breaking down racial and cultural barriers (Donian & Holm); and as a form of social protest (Bakhtin; Higgie; Holm; Rossing). Of course, the functions of humour are ambivalent: humour can also inflame conflicts, reinforce
negative stereotyping, incite societal division and group exclusion, and reinforce state power. The aim of the conference is to respond to questions about humour’s power to encourage productive, innovative and cathartic outcomes. Papers on any aspect of this
topic are welcomed, with a special preference for those that focus on humour in Africa.
All disciplines and arts are welcome to join us for an
interdisciplinary, hybrid event with opportunities for both in-person and online
presentations.
Keynote Speaker
Professor Lydia Amir
Prof Amir teaches at the philosophy department at Tufts University in Boston
USA. Her publications on humor include
articles, essays and monographs, such as Humor and
the Good Life: Shaftesbury, Hamann, Kierkegaard (SUNY Press 2014), Philosophy, Humor and
the Human Condition: Taking Ridicule Seriously (Palgrave
Macmillan 2019), The Legacy of Nietzsche's Philosophy of Laughter: Bataille,
Deleuze, Rosset (Routledge 2021. She is Founding-President of the International Association
of the Philosophy of Humor,
and serves as Editor of an international journal on humor research,
as well as The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook,
which she founded along with de Gruyter.
Submission of abstracts
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Proposals for paper presentations (30 minutes, 20 min presentation 10 min discussion) should take the form of a 300-400 word abstract.
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Proposals for panel discussions will also be considered. These should include a short rationale and abstracts of 300-400 words for each presentation in the panel.
Deadline for submissions: 30
March 2023
Please send abstracts for consideration any time before the submission deadline to Andrea Hurst and Jennalee Donian. Notification of acceptance or suggestions for revision will be given as soon as possible after submission,
and at the latest by 15 April, 2023. Selected papers will be considered for a post-conference publication.
Conference fee
The fee for the conference for participants is R1400.00, excluding the conference dinner.
Contact details
Andrea Hurst:
andrea...@mandela.ac.za
Jennalee Donian:
donian....@gmail.com
For further information contact: Harsheila Riga at
harshei...@mandela.ac.za
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