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Poli11


Humour and politics: a future beyond resistance? 
Convenors:
Laura Martin (University of Nottingham)
Daniel Hammett (University of Sheffield)
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Discussant:
Izuu Nwankwọ (University of Toronto)
Format:
Panel
Streams:
Politics and International Relations (x) Decoloniality & Knowledge Production (y)
Location:
Philosophikum, S61
Sessions:
Thursday 1 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin

Short Abstract:

While resistance is an established framework for analyzing humour and politics in Africa, this panel invites contributions that looks at the multitude of ways humour in Africa does different types of political work beyond resistance.

Long Abstract:

Humour in inevitably political, while politics is part and parcel of humour. In previous decades, literature on the intersection of humour and politics in Africa has frequently been framed around an understanding of humour as a forum for and expression of resistance. This focus has meant that other types of political work and agency of humour, and the multitude of spaces in which it circulates, have often been overlooked. This panel, therefore, seeks to develop a conversation (and even a laugh or two) about the range of - both progress and regressive - types of political work that humour does in everyday life and encounters on the continent. In so doing, we understand humor very broadly - from everyday joking exchanges to cartoons, comics, stand-up, sketch shows, memes, etc. Crucially, this panel seeks to engage with the potential future role of humour in African politics, including the shifting landscapes of freedom of expression and the growing use of online/virtual spaces for humour - and associated political work.

We welcome contributions from all disciplines, but are particularly interested in contributions that highlight political work in everyday life, technological and social media aspects, commodification and economic dimensions, gender politics, as well as what it might mean to 'decolonize humor and politics in Africa.'

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Thursday 1 June, 2023, -