American Humor Studies Association

Call for Papers
Popular Culture/American Culture Association
2009 National Conference
New Orleans Marriott April 8-11, 2009
www.pcaaca.org

Proposals are invited for papers or complete panels on any aspect of humor or comedy, theoretical or historical, as found in any type or genre of culture, such as literature, film, comic strips, cartoons, radio, television, politics, stand-up comedy, etc.
Deadline for submissions November 30, 2008.

Sponsored by the American Humor Studies Association (www.americanhumor.org). Abstracts may be submitted by email or regular mail, accompanied by a brief resume or biographical note, to:

M. Thomas Inge
Blackwell Professor of Humanities
Randolph-Macon College
P. O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005
tinge@rmc.edu
804 752-7282

Call For Papers
Fourth Conference of the Society for the
Study of American Women Writers
October 21-24, 2009
Philadelphia, PA

We invite submissions of proposals for panels, roundtables, workshops, or individual papers. We welcome sessions on U.S. women authors and themes from the seventeenth through the twenty-first century; sessions and papers that compare U.S. women writers to writers of other nations are also welcome. The deadline for proposals is December 31, 2008. All conference participants must be members of SSAWW.

Proposals for entire sessions should include: (1) a paragraph describing the session as a whole; (2) a one-page abstract of each paper; (3) a one-page c.v. for each participant. The conference prefers four presenters per session, excluding the chair, although submissions for panels of three presenters will be considered. Proposals for individual papers should include a one-page abstract and a one-page c.v. Proposals should specify if audio/visual equipment is needed. However, due to the high cost, we ask that presenters request equipment only if it is essential.

All submissions should be sent electronically by the December 31, 2008 deadline to Carolyn Sorisio (csorisio@wcupa.edu). Please send proposals as Microsoft Word attatchements. If that is not possible, then past the information into an e-mail.

Call for Papers
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA)
November 2-9, 2009
Louisville, KY

Laughing on the Inside: Humors of Race & Ethnicity

Theories abound as to the value (or lack thereof) of ethnic humor. It can dispel hurtful stereotypes or perpetuate them; it can help a group find a common voice and identity or demoralize and humiliate that group; it can liberate or isolate. We often make a distinction between the ethnically or racially charged humor that we find acceptable and that which we do not by asking where that humor originates, inside or outside the targeted group. Does the teller of a joke have the right to tell it? What are the circumstances and motivations of the joke? Can we laugh if we are outside the target group? How does one get “in” on the joke?

Answering these questions becomes even more difficult when we discuss satire or parody, as the controversies surrounding texts as widely varied as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn or Barry Blitt’s July 21, 2008 New Yorker cover illustrate. How does one tell the difference between bigotry and subversion? Who has the power to make such judgments? As uncomfortable as we may be examining our humors of ethnicity and race, how we engage with that humor can tell us a great deal about how we as Americans manage unstable or contradictory ideas about ethnicity and race.

This panel will examine the work of American authors past and present, and across genres, to explore the complex relationship among humor, ethnicity, race, identity, and authenticity. Since brevity is the soul of wit, presentations should be kept to 20 minutes. If any audiovisual equipment is necessary, please include a list of that equipment with your proposal. Abstracts of approximately 250 words or complete papers should be sent to Mark Leahy at mhleahy@purdue.edu by April 15th, 2009 for consideration.