Welcome to the Home of the American Humor Studies Association

Call for Papers
American Humor Studies at the
2009 American Literature Association National Conference
Boston, May 21-24, 2009

Perennial presidential candidate Pat Paulsen died in 1997. But desperate times require desperate measures, so when asked to run again in 2008, Paulsen did not refuse. Showing how in touch with the zeitgeist he is, he has run his campaign under such slogans as, “We’ve tried brain dead; let’s try plain dead,” and “Pat Paulsen: thinking inside the box.” While the 2008 campaign may become known as the high-water mark of political humor and satire, America’s history is so rich with such humor as to require us to bask in this old glory for a few precious moments next May. Papers on American political humor and satire from all stars and of all stripes are welcome, with developed abstracts due by January 20 to Gregg Camfield, e-mailed to gcamfield@ucmerced.edu.

Call for Papers
American Humor Studies at the
MLA National Convention
Philadelphia, December 27-30, 2009

Inadvertent Humor

Two examples: (1) In 1992, a reporter, while testifying before Congress to defend the role journalists play in an open society, called newspapers the “fundament of democracy.” The earthier of “fundament’s” two meanings was certainly not intended, but the appropriateness of the pun enriched the testimony, all the more so since nobody present seemed to notice. (2) The spell-check program of a popular word-processor offers, when confronted with any of several misspelled versions of the word “philosopher,” the word “falsifier” as a potential correction. One doesn’t know if the program's spelling algorithms select this word, so mischievously appropriate, or if some playful programmer exercised creative license. These are examples of the kind of found comedy that feeds so much American humor, either in re-contextualizing as comedy that which was intended to be serious (see Julia Moore’s verse, much “found poetry,” or even business games such as “Buzz-word Bingo”), or by playing the dead pan to something intended as humor (see Yankee humor, the malapropisms of B.P. Shillaber’s Mrs. Partington, etc.). Papers or fully developed abstracts on any aspect of literary humor that mines these comic veins will be considered if e-mailed to Gregg Camfield, gcamfield@ucmerced.edu, by March 15.

Call for Papers
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA)
November 6-8, 2009
Atlanta, GA

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.

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This site was last updated 01/04/09