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Dear Colleagues,
The first Centre for Comedy Studies Research 'Comedy Matters' Research Seminar will take place on Wednesday 27th November.
Wednesday 27th November 2013, 4pm-6pm in the Mead Room, Hamilton Centre, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK
Dr Louise Peacock (University of Hull)
Sending Laughter Around the World
Clowning for refugees, clown performances in refugee camps or conflict zones, is a performative practice which has existed for around 30 years. However, very little academic attention has been paid to performance of this kind. This paper, therefore, will outline the history of clowning with refugees (relying heavily on the practice of Clowns Without Borders, the primary organisation through which such work occurs). It will also establish the key principles which guide this kind of work. Drawing on interviews, email questionnaires, videos of clown refugee performance and internet newspaper articles, the techniques and strategies of clown performances in refugee settings will be explored in order to establish what the aims of such work are and how such performances might best be evaluated. Its focus will be on examining the therapeutic and nature of clowning, play and laughter on those who experience clown performances in difficult and potentially dangerous settings.
Louise Peacock is a Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Practice at the University of Hull. She teaches courses in Commedia, Clowning, Farce and Post-war British Comedy and leads the comedy strand of the department's MA in Drama and Theatre Practice. She is the author of Serious Play: Modern Clown Performance (Intellect, 2009) and is currently working on The Slapstick Tradition: Comic Performance for Palgrave Macmillan. Beyond this her research interests include the role of the clown in contemporary society and issues of gender in the performance and dissemination of stand-up comedy. She has published articles in scholarly journals on clowning, commedia and stand-up. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Comedy Studies.
The first hour (4pm-5pm) will be the seminar presentation with Q & A. The second hour (5pm-6pm) will be a drinks reception.
Everyone welcome. For catering purposes please register at [log in to unmask]
Look forward to seeing you there.
Best wishes,
Sharon
Dr Sharon Lockyer
Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Communications
Director, Centre for Comedy Studies Research (CCSR)
School of Social Sciences
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PH
UK
Email: [log in to unmask]
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
Dr May McCreaddie (University of Stirling)
Humour Use in Healthcare Interactions: A Risk Worth Taking
Wednesday 15th January 2014, 4pm-6pm in the Darwin Room, Hamilton Centre, Brunel University
This seminar examines the role humour in health care settings through analysis of spontaneous humour in nurse-patient interactions and among nurse-peer and patient-peer groups. The opportunities, limitations and impact of using potentially ‘problematic’ and ‘non-problematic’ humour in patient care will be explored.
Dr Jessica Milner Davis (Honorary Associate, University of Sydney)
Society and Satire: Contemporary Case-Studies from Three Cultures, Australia, Japan and China
Wednesday 11th June 2014, 4pm-6pm in the Darwin Room, Hamilton Centre, Brunel University
Satirical humour has a critical bite which makes it more likely than other forms of humour to run up against various kinds of control or restraint, ranging from matters of personal taste to political and even legal penalties. This seminar will use three case studies, from Australia, Japan and China, to explore cultural rules that seem to govern what, where, when, how and with whom humour can properly (and improperly) be used in these contemporary societies.