HUMOROUS > DISRUPTIONS is dedicated to the polyvalent ways in which humour has functioned as a disruptive technology in feminist media theories and practices. Humour and its many manifestations—parody, satire, irony, and mimicry—have the potential to destabilize existing systems of representation, media production, and gender constructions. Humour can be used to forge new circuits of knowledge, as well as political and emotional solidarities. We are seeking conference proposals for individual papers that engage with the possibilities of humour as a technology, strategy, representational practice, and tool for renewing dialogues with feminisms (in all their manifestations) today. This approach necessitates a critical recognition of productive multiplicities and the centrality of critical race studies, Global South and indigenous feminisms, feminism and class, and posthuman concerns.
DR. ALICE MING WAI JIM (Art History, Concordia University)
DR. CARRIE RENTSCHLER (Institute for Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, McGill University)
DR. MAGGIE HENNEFELD (Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota)
DR. ELENA GORFINKEL (Art History & Film Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
DR. ARA OSTERWEIL (Department of English, McGill University)
DR. LIZ CLARKE (Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University)
SHELLEY NIRO (Brantford, Ontario)
The colloquium is organized in conjunction with an upcoming special issue of Synoptique dedicated to humour in feminist media practices (Vol. 5, no. 1). Synoptique is accepting contributions to the issue until Dec. 31st, 2015.