ASCL: 46th Annual Comparative Literature Conference, April 13-14

The annual Comparative Literature conference is being held on April 13 and 14. The topic is "The Comic Spirit in the Modern Age" and there are panel sessions and some larger talks. There is even a Classics panel on Roman Satire.

The conference is in the Anatol Center in the AS building. You can download a conference program here.

The history of the evolution of comic forms is variegated and complex. Yet, it is a history that continues to inform the various manifestations and applications of humor within contemporary social discourses. Whether it is delivered in the form of stand-up, on the screen, or in the genre of theater, prose or poetry, the conventions by which modern-day comedic practice is established are the result of the refinement, renegotiation and reconfiguration of traditions harking back to Classical, Renaissance, and even early 20th-century sensibilities.

“The Comic Spirit in the Modern Age” seeks to examine the relationship between present-day conventions of humor and comedy, and the preceding traditions by which they were inspired.
Among the questions to be explored are:

• How does humor and/or comedy function within political, social, and economic forces?
• What is the cultural work that comedy performs?
• How do we theorize the study and practice of comedy?
• What is laughter? What is a joke?
• How is the comic represented in literature, art, and film?
• What are the peculiarities and specifics of comedy audiences?
• What does it mean to be funny?

The conference is sponsored by the ASCL (Associated Students of Comparative Literature). The officers, especially Omar Zahzah and Mary Sotnick, have done an incredible amount of work. If anyone wants to volunteer to help on the conference days, they'd be glad to have you pitch in. You can write to Omar at o.zahzah@gmail.com.