International Conference
\nHumor&rsquo\;s Contemporary Sociopolitical Help and Harm
\n__________________________________________________________________
\nDate: January 8 (Fri)\, 9 (Sat)\, and 10th (Sun) 2027
\nVenue: Yonsei University\, Daewoo Hall Annex\, 1st Floor
\nInvited Speakers:
\nConfirmed
\nHannah Kim (University of Arizona\, USA) \;
\nTareeq Omar Jalloh (University of Oxford\, UK)
\nMasashi Kasaki (Nagoya University\, Japan) \;
\nClaire Horisk (University of Missouri)
\nElizabeth Cantalamessa (St.Bonaventure University)
\nAbstract
\nRecently\, global political forces have attempted to censor the use of humor to criticize key political figures\, where humor has been treated as a powerful political force. In philosophy\, much attention has been paid to the harms of harmful humor and why it should be stopped. The problem\, however\, is that humor is often hard to stop\, especially in cases of &ldquo\;viral&rdquo\; forms of humor like GIFs\, digital memes\, and related media. Further\, some harms are taken as warranted\, especially when they reveal genuine problems with\, say\, a targeted political leader. Though harmful humor is here to stay\, few in the literature have mentioned how to stop it. In humor ethics\, efforts have been made to classify the morally wrong\, morally permissible\, and morally acclamatory jokes by some set of criteria (Gaut (1998)\; Cohen (2001)\; Smuts (2009)\; \; Benatar (2014). One problem\, however\, is that many jokes classed by these theorists as morally permissible can perpetuate serious harms (Luvell 2020)\, while others classed as morally impermissible or morally wrong can and have been used in ways which empower the very groups they were created to oppress (Gregg 2023). \; This conference explores how to reclaim this humor or use it against itself. In particular\, the program aims to demonstrate how oppressive humor can be reclaimed to empower those it was created to oppress. Additionally\, the program concerns how humor taken to be harmless can perpetuate serious harms. \;
\nCall for Papers
Papers on any topic relating to harmful humor (visual\, verbal\, written\, or other) \; are welcome. Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:
\nHow jokes deemed morally off-limits have been used by marginalized communities to affirm rather than undermine. \;
\nHow jokes deemed harmful by humor studies\, linguistics\, or neuroscience behave in ways that defy this label
\nHow harmful jokes can be used against themselves (e.g\, contextual dismantlement or deactivation)
\nHow harmful jokes can usefully revise and rework oppressive beliefs in sympathetic audiences
\nHow jokes deemed harmless by humor theory and related fields can and/or do perpetuate harms
\nSubmission Requirements
\nAbstracts of no more than 1\,000 words should be submitted by November 25th\, 2026. Abstracts should be sent tomary.gregg@yonsei.ac.krwith a subject line that reads &ldquo\;New Submission: Humor&rsquo\;s Contemporary Sociopolitical Help and Harm&rdquo\;
\nRegistration
\nYou are kindly requested to register in advance via the link below to ensure that we have enough seats to prepare the venue for the event. Participation is free of charge.
\nhttps://forms.gle/gxyD8UpRJAzWrDu37
\nPlease submit your registration by November 25th\, 2026.
\nContact:mary.gregg@yonsei.ac.kr
\nHost: \; Dr. Mary Gregg (Yonsei University)
\nOrganizers: Dr. Mary Gregg\, Mathilde-Emma Turpin
\nFunding: Yonsei University Future-Leading \; Research Initiative Grant (project no. 2026-22-0230)
\n ORGANIZER;CN=Mary Gregg;CN=Mathilde Emma Turpin: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR