CFP: Ethics and Aesthetics of Stand-Up Comedy Conference

We invite submissions for paper presentations, thematic panels, workshops, and offers to serve as commentator or chair.  Submissions are welcome on any topic in the aesthetics and ethics of stand-up comedy, broadly construed.

POSSIBLE TOPICS INCLUDE (but are by no means limited to):

Aesthetics of Stand-Up Comedy: theories of humor, satire, irony, style, theories of emotion and affect, self-conscious emotions (shame, embarrassment, guilt, pride), reflections on the state of the art, relations with other arts (e.g., poetry, spoken word, pantomime, music, improv), analyses of joke structure, boundaries of aesthetic taste, appropriation and originality, case studies of particular stand-up comedians, cross-cultural comparisons, historical reflections on the art form, public persona and comic identity.

Ethics/Social Political Issues of Stand-up Comedy: alternative stand-up comedy, political stand-up comedy, ethnic humor, identity (gender, race, age, etc.) and performance, racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, bigotry, feminism, anti-racism, censorship, law, political correctness, agency and subversion, nationalism, stereotypes and tropes, political efficacy and limitations, the politics of representation, the ethics of heckling, hostility, aspects of identity in stand-up comedy, such as race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexuality, ability, age, and/or class, performance and appreciation, social movements/activism.

SUBMISSIONS AND OFFERS TO PARTICIPATE:  Please send either a 3000-word full paper draft or a 1000-word extended abstract outlining the paper, workshop, or panel via the conference website: http://www.bustandupcomcon.com. Include the paper/panel/workshop title, contact information and current affiliation (if any) of all participants. Please bear in mind that the papers should be suitable for a twenty-minute presentation; panels for less than 90 minutes; and workshops from 60-120 minutes.  Submissions will be evaluated for their clarity of content, strength of central arguments, relevance to the conference themes, and potential interest and use of content.  

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY: We are adopting the BPA/SWIP-recommended good practices. We aim to host an inclusive conference and we will do our best, within our budgetary constraints, to accommodate all participants.  We are committed to lowering the barrier of participation for disabled participants and will do our best to make the conference fully accessible and welcoming.  To this end we will anticipate needs and aim to make accommodations in response to all requests. Upon acceptance of proposals, participants will be invited to identify any needs in this regard. Childcare will be made available as needed.  In the meantime, please feel free to email with any questions or suggestions.

GRADUATE STUDENTS AND UNDERWAGED ACADEMICS: We will provide travel assistance, within our budgetary constraints, for student and unwaged academics.  Upon acceptance of proposals, participants will be invited to identify any needs in this regard. In the meantime, please feel free email us to with any questions or suggestions.

The Ethics and Aesthetics of Stand-Up Comedy Conference will bring together scholars and practitioners interested in stand-up comedy from a range of academic disciplines, including but not limited to philosophy, performance studies, women's and gender studies, African-American studies, theatre, art history, and culture studies.

In addition to academic papers, panels, comments, and discussion, the conference also includes workshops, an open mic night, roundtable discussions with comedians, and stand-up comedy performances.

Keynote speakers:

Noël Carroll          
  Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center
Oliver Double      
  Research Centre Director of Comedy and Popular Performance, University of Kent
Cynthia Willett   
  Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Philosophy, Emory University
Jason Zinoman    
  Comedy Critic for The New York Times

Invited talks:

Luvell Anderson  
  Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Memphis
Tom Cathcart & David Klein  
  Authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into A Bar
Eva Dadlez          
  Professor of Philosophy, University of Central Oklahoma
David Misch          
  Screenwriter, Lecturer, University of California, Los Angeles
Tanya Rodriguez  
  Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Sacramento State University
Aaron Smuts         
  Associate Professor of Philosophy, Rhode Island College

Workshop leaders:

Mitch Alexander
  Comedian, Philosophy Postgrad, Melbourne University
Oliver Double,     
  Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the School of Arts, University of                                         Kent
Amy Seham         
  Professor of Theatre and Dance and Women’s and Gender
                                                      Studies, Gustavus Adolphus College

Performances by:

Paula Poundstone
Hari Kondabolu
Open Mic hosted by Gary Hardcastle
Liz Meile
Frog Night (Good Good Comedy Theatre) with Sean Landis, Kate Banford, Tara Demmy, Aaron Nevins, and  Chris O’Connor

ORGANIZERS: Sheila Lintott (Bucknell University); Jason Leddington (Bucknell University); Meenakshi Poonuswami (Bucknell University); Alex Skitolsky (Goddard College); Nikki Young, (Bucknell University); Diane Jakacki, (Bucknell University); Kathryn Maguet (Bucknell University); Aaron Meskin (University of Leeds); Steven Gimbel, (Gettysburg College).

Contact: [email protected]                            

Join the conversation: #BUStandUpComCon

SPONSORED BY: Bucknell University, the American Philosophical Association, and the American Society for Aesthetics. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed at this conference do not necessarily represent those of Bucknell University, the American Philosophical Association, or the American Society of Aesthetics.