Philosophy and Comedy

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Provisional programme

Friday 25 October

6.00-6.30 Early evening drinks
6.30-7.30 Buffet dinner, Grimond Foyer
7.30-10.00 Plato’s Cave Comedy Club, Aphra, Grimond Building, compèred by Charlie Saffrey and starring Andy White
Bar

Saturday 26 October

7.30-9.00 Breakfast
9.30-11.00 Luvell Anderson, ‘Laughing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Comedic Imagination’, Grimond Lecture Theatre 3
11.00-11.30 Refreshments, Grimond Foyer
11.30-1.00 Rebecca Roache, ’45 Minutes of Mind-Blowing Oral Pleasure (Or: A Moderately Engaging 45-Minute Talk About Double Entendre)’, Grimond Lecture Theatre 3
1.00-2.00 Lunch buffet, Grimond Foyer
2.00-4.00 Open Sessions – talks and workshops,  Grimond seminar rooms
4.00-4.30 Refreshments, Grimond Foyer
4.30-6.00 Noel Carroll, ‘It’s Just a Joke: Notes on Racist Humor’, Grimond Lecture Theatre 3
6.00-7.15 Conference dinner
7.30-10.00 Open Panel Q&A
Bar

Sunday 27  October

7.30-9.00 Breakfast
9.00-10.30 Lucy O’Brien, ‘What am I doing when I laugh at someone – or myself?’, Grimond Lecture Theatre 3
10.30-11.00 Refreshments, Grimond Foyer
11.00-12.00 Open Sessions, Grimond seminar rooms
12.00-1.00 Philosophy and comedy ‘in conversation with Julian Baggini’, Grimond Lecture Theatre 3
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch Buffet, Grimond foyer
Conference ends

 

Open sessions

This is the timetable for the open sessions, (last updated 10 October 2019).
Talks have been arranged loosely into themes. Don’t take the theme titles too seriously.

Saturday

1: Close comedy analysis

A 2pm – 2.28pm

Stuart Hanscomb – Truth and autobiography in stand-up comedy: The genius of Doug Stanhope

B 2.30pm – 2.58pm

Michael Young – Such Schadenfreude: Unpacking the televisuality of humour and politics in Veep

C 3pm – 3.28pm

Eric Studt – In the mood for comedy

D 3.30pm – 3.58pm

Leila Osman – Penetrating Seriousness: The Joker in Stella Dallas

2: Feeling funny

A 2pm – 2.28pm

Dieter Declerq – Satire as coping with a depressing socio-political world

B 2.30pm – 2.58pm

Matt Hargrave – Putting yourself out there

C 3pm – 3.28pm

Tom Baker – Comedy, Empathy and Relatability

D 3.30pm – 3.58pm

Toam Semel – It’s funny because it’s true: The everyday comic event as a work of art.

3: Dissecting the frog

A 2pm – 2.28pm

Matthieu Chauffray – Humour and Philosophy: is that a joke?

B 2.30pm – 2.58pm

Alan Roberts – Humour is a funny thing

C 3pm – 3.28pm

Mary-Ann Cassar – Unpacking the notion of incongruity in the analysis of laughter provocation.

D 3.30pm – 3.58pm

Kate Lawton – What do you think you’re laughing at?

4: Is it OK to laugh at this?

B 2.30pm – 2.58pm

Tom Short – Comedy performance: The sword and shield of mental well being

C 3pm – 3.28pm

Sully O’Sullivan – The ethics of offensive comedy: punching up, down and sideways

D 3.30pm – 3.58pm

Earl Okin – title TBC

5: Humour that can hurt

A 2pm – 2.28pm

Rebecca Davnall – Doing Hate with Jokes

B 2.30pm – 2.58pm

Michela Bariselli – How to Harm with Humour: The harm of derogatory joking

C 3pm – 3.28pm

Zoe Walker – The Joke’s on you: Harmful jokes and moral responsibility

D 3.30pm – 3.58pm

Daniel Abrahams – Winning over the Audience: trust and Humour

Sunday

1: Life-changing laughter

E 11am – 11.28am

Poppy Collier – Audience and Ordeal

F 11.28am – 11.58am

Ethan Nowak – Humour, personal style, and self-cultivation

2: But what about the day-job?

E 11am – 11.28am

Chris Kehoe – Just for laughs: A lawyer’s guide to comedy

F 11.28am – 11.58am

Nicole Graham – Laughing Gurus: Finding meaning through jokes and humour

3: Panel show

E 11am – 11.28am / F 11.28am – 11.58am

Sophie Quirk in conversation with Tony Law

4: Engaging with wit

E 11am – 11.28am

John Ryan – Make them laugh, make them listen

F 11.28am – 11.58am

Charlie Duncan Saffrey – The stand-up Comedy Club as Philosophical Environment.