Course information

Target audience

The school is designed for students from various levels (advanced BA, MA, PhD), who have an interest in one or more of the following topics:

• Theories and practices of humor – how does humor work, and what is its role in society?
• Political satire: history and present-day forms;
• Humor as a tool to explore key issues in contemporary Europe (the 2008 financial crisis, populism, Brexit…);
• Satire and visual culture, from cartoons to memes;
• Contemporary debates on freedom of speech;
• Humor and cognitive studies.

Level requirements

The school is open to BA, (Research) MA, and PhD students. The minimum requirement for this course is having an advanced BA level in any of the following fields: European Studies, Literature and Culture, Media Studies, Social Sciences.

No previous expertise in the field of humor and satire is required. If you are actively doing research on a related topic, you will have the opportunity to present your work during the MA/PhD workshop.

Programme

The summer school will start on Sunday 15 July and will end on Friday 20 July. Recommend departure date: Saturday 21 July.

Learning outcomes

After this course you are able to:

• Analyse several different forms of humor across various media (literature, film, TV, social media, etc.), in the light of cutting-edge theories and methodologies;
• Discuss humor and satire in relation to a given cultural and societal framework, with particular (but not exclusive) attention to contemporary Europe;
• Critically reflect on ongoing debates and controversies regarding humor, satire, and freedom of speech.

Workload + certificate

Contact hours: 25 (5 hours x 5 days)
Preparation: 5 (readings to be distributed beforehand)
After successful completion of the summer school, a certificate of attendance will be awarded.

Lecturers

TBA

Language requirements

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions, and (if applicable) to present their own work in English.