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143254 SE Laughter and Pain in Historically and Socially Tense Situations (2025S)

8.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 14 - Orientalistik, Afrikanistik, Indologie und Tibetologie

Continuous assessment of course work

Tu 04.03. 13:00-15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Registration is open from Sa 01.02.2025 08:00 to Fr 28.02.2025 09:00
Deregistration possible until Mo 31.03.2025 23:59

Details

max. 25 participants

Language: German

Lecturers

Kirsten Rüther

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

N Tuesday 04.03. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 11.03. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 18.03. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 25.03. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 01.04. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 08.04. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 29.04. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 06.05. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 13.05. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 20.05. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 27.05. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 03.06. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 10.06. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 17.06. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03
Tuesday 24.06. 13:00 - 15:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-03

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Note on language of instruction: Depending on the language command of students in this course teaching will be conducted in either English or German, or a mixture of both. The language issue will be settled once the seminar has begun.

Studies on laughter, humour and ridicle do perhaps not command centre stage in African Studies. Why not? There is a tendency to focus on "serious" issues, crises, politics, social change, religious and cultural commitment - all of which are actually connected to situations of laughter, be it uneasy, hilarious or relieving. As a result, interest in laughter is often relegated to the field popular culture and framed in terms of "satire" or "comedy". But social interactions in politically framed situations, in all their entanglement with crises, challenges and fears, are only partly understood if there is no consideration of the meanings of laughter. This course will dedicate attention to literature that takes up these issues.
When do people laugh and make fun of difficult situations? Is it possible to make ridicule any difficult situation? How could we, as academics, interpret laughter connected to deadly serious moments in politics, personal situations, social transformation etc.? What are our "sources" to work with? Does laughter bring about any transformation? Can laughter be learnt? Can it be used by groups and individuals to position themselves in social relations and claim recognition, or dominance? What are the power implications connected to laughter? What are the ways of conceptually approaching laughter, humour and ridicule in moments of African history, and do we need a "theory of laughter" that particularly suits the requirements of doing studies on laughter in African history?

Assessment and permitted materials

20% Regular committed participation (three session may be missed)
15% Presentation, discussion lead (and perhaps facilitation of group work) in one of the sessions.
15% Preparation of a "handout"/ "powerpoint presentation" for the group to take away - including bibliographic references in addition to literature mentioned on the reading list
50% final essay (15-20 pages, to be further specified at the beginning of the semester), deadline for submission: 30 Aug 2025.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

see above.

100-90: sehr gut
• 89-80: gut
• 79-65: befriedigend
• 64-50: genügend
• 49-0: nicht genügend

Examination topics

Literature will be provided at the beginning of the course. You will have to do further bibliographic research for your seminar essays.

Reading list