The TORCH Humour Network invites you to attend our event ‘Humour: An Interdisciplinary Symposium’ on 29 May 2026.
Friday, 29 May 2026, 10am to 6pm
The TORCH Humour Network invites you to attend our event ‘Humour: An Interdisciplinary Symposium’ on 29 May 2026. This one-day workshop brings scholars from universities across the UK and beyond together to discuss how different disciplines approach the study of humour, satire, laughter, and comedy. What does interdisciplinary research look like in practice? The programme for the event is outlined below. All are welcome – please register via the Eventbrite link. Coffee and tea will be provided throughout the day, and we will also be serving complimentary lunch for all participants. Introduction: Welcome
The Programme
10am -10.30am
We will serve coffee and tea from 10am and begin the workshop with a few introductory remarks around 10:20.
Keynote Address
10.30am - 11.30am
Dr Oliver Double. ‘From Charity Shops to the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive: Developing Stand-Up as an Academic Discipline’
Coffee and tea
11.30am - 11.45am
Panel 1: Humour through Disciplines
11.45am - 1.15pm
Prof Simon Kirchin. ‘Philosophy and Comedy: Dissecting Frogs?’
Dr Simon Weaver. ‘Developing a Critical Approach to Humour and Comedy through Rhetorical Discourse Analysis’
Lunch
1.15pm - 2.30pm
Panel 2: Thinking About Satire
2.30pm - 4pm
Prof Marilyn Booth. ‘Thinking through satire as political history: Egypt, 1890s-1920s’
Dr Adam Smith. ‘Satyrs and Scalpels Revisited: On Resisting Distorting Discourses of Satiric Violence’
Coffee and tea
4pm - 4.15pm
Panel 3: Humour in Unexpected Places
4.15pm - 5.45pm
Dr Niamh Kehoe-Rouchy. ‘Gendered Humour and Holiness in Old English Hagiography’
Dr Massih Zekavat. ‘A Literary Scholar, a Psychologist, and a Communications Scholar Walk into a Bar.’ [Online]
5.45pm Conclusion
Department: Humanities (Division)
Organiser: TORCH
Host: TORCH
Register here: https://torch.ox.ac.uk/event/humour-an-interdisciplinary-symposium