Call for Papers: Materiality Matters. Figurations of Comic Bodies and Things
In comic figures such as clowns, amateurs, or spinsters, in the masks of the commedia dell’arte or in the pies thrown in slapstick, as well as in theatre, film, or text—comedy always manifests itself through bodies and things. The first annual conference of the network Comic Literacies –
Kulturtechniken des Komischen (Cultural Techniques of Comedy) thus explores perspectives on the material dimensions of comedy and the comic. Discussing and comparing case studies from different contexts and disciplinary backgrounds, we aim to outline comic phenomena as constituted via cultural techniques that are shaped by the materiality of various cultural, corporeal, and media practices. In doing so, the conference draws special attention to acts of figuration: How can we conceptualize the staging of comic bodies and things as matters of
design and formation?
The conference invites case studies that explore the mediating function of materialities with regard to comic effects. Relevant questions include: How can we reconstruct acts of figuration in the production of comic bodies and things? How does comedy as a cultural technique draw on historically situated materialities? How do comic figurations produce epistemological uncertainty, tipping points or loss of control? And how can focussing on comedy’s praxeological knowledge bring forth new approaches to comedy?
Please submit abstracts (max. 500 words) and a short bio (max. 100 words) by June 15, 2025, to sarah.tober[ at ]kwi-nrw.de.
Keynote on Thursday, November 13, 2025: Oliver Double (University of Kent)
Participants will also attend an artistic performance at PACT Zollverein (https://www.pact-zollverein.de/, Performing Arts Choreographisches Zentrum NRW Tanzlandschaft Ruhr).
For the complete call please click here and check out the website of the network.
