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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
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?
Participants will also attend an artistic performance at PACT Zollverein (https://www.pact-zollverein.de/, Performing Arts Choreographisches Zentrum NRW Tanzlandschaft Ruhr). Keynote on Thursday, November 13, 2025: Oliver Double (University of Kent)
Thursday, November 13
9:45 – Welcome and Opening Remarks
Section 1: Comic Things
Chair: Gregor Lilienfein (Universität Bonn)
10:00 – Stefan Krankenhagen (Universität Hildesheim)
Funny Things
11:00 – Manvi Singh (University of Delhi)
Materiality and Comic Figuration in Indian Performance Traditions: A Study of Hasya Kavi Sammelan
Section 2: Things as Bodies/Bodies as Things
Chairs: Annette Keck (LMU München) & Agnieszka Balcerzak (LMU München)
14:00 – Heide Volkening (Universität Greifswald)
Eating Together. Figurations of Cringe in Contemporary German Comedy and Literature
15:00 – Nazli M. Umit (independent researcher and Karagöz puppeteer) & Mareike Gaubitz (Deutsches Forum für Figurentheater und Puppenspielkunst e.V., Bochum)
Forms and Figurations: Comic Principles Materialised within the Spheres of Puppetry
16:00 – Karin Peters (Universität Bonn)
Stromae, Comedic Masks, and Absent Father Figures: Staging Corporeality in the Age of Digital Reproduction
18:00 – Conference Keynote by Oliver Double (University of Kent)
Lenny Bruce’s Tattoo: The Body in Stand-Up Comedy
Chair: David Roesner (LMU München)
Friday, November 14
Section 3: Comic Bodies
Chair: Karin Peters (Universität Bonn)
10:00 – Jennifer Hagedorn (Universität Würzburg)
Transformations of Imperfect Bodies. Comical Physicality in Transculturation Processes in Early Modern Translations of Homer and Terence
11:00 – Gregor Lilienfein (Universität Bonn)
When God's Word Starts to Stutter: Comic Bodies and Failed Real Presence in Tirso de Molina's ‘La celosa de sí misma’
Section 3: Comic Bodies (continuation)
Chair: Marilisa Reisert (LMU München)
14:00 – Roxanne Phillips (KWI Essen)
Tacit Knowledge: On the Materiality and Mediality of Funny Bodies in Motion
15:00 – Sandra Fluhrer (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg/FU Berlin)
The Peasant and the Donkey. On a Material Constellation in Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s Work
20:00 – SUBJOYRIDE by Boglárka Börcsök & Andreas Bolm
Performance at PACT Zollverein followed by artist talk with Boglárka Börcsök, Andreas Bolm, Stefan Hiltershaus (artistic director, PACT Zollverein) & Hendrik Quast (Stockholm University of the Arts/ZHdK Zürich)
Saturday, November 15
Section 3: Comic Bodies (continuation)
Chair: Hendrik Quast (Stockholm University of the Arts/ZHdK Zürich)
9:30 – Antonia Jungwirth (Universität Gießen) & Fiona Schiffer (Berlin)
Misfitting Bodies, Resistant Spaces: Comic Architecture in the Poetryfilm YES! | JAH!
10:30 – Boglárka Börcsök & Andreas Bolm
SUBJOYRIDE – Artistic Insights & Comic Strategies
11:00 – Concluding Discussion
Information on participating / attending:
You can participate in the conference in person or via Zoom. If you would like to participate in person, please notify us via email at roxanne.phillips@kwi-nrw.de by November 5, 2025.The conference will take place in Essen (NRW) at KWI.
The conference is organized by Gregor Lilienfein (University Bonn), Karin Peters (University Bonn), Roxanne Phillips (KWI Essen), Hendrik Quast (Stockholm University of the Arts/ZHdK Zurich), Marilisa Reisert (LMU Munich) & Sarah Tober (KWI Essen).
Date:
11/13/2025 - 11/15/2025
Registration deadline:
06/15/2025
Event venue:
Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen (KWI), Gartensaal, Goethestraße 31, 45128 Essen
45128 Essen
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Germany
Target group:
Scientists and scholars
Email address:
Relevance:
transregional, national
Subject areas:
Art / design, Cultural sciences, Language / literature, Media and communication sciences, Social studies
Types of events:
Conference / symposium / (annual) conference
Entry:
05/20/2025
Sender/author:
Anna Abbenhaus
Department:
Pressestelle
Event is free:
yes
Language of the text:
English
URL of this event: http://idw-online.de/en/event79348
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