Upcoming ISHS Conference

24th Annual Conference of  the International Society for Humor Studies Conference, June 25-29, 2011, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. Conference organizer: Wladyslaw Chlopicki, English Department, Jagiellonian University. For more information, contact the Conference organizer at ishs2012@gmail.com or visit the Conference website.

Upcoming Annual, Biennial, and Quadrennial Conferences

38th Annual Meeting of The Association for the Study of Play, February 15-18, 2012, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The theme of the 2012 TASP Conference is Play in an Era of Negotiation and Compromise. Keynote speakers will be Gordon Burghardt, University of Tennessee, on "Play, Evolution, and Negotiating the Shoals of Life," and William Corsaro, Indiana University, on "Interpretative Reproduction and Children’s Peer Cultures: Negotiation and Compromise in Children’s Play Routines." For more information, contact the Conference Chair, Jjohn Sutterby at john.sutterby@utb.edu or visit the Conference website.

Twenty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, April 18-22, 2012, Chicago, Illinois, USA. The theme of the 25th AATH Conference is Beat the Blues with Humor. The Conference will be held at Buena Vista Palace Hotel 7 Spa and Conference discounts are available to ISHS members. For more information, visit the AATH Conference page at http://www.aath.org/annual-conference.

Humor Project's 55th Conference on the Positive Power of Humor and Creativity, June 1-3, 2012. The Humor Project celebrates its 55th International Program on the Positive Power of Humor and Creativity at the Silver Bay Conference Center in Silver Bay, New York. For more information visit the Humor Project.

Thirteenth Annual Conference of the International Society for Luso-Hispanic Humor Studies, October 17-19, 2012, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. The International Society for Luso-Hispanic Humor Studies announces the call for papers for its 13th Annual Conference and invites paper and panal proposals on any aspect of Luso-Hispanic humor. Proposal abstracts should not exceed one page, and may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Abstracts should be sent to Laura Areias at lauraareias@hotmail.com by the proposal deadline of March 31, 2012. For further information on the Society and membership, please contact Dr. Paul Seaver at pseaver@axs2000.net.
       

Recent Annual and Biennial Conferences
   
9th International CORHUM Conference, October 13-15, 2011, University of Versailles-Saint Quentin, Yvelin, France. The 9th CORHUM Conference will be hosted by the Centre for Reseach on the History of Contemporary Societies at the University of Versailles, and its theme will be Humor and Teaching.. For more information, contact Corrine Francois-Deneve at Corinne.Francois-deneve@uvsq.fr. The deadline for paper proposals is March 1, 2011.
     

Quadrennial Conference of the American Humor Studies Association, December 9-12, 2010, San Diego, California, USA. The 2010 AHSA Conference will be held at the Bahia Hotel and Resort. For more information, contact Jan McIntire-Strsburg, Department of English, St. Louis University, at mcintire@slu.edu or visit the AHSA website at www.slu.edu/academic/ahsa.

2nd International Conference on Humour in Conventional and Unconventional Politics. November 5-7, 2010. Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania. The aim of the conference is to bring together researchers with varied views on humour and politics. The central question raised is whether humour influences politics and shapes both political figures and political acts. The Conference welcomes paper proposals on humour in political speeches, humour in political campaigning and political conferences, humour in parliamentary debates, humour and democracy, humour and leadership, military humour, humour in totalitarian societies, humour in wartime, political humour in the media, translation and political humour. For more infomation, visit the Conference website. ISHS Endorsed Conference.
   

Upcoming Seminars, Workshops, and Symposia

SPSP Preconference on the Psychology of Humor, January 26, 2012, at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, January 26-28, 2012, San Diego, California, USA. This preconference provide three sessions on humor and psychopathology, the dark side of humor, and the interpersonal dynamics of humor. For more information, contact Sean Guillory, Psychology & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth University at seanguillory1925@gmail.com.

Laughter in Renaissance Painting, March 1-3, 2012, University of Paris I, Paris, France. This symposium addresses the different expressions of laughter in the visual arts as well as the images of 15th and 16th century Europe that were expected to produce laughter. For more information, visit the Conference website.

Twelfth International Summer School & Symposium on Humor and Laughter, July 2-7, 2012, University of Eastern Finland, Savonlinna, Finland. The International Summer Schools are intended for students and established investigators, planning research projects on humor, an opportunity to develop a strong foundation on the existing theoretical and methodological issues related to the scientific study of humor. For more information on the 2012 Summer School, contact Willibald Ruch at w.ruch@psychologie.uzh.ch or Pirjo Nuutinen at Pirjo.Nuutinen@uef.fi. For information on previous International Summer Schools, visit the Summer School homepage.
ISHS Endorsed Symposium.

The Taboo Conference 2012, October 25-27, 2012, University of Bologna, Forli, Italy. In a world that seems continuously to be pushing the envelope of what is acceptable to the inhabitants of specific linguistic and cultural contexts, this interdisciplinary conference acknowledges the importance of investigating taboos and their reinforcement/breaking in various areas of language, culture and society, and across different cultures. We propose to explore the delicate balance and subtle boundaries between the need for inclusion and respect for different ethnic, religious, sexual, etc. backgrounds and a (un)conscious push towards the breaking of existing taboos, for example for shock value, as in the case of humor. Abstracts should be submitted through the Conference website at http://taco2012.sitlec.unibo.it/call4papers.asp by the proposal deadline of February 15, 2012. For further information, contact Chiara Bucaria at dipsitlec.taco2012@unibo.it or visit the Conference website.
    

Recent Seminars, Workshops, and Symposia
    

Laughter and Humor in Interaction Conference, June 23-24, 2011, Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Presentations will address topics such as the sequential organization of laughter, humor in everyday talk, and how laughing and humor-related actions shape identities and relationships. Papers, abstracts, and panel proposals should be sent to laughterconference@emerson.edu by February 1, 2011. For more information, visit the conference site at www.emerson.edu/academics/professional-studies/courses-and-workshops/laughter-and-humor-conference.

Sound at Play: Music, Humor, and Games, March 5, 2011, Columbia University, New York City, New York, USA. The 8th Annual Columbia Music Scholarship Conference will have as its theme Music, Humor, and Games. For more information contact the Conference Organizers at SoundatPlay2011@gmail.com.
    
Colloquium of the Australasian Humor Studies Network, February 19-20, 2011, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia. The theme of the 2011 AHSN Colloquium will be Time, Place, and Humour. A special invitation is issued for students researching humour-related topics to contribute to the Post-Graduate Section on Humour Research. For more information, visit the AHSN webpage at http://sydney.edu.au/humourstudies/events/index.shtml.

Playtime: Formes, Fonctions, et Théries du Jeu, September 30-October 2, 2010, University of Sydney, Australia. For its 18th conference, the Australian Society for French Studies will host a conference to explore French and francophone manifestations and strategies of play, across disciplinary and generic boundaries (literature, cinema, theatre, linguistics, philosophy, sociology, art), with particular emphasis on the social, ideological, pedagogical and aesthetic dimensions of ludicity. Individuals who wish to present at this conference should send a 250 abstract to french.asfs2010@usyd.edu.au by January 21, 2010.

The following is a list of websites that belong to ISHS members who offer workshops for businesses, organizations, and groups. We provide these listings solely as a service to our members. A listing here does not imply ISHS endorsement or sponsorship.

Allen Klein—Humor for Workplace Wellness - Offers keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops and retreats
on how to use humor to deal with changes, challenges, and not-so-funny stuff in the workplace and in life. (Founder: Allen Klein).

HumorFusion – Provider of workshops, designed to teach how to use humor and improvisational strategies to increase productivity in the workplace (Founder: Roz Trieber).

The Humor Project — Organization devoted to helping people tap the positive power of humor and creativity (Founder: Joel Goodman).

HumorRx – Provider of  professional seminars, books, articles, and other products related to humor and health (Founder: Karyn Buxman).

HumorWorks – Provider of professional seminars that explore the benefits of humor in the workplace (Founder: John Morreall).

Jest for the Health of It – Provider of humor and health resources and workshops (Founder: Patty Wooten).

L.A.U.G.H.S. – Provider of seminars to help people develop their humor and laughter skills to reduce stress and promote physical well-being.  (Founder: Dorothea Keeling). 

Laughter Remedy — Provider of humor and health resources and workshops (Founder: Paul McGhee).

Laughter Works — Provider of keynotes, in-services, professional development trainings, employee appreciation events, and retreats (Founders: Kay Caskey and Laurie Young).

Stand Up For Mental Health — Provider of stand-up comedy courses for people with mental illness as a way of building self-esteem (Founder: David Granirer).

Steve Kaplan's Comedy Intensive — Provider of professional seminars and workshops for screenwriters, directors and actors exploring comic performance theory and techniques.