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Symposium

Every issue has one section dedicated to a particular question. Collecting responses from a range of perspectives, these symposia prompt us to think about the values and ideas that shape our most urgent cultural and personal decisions.

14

Summer 2017

 

Saint Bart

For over a decade, starting as early as I can remember and going on into the middle of adolescence, The Simpsons was the most important…

 

Comedy Studies

The following are actual titles of papers published in peer-reviewed academic journals.

 

Things Don’t Make Sense

I think for me, the comedic impulse comes from the same place as the philosophical one.

 

Shock and Ow

The first time I noticed the blood on the inside of my bra, I figured it was barbecue sauce. (You know the old adage “Is…

 

Insert Punchline

Comedy is for making people laugh. Had the editors not demanded an additional 1,494 words, I would happily have left my contribution to this symposium…

 

Punching Down

I recently found myself at an academic conference that featured a presentation by graduate students on “combating racism with humor.”

 

The Audacity of Jokes

I never considered Trevor Noah until I found myself on the set of The Daily Show last August.

 

Rallying Sigh

In October of 2010 I attended a mass demonstration on the National Mall, which also happened to be a live taping of The Daily Show.

 

Letter on Satire

What to do on Saturday night is a philosophical problem. Notwithstanding the scheduling idiosyncrasies created by our “flexible” economy, it remains the time of week…