Humour Studies Colloquium a Success

The University of Newcastle hosted the Australasian Humour Studies Network conference earlier this month to discuss humour as a cultural form and as a creative activity.

The conference was organised by Conjoint Professor Michael Ewans from the Faculty of Education and Arts and Mr Michael Meany from School of Design, Communication and Information Technology.

The conference was attended by approximately 50 national and international delegates from New Zealand, Estonia, Poland, Spain and the USA to discuss humour from a variety of perspectives.

Michael said the theme was purposely selected to encourage a diverse selection of delegates. It was also an excellent opportunity to showcase the research being undertaken at the University of Newcastle by Dr Phillip McIntyre and others about the theories and practises behind creativity.

“The inter-disciplinary/multi-disciplinary nature of humour research means that conferences such as these are crucial. They offer delegates a means of accessing research from outside their own disciplinary specialisation. This creates the possibility of national and international collaborations,” said Michael.

The colloquium received a great deal of positive media attention, including articles in the Newcastle Herald, ABC Radio, local commercial radio and NBN Television. Some of the international keynote speakers were also featured on SBS Radio.

Post-graduate students from Universities around Australia also attended the event which gave them an opportunity to interact with leading researchers within the field of humour studies.