Belmont’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences hosted a week-long exploration of “Humor and Humanity” for the 22nd Annual Humanities Symposium, Sept. 25-Sept. 29.
Each year, the humanities symposium is made possible from the efforts of the School of Humanities, with the support of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The 2023 Humanities Symposium Committee consisted of Drs. Francesca Muccini, Carla McDonough and Mary Cunningham.
“What is humor?” Muccini asked during the opening session. “It appears to be a universal human characteristic closely linked to something fundamental in human life, but is humor necessary to human life? Since different cultures seem to find different things funny, could we say that humor is culturally dependent? Another way to look at humor is perhaps as an instrument of change – a way to humorously talk about and confront inequities in society.”
The symposium schedule was made up of academic talks and presentations from Belmont faculty and staff, external guests and student groups who sought to answer these and other questions pertaining to humor and how it is expressed, experienced and employed through various avenues like scholarship, activism and daily life.
Luke Watson, improv comedian and co-founder of Third Coast Comedy Club, shared his personal encounter with the transformative impact of improvisation during an engaging session titled, “Leveling Up Humanity: How Improv makes Better Humans.”
“One thing I realized in getting involved with improv is the impact it had on me offstage, which I wasn't expecting,” Watson said. “It's something that really has stuck with me. In addition to the fun I have on stage and the joy that brings me, I truly do think it makes me a better human.”
Watson co-presented with Belmont alumna Emma Supica, who received her M.Ed. in Nonprofit Leadership in 2017. Supica is the executive director of the Nashville nonprofit Unscripted which aims to heal, empower and connect the community through improvisation.
In the session, “Building a Feminist Barbie,” Belmont Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Margaret Tully shared her analysis of 2023’s highest-grossing film, “Barbie.” Tully began by acknowledging the dynamic relationship between comedy and feminism.
“When they're combined, feminism and humor can produce really important cultural work,” she said. “Particularly since feminism and comedy share the end goal of unsettling the balance of power.”
During her witty presentation, Tully explained how the movie serves as a constant explicit rejection of post-feminist culture after she made the claim that “Barbie” represents feminist triumphs. She also explored the movie’s messaging pertaining to male feminism, commented on the different waves of feminism and highlighted how the film humorously called attention to controversial Mattel dolls that have been created over the years.
Other symposium events included a gallery talk for the art exhibit, "The Show You are About toSee" which was co-curated by Belmont Assistant Professor of Sculpture Thomas Sturgill and Rocky Horton from Lipscomb University.
First place winners from the three contest categories of the Sandra Hutchins Humanities Symposium Writing Competition read an excerpt from their winning submission on the final day of the symposium. The winners were:
- Poetry: Jadon Atley King, English senior– “Family Feud/ After Daylight Savings”
- Creative Nonfiction: Zoe Nichols, art studies senior– “One Small Step for Man”
- Fiction: Monica Barbay, MA English - “Her End was Peace”
Dr. Lauren Olin, assistant professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri; Dr. Charles Ives, lecturer at the University of Washington; Dr. Fred Gardaphé, distinguished professor of English and Italian American studies at Queens College, City University of New York; and Benjamin B. Schwartz, a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at Vanderbilt University were also featured speakers.
Overall, there were 20 events throughout the week. From education to research to performance, each session provided a fresh and insightful invitation to examine humor more seriously.
