2023 - Humor and Humanity

Featured Speakers

Dr. Lauren Olin is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Olin’s research is located squarely in the philosophy of cognitive science, though many of the questions she engages may readily be called ethical or epistemological. Her current interests involve both theoretical and empirical research on patterns of evaluative judgment, psychopathology, and epistemic dispositions. She has authored or co-authored papers for journals such asPhilosophical Studies, Synthese, Transcultural Psychiatry, and Philosophy Compass. Lauren earned her BA in Philosophy from McGill University in Montreal, and her MA and PhD from the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program at Washington University in St. Louis. Her recent work in humor includes articles about “The Moral Psychology of Humor” in the Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology, “Hard Truths and Dangerous Jokes” in Philosophy and David Chapelle, and “Killing It” in The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook.

Dr. Charles Ives is Lecturer at the University of Washington, where he holds appointments in both the Philosophy Department and the College of Education. His research for the last decade has focused on the ethical and political aspects of Platonic physics. Ives is the author of Socrates’ Request and the Educational Narrative of the Timaeus (Lexington, 2017), and at the moment, he is wrapping up work on his second book Platonic Physics: Philosophy, Politics, and the Study of Nature (forthcoming). Ives has also recently ventured into the field of poetics and is currently working on a novella that seeks to characterize the epistemological experience of a dichotomous world constituted by the serious and the comic.

Dr. Fred L. Gardaphé is the Distinguished Professor of English and Italian American Studies at Queens College, City University of New York. He directs the Italian American Studies Program at Queens College and works at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. Previously he helped to create the Italian American Studies program at Stony Brook University which he directed from 1998-2008. He co-directs the Italian Diaspora Studies Summer Seminar at Roma Tre University. He is at work on a memoir and a play based on his life. His latest book, Over the Edge: Humor and Irony in Italian American Culture, will be published by Penn State University Press next year.

Luke Watson is an improv comedian and Co-Founder of Third Coast Comedy Club in Nashville, TN. In addition to performing, Watson also teaches improvisation and is passionate about sharing the benefits of improv off-stage in everyday life. He is also the Co-Founder of the local non-profit, Unscripted, which heals, empowers, and connects the community through improv.

Benjamin B. Schwartz is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at Vanderbilt University. His work on literature, humor, and pedagogy can be found in Studies in American Humor,Texas Studies in Language and Literature, English Journal, Urban Education, and Journal of Negro Education. In addition to teaching and presenting on American humor to learners of all ages from 2017 to present, Ben has performed at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City and appears regularly at Tenx9 Nashville.

For the full history of the featured speakers of the Belmont University Humanities Symposium, click here.

Download the full program here.