“Unexpected Arguments: Laughter, Affect, and Rhetoric”
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, Room 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
25-9-2023 1:00 PM
Description
Have you ever laughed along with a friend without knowing why you were laughing? Laughter can be contagious and can materialize out of thin air. Sometimes we’re impulsively laughing before we’ve thought about the why or the how, but such moments may eventually move us toward thought or even action. This presentation brings together acts of laughter, notions of affect theory, and elements of rhetoric. While laughter and rhetoric are likely familiar categories, affect theory, according to Nathaniel Sutanto, involves “how precognitive feelings, impressions, and influences direct our behavior and attune our intuitions in particular directions.” In this vein, if we examine moments of unexpected laughter, we often find embedded rhetorical moments—persuasions rooted in emotion. With such ideas in mind, we will explore together the connections that exist between humor, emotion, our own bodies, and argumentation. We may even laugh!
Recommended Citation
Lovvorn, Jason, "“Unexpected Arguments: Laughter, Affect, and Rhetoric”" (2023). Humanities Symposium. 18.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2023/2023/18
“Unexpected Arguments: Laughter, Affect, and Rhetoric”
Janet Ayers Academic Center, Room 4094
Have you ever laughed along with a friend without knowing why you were laughing? Laughter can be contagious and can materialize out of thin air. Sometimes we’re impulsively laughing before we’ve thought about the why or the how, but such moments may eventually move us toward thought or even action. This presentation brings together acts of laughter, notions of affect theory, and elements of rhetoric. While laughter and rhetoric are likely familiar categories, affect theory, according to Nathaniel Sutanto, involves “how precognitive feelings, impressions, and influences direct our behavior and attune our intuitions in particular directions.” In this vein, if we examine moments of unexpected laughter, we often find embedded rhetorical moments—persuasions rooted in emotion. With such ideas in mind, we will explore together the connections that exist between humor, emotion, our own bodies, and argumentation. We may even laugh!
Comments
Convocation Credit: Emotional Well-Being