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To Fall on Your Two-Edged S/word: Political Humor as Resistance against the Abuse of Power
February 15 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Join us for a guest lecture by Dr. Bogdan Stefanescu about the functions of humor, irony, and sarcasm in Romania versus other present-day liberal and illiberal democracies in the E.U.
Have you ever wondered if political humor can be effective in dealing with authoritarianism, illiberal democracies and dictators? If it can be a relevant weapon against the abuse of power ? Is wit powerful enough to stand against tyranny? What are the benefits and dangers of humor as a form of resistance against antidemocratic regimes?
Join us to hear Professor Ștefănescu’s answers to these questions and ask your own!
Bogdan Ștefănescu is a renowned world-literature scholar, Professor of English and Romanian, a Fulbright scholar (1996-1997; 2023-2024), Deputy Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in NY (2005-2007), Vice-Dean of the Foreign Languages Department of the University of Bucharest (2012-2020). In the English Department of UB he teaches courses about the rhetoric of nationalism, post-colonialism and post-communism, Cultural Studies, and Theory of Translation.
This event is co-sponsored by CES and the UNC Department of Romance Studies.