Workshop "Humour Matters: Laughter and Democracy "

📍 Tallinn, Tallinn University

This workshop will be conducted in English.

Credits: 3 ECTS

Humour Matters: Laughter and Democracy is an international, interdisciplinary workshop that brings together PhD students to explore humour as both a democratic resource and a site of conflict. Humour can enable critique, solidarity, and resistance—but it can also foster exclusion, polarization, and harm.

The workshop examines these tensions through humour theory, legal perspectives, political satire, platform governance, and civic education. Its central aim is to identify key research questions at the intersection of humour and democracy and to equip doctoral researchers with conceptual tools and methodological approaches relevant for future research projects.

The programme combines lectures by leading international scholars, hands-on workshops (such as drawing political cartoons), panel discussions with major international research projects, and networking events.

We warmly encourage doctoral researchers working on humour, democracy, media, law, political communication, cultural studies, education, or related fields to participate. Upon full participation in the workshop programme, participants will be awarded 3 ECTS credits.

Register HERE. The registration is open until February 22, 2026.
The maximum number of participants is 20. Participants will be selected based on the order of registration.

In case of questions, please turn to Lii Lang, lii.lang@ut.ee.

Estonian Doctoral School for Humanities and Arts.