| Łukasz Jach, PhD, Assoc. Prof. – curator of Humour Week |
During the Humour Week, we had the opportunity to look at issues related to joy, laughter and smiling from many different scientific perspectives. This week’s events were full of scientific meetings, workshops and cultural events, all enjoying great interest from audiences following phenomena occurring at the intersection of science and everyday life.
The opening event of the Humour Week was an interdisciplinary session organised on Monday in the building of the Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library, devoted to findings on humour in the areas of psychology, pedagogy, linguistics, psychiatry and the history of science. On Tuesday, we moved to the Youth Palace in Katowice, where science communicators known from the Crazy Nauka website introduced the specificity and scientific significance of the Ig-Nobel Prizes to the gathered audience. This was then followed by a live conversation with Prof. Peter K. Jonason – winner of the above-mentioned prize in 2014.
Humour Week was largely focused on the linkss between humour and the world of art and culture. On Wednesday and Thursday, we met at the ‘Światowid’ cinema for screenings of classic Polish and world comedies. One of them was Miś (Bear), which was introduced to us by Prof. Dorota Skotarczak who specialises in the works of Stanisław Bareja, the director of the above-mentioned film. We also watched the black and white film Some Like It Hot (directed by B. Wilder). The screening was followed by a discussion led by Justyna Budzik, PhD, a cultural expert. On Sunday, artists from the Impro Silesia group appeared on the stage of the Silesian Theatre. They performed a live, improvised comedy performance and then had a long and honest conversation with the audience about the behind-the-scenes work of actors dealing with improvised humour.
Workshop classes were also a strong element of the Humour Week. On Wednesday, in the Kato Science Corner building, students of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design offered participants the opportunity for artistic self-development expression during classes “Self-reflection with humour”. On Friday, we moved to the Intergenerational Integration Centre in Chorzów, where laughter yoga workshops were held under the supervision of Stefan Janicki. On Saturday, we returned to Kato Science Corner to invite children, teenagers and adults to participate in workshops on creating cartoon jokes, conducted by Bartosz Minkiewicz – a cartoonist known, among others, for creating humorous drawings for Tygodnik Powszechny and the comic book series Wilq Superbohater (Wilq Superhero).
- Humour Week in the City of Science website
- ‘Laughter as element of therapy and building a long-term relationship’ – article about the research of Silesian scientists
- Video summarising the event (YouTube)
