On 26 August at 16:15, at UT Senat Hall (Ülikooli 18) Anastasiya Fiadotava will defend her doctoral thesis "Family Humour in Contemporary Belarus: Forms, Practices and Vernacular Reflections" for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Estonian and Comparative Folklore)
Supervisors:
Researcher Anastasiya Astapova, University of Tartu
Senior Researcher Liisi Laineste, Estonian Literary Museum
Oponent:
Professor Elliott Oring, California State University, Los Angeles (USA)
Summary:
This PhD thesis explores the role of humour in Belarusian families’ life. The study is based on oral interviews and an online survey. The dataset includes examples of oral and digital humour shared by my research participants, as well as their reflections on how and why they use humour in their family communication. The analysis of humorous examples reveals that family humorous folklore comprises many topics and forms, but the most popular genres of oral folklore are conversational jokes and humorous anecdotes based on the families’ personal experiences. Humorous folklore is never impersonal in family communication, and it is usually adapted to the family context. The fact that family humour is imbued with personal meanings, values and emotions make its use potentially risky and its role at times ambivalent.
On the one hand, if used skillfully, it can perform a variety of functions, not only entertaining the performers and their audiences, but also helping them to resolve conflicts, offering a subtle way to provide criticism and corrective feedback, and serving to establish and maintain in- and out-group boundaries. Vernacular accounts of humour use in family communication acknowledge and underscore its positive aspects. The fact that my respondent’s accounts of their family humour generally depict it as a benevolent force is likely connected to self-image and self-presentation: the idea that family members should care about, and be kind to each other, whereby using humour is one way to maintain domestic harmony. On the other hand, some manifestations of humour may border on, or be taken for serious aggression. The boundary between humour and aggression is often fuzzy: interpreting humour as aggressive or benevolent depends on the context in which it was used.
While many of my study results are based upon the particularities of Belarusian families, my key research findings have parallels in other cultures and reflect trends that are visible in different parts of the world. Therefore, the case study discussed in this thesis can serve as a model to be tested in other sociocultural settings.
Organizer:
Hille Roots
Location:
via videobridge
URL:
https://dspace.ut.ee/handle/10062/68369