Pacific and Ancient Modern Language Association (PAMLA) Annual Conference

November 14-17, 2019

San Diego, California

CALL FOR PAPERS

Drama and Society 1: Theatre’s Clowns and Comic Traditions 

This panel invites papers that explore the many ways the ever elusive and haunting trope of the clown has been represented in theatre arts: from the Ancients to the Contemporary, from the buffoon to the coulrophobic grotesque, and as a signifier embedded in both Western and non-Western cultures. 

Possible clown topics include: the existential role of the clown in modern and post-modern theatre; the political clown; the clown as menace; the diverse functions of the clown in early modern theatre; the feminist clown. 

Papers that branch into broader conversations such as comedy, the carnivalesque, laughter or narrative devices in theatre, to name a few, are also very welcome.

Please send your 200-word proposals (and/or questions) to Professor Kimberly Jew at Kimberly.jew@utah.eduby June 10, 2019