31st AHSN Conference,19-21 February 2025
Flinders University, Adelaide
The 31st AHSN Conference will take place in-person from 19-21 February 2025 at Flinders University, Adelaide (in the new CBD campus). The conference will begin early afternoon on Wednesday 19 February, enabling delegates from Aotearoa/New Zealand and interstate to travel to Adelaide that morning if they wish.
The conference theme will be ‘The Evolutions of Humour’. Humour is a dynamic set of practices, capable of adapting to shifting cultural norms and new methods of delivery. AHSN2025 invites presentations on the various evolutions of humour. Where has humour come from and where is it going? What aspects of humour remain stable and what have changed forever? Presentations addressing any aspect of the changing forms of humour are especially welcomed for this conference. As in previous AHSN conferences, however, papers are welcome on any and all aspects of social laughter and humour, and from diverse disciplinary perspectives including not only humour studies as such, but also literary studies, linguistics, cultural studies, politics, psychology, biology and physiology, philosophy, history, comedy studies, law, creative practices, sociology, communication studies and others.
Please note that the conference will be preceded on the Monday and Tuesday by an international round-table on the Study of Political Cartoons, hosted by the ARC-funded Cartoon Nation project. Conference attendees are welcome to join and further details on this event will be available at a later date via the Digest and AHSN emails. To receive these, please ensure you are subscribed to the AHSN Digest.
Important Dates
Abstract submission opens: 29 April 2024
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 31 August 2024
Proposals should be submitted via email to Dr Alex Cothren at: alexander.cothren@flinders.edu.au
Proposal guidelines
Abstracts should be around 250-300 words in length. Please add a presentation title above the abstract. Members of the AHSN Review Panel will check and review all submissions. They may recommend changes and revisions to presenters. All accepted conference abstracts will be published on the AHSN website and in the booklet of abstracts for the AHSN2025 conference. An archive of previous conference proceedings and further guidance about the review procedures and guidelines for proposals can be found below.
Student scholarships
AHSN awards up to five scholarships in the form of conference registration fee-waivers for research students enrolled for study primarily at Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand universities. These are awarded on the basis of the best and first completed proposals, so please make sure to get your abstracts in early.
Travel and Accommodation
It is recommended that those planning to attend AHSN 2025 book travel and accommodation as early as possible. The conference is deliberately designed to occur alongside the opening of Adelaide’s Fringe Festival, allowing attendees to experience the city at its cultural best. While there will certainly be plenty of accommodation options available, your preferred location may be harder to book than usual, so early bookings are advised.
For those looking to plan their stay, the location of the new Flinders City Campus can be found here.
For conference enquiries, please email Alex Cothren at: alexander.cothren@flinders.edu.au
AHSN2025 Committee
Prof. Robert Phiddian, Flinders University (co-convenor)
Dr Alex Cothren, Flinders University (co-convenor)
Review Procedures for AHSN Conference Proposals
Abstract submissions (see above)
