Special Issue “The Collective Body of Laughter”
Submissions from April 1st to May 30th, 2025
Special Issue: “The Collective Body of Laughter”
Coeditors: Rita Gusmão, Mariana Azevedo and Marcelo Cordeiro
This Special Issue “The Collective Body of Laughter” seeks to stimulate critical reflection on the political and performative dimensions of the arts of laughter and clowning within contemporary social structures. The Body, in this context, is seen as a dialogical instrument between human beings and space, which enables ideas and emotions, and it will be analyzed through its semiotic potential, encompassing both investigative and sociocultural practices, individual or collective. Emphasis will be placed on artists who work with practices of laughter and humor, as well as on diverse audiences, whether formed by social groups in vulnerable circumstances or the audience of comedic shows.
Politics is approached here through the tension between its subjective and social meanings, i.e., whether as actions and attitudes that cultivate the germinative essence of each individual, composing their subjectivity to the alterity and the collective, or as a destabilizing force against established social norms and power structures.
Collectivity, in this framework, is seen as the potential to form groups with stable properties, which are not hierarchically fixed in relation to other groups, and from which emerge (even if temporarily) formative propositions for individuals that endure over time as traces of collective intentions and achievements.
Laughter, therefore, is seen as a performative and political act, involved with processes of pedagogy and of the composition of artistic practices, organized around principles such as the direct participation of audiences, the unpredictability that incorporates the present time into the shows, and the ritualistic movement, directed toward the construction of humor.
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Revista Ephemera also welcomes submissions of articles that align with the journal’s central thematic scope. These may include unpublished works, bibliographic reviews, investigative and experimental reports, academic research, and creative reflections on contemporary creative processes or significant historical milestones in the Performing Arts. Contributions from both national and international scholars are encouraged. Additionally, the Acontece section accepts submissions in various formats, including interviews, reviews, and critical analyses of performances, festivals, and related events.
For further details, please visit: https://periodicos.ufop.br/ephemera/about/submissions
