POSADA CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 4TH, 2016:
MOCKING THE STATUS QUO: SOCIOPOLITICAL HUMOR AND SATIRE IN LATIN AMERICA
CONFERENCE
Sociopolitical humor and satire have a long tradition in Latin America. Since the 19th century, a variety of artists and writers have contributed to its development. Mexican illustrator José Guadalupe Posada (1851-1913), whose satirical broadsides and calaveras, or “skulls,” provided a critical portrayal of social, cultural and political tensions in Mexico during the Porfiriato and the beginning of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, is considered one of the founding figures of this tradition. Many other figures took this tradition in different directions up to the present. The growth in newspaper circulation and popular media during the 20th century created new outlets for social and political humor and satire, especially in the form of political and comic cartoons. Published in newspapers and in popular graphic publications such as Tia Vicentaand Humor Registrado in Argentina, O Pasquim in Brazil, and Monos y Monadas in Peru, among others, graphic humor became the vehicle of commentary of dominant social conventions and it provided a space to challenge and subvert political structures. In addition to graphic humorists, radio and TV performers have also contributed to the genre. The list of artists, writers and performers who have followed in Posada’s footsteps is long and rich in discursive perspectives, media choices and aesthetic representations – as varied as Quino’s Mafalda, the controversial cartoons of Bonil (Javier Bonilla), the sketches of the long-running Venezuelan show Radio Rochela, and the international TV phenomenon CQC or Caiga quien caiga/Caia quem caia. Publication and performance outlets have increased and audiences have diversified with new media and digital content.
Dickinson College will host a two-day conference on Nov. 5 and 6 sponsored by The Central Pennsylvania Consortium, as well as Franklin & Marshall College and Gettysburg College. This two-day international conference provides a forum to address the various and manifold developments in the fields of humor and politics in Latin America. The conference will provide an important opportunity to attend the inauguration of José Guadalupe Posada’s exhibit and aims to bring together academics working across interdisciplinary fields.
EXHIBIT
The Trout Gallery – the art museum at Dickinson College – will present José Guadalupe Posada and the Broadside in Early Twentieth-Century Mexico. This exhibition features over sixty works of graphic art by Posada and his contemporaries, including many of his best-known images of calaveras, sensationalistic crimes, natural disasters, political prints, curious phenomena, chap books, devotional images and game boards. It considers the meaning and importance of Posada’s imagery in turn-of-the century Mexico and its role in society. The exhibition is complemented by an extensive catalogue by curator Diane Miliotes as well as educational programs and a mobile application. For additional information on the exhibition see: www.troutgallery.org. The exhibit will open on Oct. 28, 2016.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
The conference keynote speaker will be William Beezley (University of Arizona), noted historian of Mexico and Latin America and author and editor of numerous books, including Judas at the Jockey Club and Other Episodes of Porfirian Mexico(1987), Latin American Popular Culture: An Introduction (Linda Curcio-Nagy, 2000), and A Companion to Mexican History and Culture (2011).
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Friday, November 4th
5pm – Altar Offerings. Waidner-Spahr Library
6pm – Keynote Speaker Prof. William Beezley. Althouse 106
7pm – Reception. Weiss Center
7-9pm – Sugar Skull-Making Workshop. Open Arts Lab (Weiss Center). Stop by 20-30 minutes
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Saturday, November 5th
8:30am Coffee – Althouse Lounge (first floor)
9:00am Panel #1 – Althouse 106
10:00am Break – Althouse Lounge (first floor)
10:15am Panel # 2 – Althouse 106
11:30am Tour of Exhibit “José Guadalupe Posada and the Mexican Penny Press” – Trout Gallery (Weiss Center)
12:30pm Lunch and Student Poster Presentation. HUB
2:00pm Panel # 3 – Althouse 106
3:10pm Break – Althouse Lounge (first floor)
3:30pm Panel # 4 – Althouse 106
REGISTRATION
Registration is free of charge, but if you want to attend the conference and you are not presenting a paper, please, fill out this form:
ABOUT DICKINSON COLLEGE
Chartered in 1783 by Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a prominent Philadelphia physician, Dickinson was the first college established in the new United States of America. Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, a historic town in south central Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Situated at the junction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) and Interstate 81, Carlisle is within convenient driving distance from many East Coast cities.
Directions: (for GPS)
272 West High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Air and Ground Transportation:
Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) is located less than a half-hour drive from Dickinson. A number of airlines offer direct flights from major cities. For more information, visit www.flyhia.com.
Amtrak provides train service to downtown Harrisburg from New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. For more information, visit Amtrak.
Greyhound has bus service to downtown Harrisburg. For more information, visit Greyhound.
During the conference (Friday afternoon and Sunday) a free shuttle service between Carlisle and Harrisburg International Airport and Amtrak station will be available.