Culture in Times of War I: Humour and jokes in war

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we will be hosting a series of special episodes on the cultural aspects of war. New events like war crequire meaning making, new icons, symbols, ideas to make sense of what is going on in life. But war also suppresse culture as some things cannot be said anymore or have dangerous consequences. We dive into these and related topics over the next weeks with scholars from Ukraine, Russia, and across the world. This week, we talk with Anastasiya Fiadotova* and Ksenia** about the humour emerging during the current war. How do people joke and why do people do so? We talk about the functions of humor are in war and its limits. Rooted in Estonia, Belarus and Russia, our guests are close to this war and provide a candid assessment of the war’s cultural implications. * Anastasiya (Nastya) Fiadotova is a research fellow in the department of Folkloristics at the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, Estonia. **last name and institutional affiliation withheld for personal security reasons. Presentation by prof. dr. Giselinde Kuipers (Sociology, KU Leuven) Editing by Luuc Brans