>>> Responses to disaster often play upon or obliquely make explicit many of the contradictions and conflicts that simmer beneath the surface much of the time. In this panel, we explore the multiple ways in which protest, humor, art and drama emerge as the results of inequality producing dynamics in terms of race, class, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or citizenship. What are some of the effects of these enterprises? What is the role of joy, laughter and general hi-jinx in critique or dissent that for all its lightness is also deadly serious? Why does humorous protest gain purchase in the "mainstream," or even in the margins or in criticized corners when more direct forms of dissent may prove less effective? What is the role of the sensual in such responses?

We aim to collect a set of papers addressing these themes, broadly cast, as dealing with practices emerging from the ongoing unnatural disasters such as the general American political landscape and neoliberalism, racism, classism, xenophobia, jingoism, surveillance, the construction of "terrorism," war, ongoing erosion of civil liberties, and more. We invite creative approaches and ethnographic studies for this theme, and though in the main we use an anthropological bent, we welcome participants using interdisciplinary approaches.

Possible topics include but are not limited to: Comedy television / stand-up, the film Borat, Billionaires for Bush, Code Pink, graffiti art and artists like Banksy, critical mass, burning man, demolition derby, bio-art or bio-protest, burlesque, carnivale, ad and culture busting, experimentalism, menstrual protest, costume/mask/puppetry, cartoonage, public performance.......

Send 100-150 word abstract with title to Susan Falls & Amy Jones at sfalls@temple.edu by January 10th, 2007.

PS: Please see SANA website at www.sananet.org for more details about the conference April 19-21 in New Orleans.