Presented by Brittany Dyck, Graduate Student MLCS

March 15, 2024 | 12pm MST 

Kule Folklore Centre, Old Arts Bldg

The 25 years since the Columbine High School shooting have now seen multiple generations of American students move through the school system under the looming threat of potential future shootings. One of the results of such experiences has been the emergence of a vast joking culture centered on school shootings, which is especially prevalent in online spaces. Based on the MA Thesis “‘All the Other Kids with the Pumped Up Kicks” - An Investigation of School Shooting Jokes Told by American Teenagers on TikTok,’ this presentation explores how this humour is used by American teenagers to express their fears and anxieties, political opinions, and perceptions of school shootings and their perpetrators. Specifically, this presentation will investigate the ways that this joking corpus demonstrates a significant difference between the cultural associations and understandings of school shootings in youth and adult cultures, and how students utilize this humour to challenge and mock the adult institutions they are subjected to, such as school system and government.

This is an in-person event, however the presentation will be available on our Youtube channel and our website after the event.

For more information, contact: [email protected]

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