Jean-François joins us at Appalachian State to share with students his interest in Literature and Film as productive of landscapes in which we can dwell and spend time examining the flavor of what lies before and around us. Meeting with texts and films is similar to an exploration in which students develop their oral and written language skills in parallel with the discovery of how various structural and thematic landmarks interact with one another. He appreciates getting to see that sudden glance of pleasure in his students, when a text starts making sense in spite of its challenging composition. His research interests lie in the philosophical description of comedy and humor and the way texts and films illustrate those notions and processes. He is very interested in the central question, “Why do people laugh?” Laughter and humor in relation to aspects, which are not traditionally funny, such as cruelty and trauma is a complex issue that he continues to study and try to understand. He is also interested in comparative cultural approaches to social and historical phenomena and products in countries such as France, the US, and Germany. For example, do we laugh at the same things from one culture to another? What does it show about a culture when certain choices are made for various representations?
Dr. Jean-François Fournier
