This one-day international symposium seeks to interrogate the satirist/ dessinateur de presse/ political cartoonist’s role and image in society from a European, particularly French, perspective over the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.  The symposium will open with presentations from Stephanie Williams (University of York), Allis Moss (University of Leeds), and Imen Neffati (University of Sheffield) on various aspects of their research.

 

Imen Neffati’s research scrutinises the history of Charlie Hebdo from the magazine’s inception in 1960 until the attack in January 2015, with a special focus on its anti-clerical and anti-Islam discourses. Stephanie Williams’ research interrogates the self-projected role of the satirical artist in the anarchist community of Paris between 1900 and 1914, concentrating on the perceived relationships between art, politics and satire.  Aliss Moss looks at images from Nineteenth Century political crises with an anti-Jewish heart, specifically the Dreyfus Affair in France. 

 

Between 1900 and 2015 journalism has transformed from a loosely defined and organised group of intellectuals who published their opinions on current events and contemporary culture to a highly specialised institution charged with providing the public with information and a critical view of the official authorities. While the right to freedom of expression has been a constant value in journalism since its inception in the eighteenth century, varies regimes of censorship and the influence of public opinion have complicated this right. The role of the satirist who provokes ridicule and introspection has also developed over this period to become more selfconsciously identified as a form of journalism. The provocative nature of satire often leads to ethical debates as to the right of satirists and journalists to set up themselves up as authorities and make outspoken comments?

 

This symposium provides an opportunity to explore the development of the artist’s role in journalism and to ask whether the artist perceives that role differently to journalists and the wider public. We will also use this symposium to ask questions about satire’s relevance to the modern world, the future of journalism, the impact of censorship, and the ethics of self censorship. 

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The symposium includes a round table discussing the ways in which artists, journalists and cartoonists defined their role in the press and used satire to articulate their politics, commitment to freedom of speech, and sense of self.

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Full Programme:

10-10:30 Welcome and Refreshments

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10:30-11: 30 Panel 1

Imen Neffati, University of Sheffield: How did Charlie Hebdo rename the ‘laughable’, redefine ‘good taste’, and reinvent humour?

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Stephanie Williams, University of York: Between Art and Journalism: the Role and Self-Image of the Satirist in Paris 1881-1914

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Allis Moss, University of Leeds: Anticlerical Illustrations in Anti-Jewish Affairs

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11:30-11:40 Break

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11:40-13:00 Panel 2

Andrew Heath, University of Sheffield: Fake News as Political Satire: William L. Alden and an American Monarchist Newspaper

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Rhiannon McGlade, University of Cambridge: ‘Je Suis El Papus’: The Cost of Comic Criticism in Spain’s Transition to Democracy

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Zanne Domoney-Lyttle, University of Glasgow: The Politics of Representing the Divine in Comics

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13:00-14:00 Lunch Break

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14:00-16:30 Round Table Discussion with: 

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• Dr Laurence Grove, University of Glasgow

• Dr Tim Benson, The Political Cartoon Society

• Rachael Jolley, Index on Censorship

• Brian Adcock, Political Cartoonist at The Independent

• Aaron Ackerley, University of Sheffield

• James Whitworth, University of Sheffield

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