Oklahoma Scholar-Leadership Enrichment Program

Making Fun of Roman Comedy: Humor and Abuse, Free Lecture by Dr. Hans Bork
2023-11-06 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Frontier Room, OU Student Union, 900 Asp Ave, Norman, OK, 73109, United States
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
**”Making Fun of Roman Comedy: Humor and Abuse”**
Norman, Oklahoma – September 28, 2023 – The Oklahoma Scholar Leadership Enrichment Program is set to host an enlightening lecture titled “Making Fun of Roman Comedy: Humor and Abuse.” This event will take place on Monday, November 6th at 7pm in the Frontier room of the University of Oklahoma Memorial Union and is open to the public free of charge.
Comic theater in ancient Rome was a popular form of entertainment that has left a lasting impact on the world. Playwrights like Plautus created works that were reperformed and adapted in Latin for centuries. These plays have been translated into English by renowned figures such as Shakespeare and Sondheim. However, upon closer examination, the plots and themes of Plautus’ plays reveal a dark side. They delve into topics such as slavery, torture, human trafficking, sexual abuse, and war crimes.
Scholarship on Roman comedy has often approached this material from sociological or historical perspectives, yielding contradictory results. Surprisingly, few scholars have explored how these seemingly harmful elements function as jokes. How do they manage to elicit laughter from audiences? This event aims to address this question by focusing on verbal insults and mockery as an entry point.
The lecture will be given by Dr. Hans Bork, Assistant Professor of Classics at Stanford University, who will shed light on the intricate relationship between humor and abuse in Roman comedy. Attendees can expect thought-provoking discussions and insights into the mechanisms behind comedic elements that touch upon sensitive subjects. “We believe it is crucial to examine the nuances of humor in ancient Roman comedy,” said Dr. Hans Bork. “By exploring how seemingly offensive elements can generate laughter, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural context and social dynamics at play during that era.”
This event promises to be an enlightening experience for anyone interested in ancient Roman comedy, humor studies, or the intersection of comedy and sensitive topics. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to delve into the world of Roman comedy and gain fresh perspectives on its comedic mechanisms.
For more information about this event, please visit www.oslep.org.
**Media Contact**
Karl Schmidt, Assistant Director, Oklahoma Scholar Leadership Enrichment Program. Karl.schmidt@ou.edu
**Event Details**
Title: “Making Fun of Roman Comedy: Humor and Abuse”
Date: Monday, November 6th
Time: 7pm.
Location: Frontier Room, University of Oklahoma Memorial Student Union.
Admission: Free and open to the public

The Gothic Image at the Villa Diodati: Frankenstein and The Vampyre.
2018-02-16 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | David Boren Hall (Honors College) Room #180, 1300 S. Asp St., Norman, OK, 73072, United States
February 16, 2018 | 4-5pm
OSLEP Public Event

University of Oklahoma, Norman campus
David Boren Hall (Honors College) Room #180
1300 S. Asp St.
Dr. Jerry Hogle, University of Arizona
Many are well aware that Mary Shelley’s and John Polidori’s 1818-19 novels — hugely influential on “Gothic monster” fiction-making ever since — came out of a gathering of writers at the Villa Diodati (rented by Lord Byron) on the shores of Lake Geneva during the Summer of 1816. What is less well known is exactly what both novels took from precisely what was read and discussed by the Diodati party throughout those summer months. This illustrated talk argues that it was more than just bits of content that these novels took from what that gathering perused; the very nature and symbolic capacity of the monster-figures themselves in both books (and hence their influence since) come from the sense of the Gothic image that Shelley and Polidori took in during that stormy summer from the discussions and readings that kept taking place throughout that June, July, and August.

Monkey Love and Duck Grief: An Anthropologist's Perspective on Animal Emotions
2017-10-12 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | OK
Noon, Thursday, October 12, 2017
Free Public Lecture
University of Oklahoma
JJRhyne Community Room
Zarrow Hall
Barbara J. King, University of Notre Dame
This is co-sponsored by the Oklahoma Scholar-Leadership Enrichment Program and The Anthropology Graduate Student Association.

Greek Filmmaker Olga Malea
2015-11-09 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | OK
Thursday, November 9 in Meacham Auditorium in the Oklahoma Memorial Union
6 pm reception
7 pm screening of The Cow’s Orgasm
The reception is sponsored by the OU Office for Student Affairs. The screening is sponsored by the Film and Media Studies program and the Union Programming Board.

Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J.
2015-10-31 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | OK
Saturday October 31, 2015 at 6:00 pm in Pegasus Theatre, University of Central Oklahoma campus
The death penalty is one of the great moral issues facing our country, yet most people rarely think about it and very few of us take the time to delve deeply enough into this issue to be able to make an informed decision about it. Sister Helen will speak on her work, through the Ministry Against the Death Penalty.
For more information about Sister Prejean and her work go to http://www.sisterhelen.org/

Is Money All There Is?: Other Aspects of Life in Adam Smith's Free Market
2015-02-12 19:00 - 20:00 UTC | OK
Thursday February 19, 2015 at 7 pm in the Community Room (LL118) of Bizzell Library, University of Oklahoma
Jack Weinstein, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Institute for Philosophy in Public Life
Adam Smith is the father of modern economics and has become a symbol of the conservative and libertarian belief that the free-market can resolve all disputes. He has also been used to justify greed, significant income inequality, and limited government. Are these accurate descriptions of his work? Did Adam Smith really think that money and competition are the be-all and end-all of life? This discussion will look at Smith’s writing in context and show that modern economists and politicians portray him incorrectly. It will emphasize that Smith offers a rich mix of philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, and psychology that can help guide moral, political, and economic inquiry for the 21st century.
Find out more about Jack at: http://www.jackrussellweinstein.com/
