Since 2011, the North East Texas Humor Research Conference has provided a vibrant forum for sharing and celebrating the latest scholarship in humor studies. What began as a regional gathering has steadily grown into a truly international event, attracting leading scholars, emerging researchers and attendees from around the world—reaching participants from 37 countries by 2025.
The materials on this page document the conference's evolution and highlight key contributions across the field of humor studies. To learn how to submit your research to our next annual conference, please visit the Humor Research Conference webpage.
2011: Inaugural Conference
Host
SMU Meadows Schools of the Arts
Conference Coordinator
Owen Hanley Lynch, Ph. D., Southern Methodist University, Communication Studies
2011: 2nd Conference
Dates
Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2011
Venue
East Texas A&M University
Host
East Texas A&M University
Conference Coordinator
Colette Newman, East Texas A&M University
Media
2013: 3rd Conference
Theme: Humor in the Professions, Psychology, Philology: Intercultural Perspectives
Dates
Feb. 22-24, 2013
Venue
Southern Methodist University, Umphrey Lee Center
Hosts
The Division of Communication Studies, SMU Meadows School of the Arts
The College of Humanities, Social Sciences & Arts, East Texas A&M University
Conference Coordinators
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Owen Lynch, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Program Committee
- Jyotsna Vaid, Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Sean Guillory, Ph.D., Dartmouth College
- Christian F. Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Owen Hanley Lynch, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
- Lucy Pickering, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Keynote Speakers
- Dr. Shaquille O’Neal and Dr. David M. Kopp
- Q&A on Humor and Leadership
Media
2014: 4th Conference
Theme: Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Humor
Dates
Feb. 21-23, 2014
Venue
East Texas A&M University at Rockwall, Texas
Conference Coordinators
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Owen Lynch, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Program Committee
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Sarah Seewoester Cain, Rice University
- Elisa Gironzetti, East Texas A&M University
- Sean Guillory, M.D. Anderson, Houston, TX
- Christian F. Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Owen Hanley Lynch, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Media
2015: 5th Conference
Selected peer-reviewed papers appeared in a special issue of E-JournALL (EuroAmerican Journal for Applied Linguistics and Languages), guest-edited by Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D.
Theme: Humor and Pedagogy
Dates
Feb. 20-22, 2015
Venue
Universities Center at Dallas
Conference Coordinators
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Owen Lynch, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Program Committee
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Sarah Seewoester Cain, Rice University
- Elisa Gironzetti, East Texas A&M University
- Jyotsna Vaid, Texas A&M University
- Christian F. Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Andrea Samson, Ph.D., Stanford University
Invited Speakers
- John Banas, University of Oklahoma
- Catherine Evans Davies, University of Alabama
- Karina Hess Zimmermann, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, México
Media
2016: 6th Conference
Theme: Empirical Approaches to Humor
Dates
Feb. 19-21, 2016
Venue
East Texas A&M University
Conference Organizers
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Owen Lynch, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Media
2017: 7th Conference
Theme: Multidisciplinary
Dates
March 9-11, 2017
Venue
Universities Center at Dallas
Conference Organizers
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Eliza Gironzetti, East Texas A&M University
- Leslie Richardson, Ph.D., Collin College
Keynote Speaker
- Francisco Yus, Ph.D., University of Alicante, Spain
Media
2018: 8th Conference
Theme: Multidisciplinary
Dates
Feb. 16-17, 2018
Venue
David Talbot Hall of Languages, East Texas A&M University
Conference Organizers
This conference is fully student organized.
Students
- Shelby Miller (Organizer)
- Sendy Monarrez (Website/Scheduling/Program)
- Meichan Huang (Submissions)
- Nabiha El Khatib
- Hilal Ergül
- Masoumeh Razzaghi
- Sarvenaz Balali
- Tawnya Smith
- Mark Haslett
Faculty Advisors
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Keynote Speaker
- Dr. Haj Ross, University of North Texas
Media
2019: 9th Conference
Date
March 29, 2019
Venue
David Talbot Hall of Languages, East Texas A&M University
Conference Organizers
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Media
Olga Cochran: Stand-Up Comedy as a Teaching Tool in the College of Linguistics and Composition Classrooms
Sarvenaz Balali: Puns: Phonological Similarity in Terms of Syllabic Structure
Jennifer Golston: Fat Jokes as Empowerment to a Growing Majority
Suthichai Taupradist: L2 Student Perceptions of the Humorous Teacher versus Humorous Materials
George Curley: Humor and the Babylon Bee
Salvatore Attardo: The Comedian as Antagonist in the Age of Eristic Public Discourse
Abigail Diaz: The Evolution of Humor Caused by Technological Innovation
2020: 10th Conference
This conference marked our transition to online-only format.
Dates
March 20, 2020
Venue
Planned: David Talbot Hall of Languages, East Texas A&M University
Actual: Online-only
Conference Organizers
This conference was fully student organized.
Students
Faculty Advisors
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Media
2021: 11th Conference
Dates
Feb. 26-27, 2021
Venue
Online
Conference Organizers
This conference was fully student organized.
Students
- Reza Panahi
- John Gibbons
- Joshua Jordan
Faculty Advisors
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Media
2022: 12th Conference
Dates
April 1-2, 2022
Venue
Online
Conference Organizers
This conference was fully student organized.
Students
Faculty Advisors
- Dr. Christian Hempelmann, East Texas A&M University
- Dr. Salvatore Attardo, East Texas A&M University
Media
2023: 13th Conference
Dates
March 31 and April 1, 2023
Venue
Online
Conference Organizers
This conference was fully student organized.
Students
Faculty Advisors
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Media
2024: 14th Conference
The 2024 Conference of the International Society for Humor Studies (ISHS 34) was hosted online by East Texas A&M University from April 19-21, 2024 concurrently with the 14th Humor Research Conference (HRC 14). There were nearly 200 in attendance, 17 poster presentations, 82 papers and panel presentations, and four plenaries.
Dates
April 18-21, 2024
Venue
Online
Organization
ISHS-HRC is organized by the Applied Linguistics Laboratory at East Texas A&M University,
Department of Literature and Languages.
Conference Organizers
Students
Faculty Advisors
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Shelby Miller, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Media
2025: 15th Conference
The 15th annual HRC took place as a live-broadcast online event from February 14–16, 2025, with pre-conference workshops and sessions held on February 13. This was the largest conference to date, both in terms of the number of presentations and attendees. Over the course of the event, we featured more than 50 presentations, along with three keynote speakers and three pre-conference workshops. The conference welcomed 172 attendees from 37 different countries, with 70% of participants attending for the first time.
Dates
Feb. 14-16, 2025
Venue
Online
Organization
ISHS-HRC is organized by the Applied Linguistics Laboratory at East Texas A&M University,
Department of Literature and Languages.
Conference Organizers
Students
- Haomei Meng
- Taylor Hill
- Hailey O’Hair
Faculty Advisors
- Shelby Miller, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
- Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Keynote Speakers
- Dr. Ian Brodie, Cape Breton University
- Joy, Risk, and Responsibility: Humor Performance
- Dr. Jan Chovanec, Masaryk University
- Pranks and Activism: Humour Between the Frivolous and the Serious
- Dr. Giuseppe Balirano, University of Naples L’Orientale
- Diasporic Humor on TikTok: Identity, Resistance and Hybridity in Stand-Up Comedy
Media
2026: 16th Conference
This conference will be held online only.
The 16th annual HRC will take place March 6–8, 2026, as a live-broadcast online event, with pre-conference workshops and sessions on March 5. The conference will be live, but this year we are also adding a pre-recorded submission option. Further details will be announced soon.
Dates
March 6-8, 2026
Venue
Online
Conference Organizers
Salvatore Attardo, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Christian Hempelmann, Ph.D., East Texas A&M University
Keynote Speakers
- Dr. Herb Colston, University of Alberta, Canada
- Similarities and Differences in Figurativity and Riffing: A Frame-Contrasts-Within-Frame-Layerings Account
- Dr. Steven Gimbel, Gettysburg College, USA
- Humor Ethics and Joke Capital: How to Win Friends and Insult People
- Dr. Sharon Lockyer, Brunel University, United Kingdom
- Standing Up for Tics and Tourette’s Syndrome in Live Comic Performance
- Dr. Mirella Manfredi, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- The Neuroscience of Humour: Insights into Diversity of Minds
- Dr. Henri Olkoniemi, University of Oulu, Finland
- Who Gets It? Individual Differences in Irony Comprehension Across the Lifespan