Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

This study investigates the (re)production of racist and anti-racist discourses in Greek jokes concerning migrant/refugee issues. We argue that racist discourse against “foreigners” is not only overtly promoted via hate speech, but it also appears indirectly in jokes that (superficially) seem to reinforce anti-racist discourse. Through the critical analysis of such humorous texts, we detect a modern and more subtle kind of racism, i.e. liquid racism, which emerges from the (seemingly) anti-racist jokes either through the deprecation of the “Other” or through his/her assimilation. Given the above, we suggest that humorous texts, where anti-racist and racist discourses often coexist, could be useful in language teaching. Following the multiliteracies model, we explore the designing of a critical teaching proposal focusing on migrant/refugee jokes. This proposal is intended to raise students’ critical awareness, by bringing to the surface the ambiguities caused by both humor and liquid racism. The critical discussion of these issues in class could firstly highlight the potential function of humor to covertly project views and attitudes of discrimination through an amusing and seemingly innocuous way. Secondly, it could enable students to realize and identify how and why the “anti-racist” jokes can implicitly (re)produce racist interpretations, such as the assimilation and deprecation of immigrants and refugees.