Episode 5: Associate Professor Kerry Mullan/The one about The Network

Episode hosts: Ben Nickl and Suchi Chowdhury About our guest on this episode: Kerry is an Associate Professor at RMIT in Melbourne and teaches French language and culture at all proficiency levels, and sociolinguistics. Her main research interests are cross-cultural communication and differing interactional styles – particularly those of French and Australian English speakers. She also researches in the areas of intercultural pragmatics, discourse analysis, language teaching and conversational humour. Kerry also heads the board of the global Australasian Humour Studies Network and talks to us about the research that its members do, how one can join, and what to expect from the annual network conference. About the episode hosts: Ben is a Senior Lecturer in The University of Sydney’s Department of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies. He works on popular technologies of mediation like humour and laughter and is the research coordinator for the Australasian Humour Studies Network. His latest book is called Moral Dimensions of Humour (Tampere University Press, open access, 2024). Suchi is a PhD student at RMIT University, Melbourne, researching stand-up comedy in India and its engagement with the political. She is creating her data through interviews with comedians, the ethnographic study of live comedy shows, and textual analysis of comedic material. Born and raised in India, Suchi moved to Melbourne 18 years ago and has worked in professional roles in TAFE and tertiary education. In her other life in India, she worked in advertising, journalism, and public relations. Acknowledgement of Country: We would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners and custodians of the lands on which the University of Sydney has been built, and which were taken from them without their consent, treaty or compensation. Most episodes of this podcast were recorded on this land. This land has always been a learning space for many Aboriginal nations, and as teachers and students, and people of all kinds of origins, we can draw strength and guidance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, one of the oldest knowledge systems in the world. Want to come on as a guest or co-host, or get in touch about something else? Simply email [email protected] (AHSN research coordinator and ‘Cutting Edge’ host), visit the AHSN website https://ahsnhumourstudies.org/  and follow/subscribe to us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AHSNHumour/, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ahsnconference or Twitter/X @AHSN_Humour. Special thanks and all credit for editing and sound engineering goes to Jacob Craig/USYD FASS media room studios.