The West African Ebola epidemic of 2013 to 2016 resulted in a longterm state of emergency and dra... more The West African Ebola epidemic of 2013 to 2016 resulted in a longterm state of emergency and dramatic changes to everyday life. Despite it being a challenging period, humor was still part of social interactions and exchanges. Periods of crisis can lend themselves well to humor due to the fact that both crisis and humor find their foundations in absurdity. This article seeks to build on existing work by looking at humor as a form of production, focusing on how it functioned in different, simultaneous and contradictory terms in social and political life during the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone. Drawing on fieldwork from Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2020, this article traces how humor worked in practice in relation to social cohesion, as a way of negotiating uncertainty, and analyses the symbolic role it played in interactions between survivors and non-survivors. Finally, it analyses how humor has helped re-frame experiences since the epidemic ended. I argue that humor plays multiple and tangible roles, and can shape social relations during and after times of crisis.
This article explores the theoretical and practical role(s) of humour in facilitating outreach ab... more This article explores the theoretical and practical role(s) of humour in facilitating outreach about sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Sierra Leone. While humour might be considered an insensitive way of approaching difficult issues, this project shows that incongruity can in fact be productive. Recognizing that humour itself can be a form of symbolic or physical violence in some contexts, we argue that humour is a means of opening up conversations about violence (in this case SGBV) in order to address the social and legal challenges associated with it. Our pilot project – devised by an interdisciplinary team and conducted in partnership with a Sierra Leonean access-to-justice NGO, Timap for Justice – used comedy and performance to meet two key challenges: to disseminate awareness about social and legal issues related to commonplace practices of SGBV, and to open up a broader discussion about experiences of SGBV. Using empirical evidence from focus groups and interviews, this article shows how a humorous approach proved to be a productive mode of engagement and examines key concepts including ‘the vicinity of laughter’ (involving the spatial and interpersonal aspects of humour), the connections between laughter and memory, and the paradoxical relationship between lived experience, humour and violence.
This article explores how female agency and experience manifest in a local Sierra Leonean peacebu... more This article explores how female agency and experience manifest in a local Sierra Leonean peacebuilding program known as Fambul Tok. While post-conflict literature, namely transitional justice and peacebuilding, has become more critical in recent years, there is still a tendency to generalize both the 'local' and 'women'. There is, however, much greater scope to delineate how local programs shape and are shaped by women in these settings. While Fambul Tok was, at least theoretically, meant to better align with the needs and priorities of Sierra Leoneans, including women, the empirics suggest that female engagement ultimately results in a wide range of outcomes, which are not necessarily more 'empowering', 'transformative' or 'good' than international programs. Drawing on original empirical data from Fambul Tok, this article highlights the complexity of gendered power relations within these programs and how individual women have multiple, diverse and contested forms of agency and experiences within local settings.
The 'local' has become central to peacebuilding, both in theory and in practice. While there is e... more The 'local' has become central to peacebuilding, both in theory and in practice. While there is extensive conceptual literature analysing the 'local' , there is much less that looks at how what is often considered local in peacebuilding programmes actually works in practice. The empirical peacebuilding literature that does exist has largely focussed on the international-local interface and those studies that have focussed solely on the 'local' largely rely on discussions with more elite civil society leaders. In contrast, this article empirically analyses 'local-local' dynamics. Using a Sierra Leonean peacebuilding project called Fambul Tok, this article both provides in-depth analysis on how the organisation externally projects itself as 'local' and contrasts this with how the organisation actually works in practice. Externally, Fambul Tok's media materials equate 'local' with Sierra Leonean place and people, as well as notions of culture and tradition. However, by examining the dynamics between different Sierra Leoneans, including staff members and programme participants, a complex picture of the 'locallocal' emerges. I argue that by engaging with comprehensive empirical research, we can understand how local peacebuilding is actually experienced and enacted and how the theoretical discussions of the 'local' and 'local-local' in peacebuilding converge with how peacebuilding works in practice.
Transitional justice and peacebuilding mechanisms have a tendency
to reflect the extraordinary na... more Transitional justice and peacebuilding mechanisms have a tendency to reflect the extraordinary nature of conflict. These recognizable mechanisms—official bodies and institutions with preconceived goals and processes—are often inaccessible and undesired. In fact, what is often desired in post-conflict societies is the ordinary: a transition to a ‘new normal’. This article explores the various ways in which Sierra Leoneans practice normality in the post-conflict era. This is done through economic restoration, agricultural activities and religious engagement. Ultimately, these mechanisms are often seen as a more legitimate and meaningful way for many ordinary Sierra Leoneans to move past their war-related experiences and find some sense of peace and justice.
The West African Ebola epidemic of 2013 to 2016 resulted in a longterm state of emergency and dra... more The West African Ebola epidemic of 2013 to 2016 resulted in a longterm state of emergency and dramatic changes to everyday life. Despite it being a challenging period, humor was still part of social interactions and exchanges. Periods of crisis can lend themselves well to humor due to the fact that both crisis and humor find their foundations in absurdity. This article seeks to build on existing work by looking at humor as a form of production, focusing on how it functioned in different, simultaneous and contradictory terms in social and political life during the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone. Drawing on fieldwork from Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2020, this article traces how humor worked in practice in relation to social cohesion, as a way of negotiating uncertainty, and analyses the symbolic role it played in interactions between survivors and non-survivors. Finally, it analyses how humor has helped re-frame experiences since the epidemic ended. I argue that humor plays multiple and tangible roles, and can shape social relations during and after times of crisis.
This article explores the theoretical and practical role(s) of humour in facilitating outreach ab... more This article explores the theoretical and practical role(s) of humour in facilitating outreach about sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Sierra Leone. While humour might be considered an insensitive way of approaching difficult issues, this project shows that incongruity can in fact be productive. Recognizing that humour itself can be a form of symbolic or physical violence in some contexts, we argue that humour is a means of opening up conversations about violence (in this case SGBV) in order to address the social and legal challenges associated with it. Our pilot project – devised by an interdisciplinary team and conducted in partnership with a Sierra Leonean access-to-justice NGO, Timap for Justice – used comedy and performance to meet two key challenges: to disseminate awareness about social and legal issues related to commonplace practices of SGBV, and to open up a broader discussion about experiences of SGBV. Using empirical evidence from focus groups and interviews, this article shows how a humorous approach proved to be a productive mode of engagement and examines key concepts including ‘the vicinity of laughter’ (involving the spatial and interpersonal aspects of humour), the connections between laughter and memory, and the paradoxical relationship between lived experience, humour and violence.
This article explores how female agency and experience manifest in a local Sierra Leonean peacebu... more This article explores how female agency and experience manifest in a local Sierra Leonean peacebuilding program known as Fambul Tok. While post-conflict literature, namely transitional justice and peacebuilding, has become more critical in recent years, there is still a tendency to generalize both the 'local' and 'women'. There is, however, much greater scope to delineate how local programs shape and are shaped by women in these settings. While Fambul Tok was, at least theoretically, meant to better align with the needs and priorities of Sierra Leoneans, including women, the empirics suggest that female engagement ultimately results in a wide range of outcomes, which are not necessarily more 'empowering', 'transformative' or 'good' than international programs. Drawing on original empirical data from Fambul Tok, this article highlights the complexity of gendered power relations within these programs and how individual women have multiple, diverse and contested forms of agency and experiences within local settings.
The 'local' has become central to peacebuilding, both in theory and in practice. While there is e... more The 'local' has become central to peacebuilding, both in theory and in practice. While there is extensive conceptual literature analysing the 'local' , there is much less that looks at how what is often considered local in peacebuilding programmes actually works in practice. The empirical peacebuilding literature that does exist has largely focussed on the international-local interface and those studies that have focussed solely on the 'local' largely rely on discussions with more elite civil society leaders. In contrast, this article empirically analyses 'local-local' dynamics. Using a Sierra Leonean peacebuilding project called Fambul Tok, this article both provides in-depth analysis on how the organisation externally projects itself as 'local' and contrasts this with how the organisation actually works in practice. Externally, Fambul Tok's media materials equate 'local' with Sierra Leonean place and people, as well as notions of culture and tradition. However, by examining the dynamics between different Sierra Leoneans, including staff members and programme participants, a complex picture of the 'locallocal' emerges. I argue that by engaging with comprehensive empirical research, we can understand how local peacebuilding is actually experienced and enacted and how the theoretical discussions of the 'local' and 'local-local' in peacebuilding converge with how peacebuilding works in practice.
Transitional justice and peacebuilding mechanisms have a tendency
to reflect the extraordinary na... more Transitional justice and peacebuilding mechanisms have a tendency to reflect the extraordinary nature of conflict. These recognizable mechanisms—official bodies and institutions with preconceived goals and processes—are often inaccessible and undesired. In fact, what is often desired in post-conflict societies is the ordinary: a transition to a ‘new normal’. This article explores the various ways in which Sierra Leoneans practice normality in the post-conflict era. This is done through economic restoration, agricultural activities and religious engagement. Ultimately, these mechanisms are often seen as a more legitimate and meaningful way for many ordinary Sierra Leoneans to move past their war-related experiences and find some sense of peace and justice.
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Papers by Laura Martin
opening up conversations about violence (in this case SGBV) in order to address the social and legal challenges associated with it. Our pilot project – devised by an interdisciplinary team and conducted in partnership with a Sierra Leonean access-to-justice NGO, Timap for Justice – used comedy and performance to meet two key challenges: to disseminate awareness about social and legal issues related to commonplace practices of SGBV, and to
open up a broader discussion about experiences of SGBV. Using empirical evidence from focus groups and interviews, this article shows how a humorous approach proved to be a productive mode of engagement and examines key concepts including ‘the vicinity of laughter’ (involving the spatial and interpersonal aspects of humour), the connections between laughter and memory, and the paradoxical relationship between lived experience, humour and violence.
to reflect the extraordinary nature of conflict. These recognizable
mechanisms—official bodies and institutions with preconceived
goals and processes—are often inaccessible and undesired. In
fact, what is often desired in post-conflict societies is the ordinary:
a transition to a ‘new normal’. This article explores the various
ways in which Sierra Leoneans practice normality in the post-conflict
era. This is done through economic restoration,
agricultural activities and religious engagement. Ultimately, these
mechanisms are often seen as a more legitimate and meaningful
way for many ordinary Sierra Leoneans to move past their war-related
experiences and find some sense of peace and justice.
opening up conversations about violence (in this case SGBV) in order to address the social and legal challenges associated with it. Our pilot project – devised by an interdisciplinary team and conducted in partnership with a Sierra Leonean access-to-justice NGO, Timap for Justice – used comedy and performance to meet two key challenges: to disseminate awareness about social and legal issues related to commonplace practices of SGBV, and to
open up a broader discussion about experiences of SGBV. Using empirical evidence from focus groups and interviews, this article shows how a humorous approach proved to be a productive mode of engagement and examines key concepts including ‘the vicinity of laughter’ (involving the spatial and interpersonal aspects of humour), the connections between laughter and memory, and the paradoxical relationship between lived experience, humour and violence.
to reflect the extraordinary nature of conflict. These recognizable
mechanisms—official bodies and institutions with preconceived
goals and processes—are often inaccessible and undesired. In
fact, what is often desired in post-conflict societies is the ordinary:
a transition to a ‘new normal’. This article explores the various
ways in which Sierra Leoneans practice normality in the post-conflict
era. This is done through economic restoration,
agricultural activities and religious engagement. Ultimately, these
mechanisms are often seen as a more legitimate and meaningful
way for many ordinary Sierra Leoneans to move past their war-related
experiences and find some sense of peace and justice.