Dark Humor and ‘Humor Talk’ in Algeria’s Hirak

Abstract

: Since February 2019, observers and activists alike have commented on the outpouring of humorous expression that Algeria’s ongoing Hirak (‘movement’) for political change has fostered. The present work evaluates the significance of this humor by situating it within longer traditions of political humor in the country. It will likewise do so by noting how humor has changed in response to trauma and how a focus on ‘dark humor’ can illuminate such shifts. By accounting for both changes in talk surrounding humor and its content, what I call ‘humor talk,’ I argue that humor can become a symbol of moving past trauma while transitions between uses and types of humor (in the case of the Hirak, from lighter to ‘dark humor’) can testify to wider changes in political climate or the needs of the populations employing humor. This finding is an important one for Middle Eastern and North African Studies given increasing scholarly attention allotted to humor in uprisings following the 2010–2011 ‘Arab Spring’ and similar movements in the region.