Prof. Dr. Albert-Reiner Glaap OBE: „Humour as an Essential Element of English Cultural Identity“

Einladung zu einem Vortrag in englischer Sprache

Wednesday, 5th April 2017 at 7 pm

RüKONTOR (5. Etage), Rüttenscheider Str. 144, 45131 Essen

English people are said to have a particular sense of humour that foreigners often have problems to understand . In order to avoid saying things that may lead to confrontations English people make use of their kind of humour. What this humour really is cannot be clearly defined. It’s there when it’s there.

English humour has always been receptive to more subtle forms of language The important factor in it is the projection of misfortune onto other people. English humour is extremely complex and intertextual, but it is not the exclusive property of an intellectual class. It can be discovered in the language, to start with, in daily life, in British institutions, even in the Royal family- and, of course, in English theatre. It is a kind of humour quite different from what we find for instance in its German counterpart:

The humour of Brits loves to tease
And that of the Krauts wants to please
While the Brits think that Krauts
Are humorous louts
The Krauts look at Brits with more ease.
(H-D.Gelfert 200)


Albert-Reiner Glaap was born in Wuppertal, studied English, Latin, and Philosophy at the universities of Cologne and London (King’s College). He graduated from Cologne University and received a PhD in 1955. Since then he has been a teacher at secondary school levels in Germany and the USA, lecturer and professor at Neuss and Düsseldorf (since 1973). He is now Professor Emeritus. He was made an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991. He has been an Honorary Member of Playwrights Guild of Canada since 2006, and in 2008 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association for Theatre Research.

His special fields of research are Modern English and Canadian literature, contemporary drama and theatre in England, Canada and New Zealand; the teaching of English literature at secondary school and university level; and the theory and practice of literary translation. He has published on various subjects. Most recent book publications include: Voices from Canada. Focus on 30 Plays (2003), A Guided Tour through Ayckbourn Country (20042 ), Jewish Facets of Contemporary Canadian Drama (2008), Frayn in Germany. Plays and Novels (with Susanne Bach, 2008).A-R Glaap, M.Heinze,N.Johnstone Words as Windows on English Life and Culture (2012), Confusions to Roundelay.Stages in Ayckbourn’s Creative Work, (2015).


Mit freundlicher Unterstützung der

Sparkasse Essen

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Unser Vortragsraum befindet sich in der 5. Etage des RüKONTOR (Aufzug vorhanden), Rüttenscheider Str. 144/Eingang Gregorstraße, gegenüber dem Girardet Haus. Parkmöglichkeiten auf den anliegenden Strassen, auf den Parkplätzen des Girardethauses und am Ende der Gregorstraße vorhanden. U-Bahn Verbindung von Essen- Hbf: Linien U11, U101 und U107, Station Martinstraße (3 Minuten Fußweg). Busse von der Haltestelle Girardet Haus (Linie 142) und von der Haltestelle Martinstraße (Linien 142, 160 und 161).