Stand-Up Comedy and Teaching in a ?Ǩ?lobal Age?Ǩ

Abstract

In the twenty first century, the phrase ?Ǩ?lobal Age?ǨI suggest in this article refers not to geography alone, as it would once have done, but much more now to technology. Pre-eminent among the numerous implications of this shift for teachers, particularly in Higher Education, is that `knowledge transmission pedagogy?Ǩ?? is of increasingly less value to students, although many academics, across all disciplines, are still unwilling to acknowledge this major shift in the dialectic between teaching and learning. Drawing on my years of experience as an academic and as a professional stand-up comedian this article argues that, irrespective of comedy, academics can profitably use many techniques and strategies routinely employed by professional stand-up comedians to encourage their audiences to interact with them. It is in the uniqueness of specific audience interaction, the article suggests, that the best student learning and the most enjoyable academic teaching occurs.