Humor in Pedagogy in Tertiary Education in the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

Using the major theories of humor as a point of departure, Humor in Pedagogy in Tertiary Education in the Age of COVID-19: Bosnia in Comparative Perspective argues for the expanded use of humor as pedagogy in Bosnian tertiary education, unfazed by the pandemic infections of COVID-19, with teachable lessons for other countries. It argues that the measures put in place to contain the spread of the pandemic neither foreclosed nor rendered less exigent, the drive for more quality education in Bosnia achieved through various means that include creative application of humor in tertiary education. Rather than minimize it, the era of non-classroom-based instructions ushered by COVID-19 offers an opportunity to promote intelligible learning by infusion of humor into every aspect of tertiary instruction, from course syllabus to student evaluation of faculty teaching.

Key highlights of this book include the features of Bosnian self-parody that it articulates as material for pedagogy in Bosnian tertiary classrooms, the boundaries for judicious use of humor in pedagogy that it spells out, and its formulation related to the continued value of humor in the Bosnian tertiary classroom unfazed by the public health challenges of COVID-19.

The book is designed as an innovative and less contentious contribution to the debates on educational reforms in postwar Bosnia, a contribution focused positively around the quality—and quantity—of instructions in tertiary institutions in Bosnia.