Interview with Dr. Maria Jodlowiec, PhD, Professor at Jagiellonian University – Part IIInterview with Dr. Maria Jodlowiec, PhD, Professor at Jagiellonian University – Part II
From May 22 to June 20, 2026, the Museum of Humor and Satire, as part of the HUMLIT project, hosts Maria Jodlowiec, Professor of Linguistics at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
After her master’s degree at the Institute of English at the Jagiellonian University and her doctoral studies at the Department of Linguistics and Phonetics at University College London, where she conducted research under the supervision of Prof. Deirdre Wilson, PhD. Maria Jodlowiec is engaged in research in the field of pragmatics. Her doctoral dissertation, entitled “The Role of Relevance in the Interpretation of Verbal Jokes”, is a pioneering attempt to apply relevance theory to the analysis of verbal humor.
She is the author of numerous articles published in scientific journals and edited collections. She has also edited and co-edited several collections.
Dr. Maria Jodlowiec is the coordinator of the Linguistics Program at the Doctoral School of Humanities at the Jagiellonian University.
The questions were prepared by Svetlana Mihaylova, Public Relations Expert at the Museum “House of Humor and Satire”.
Translation: Ivanela Lazarova, Chief Tour Guide at the Museum “House of Humor and Satire”.
9. Part of the research under the project tracks the growing number of public scandals related to humor and satire in various European countries. What trends do you observe and what do they show us about contemporary society?
The HUMLIT group has not yet looked at humor-related public scandals in depth, but there is already quite a bit of research available on the topic. A good example is a recent study by Koivukoski et al. (2025), which compares humor scandals across eight European countries and highlights a few clear trends.
One of the most striking findings is simply how much these scandals have increased since the 2000s. Today, they are a visible and fairly common part of public debate. This rise is closely linked to changes in the media landscape: more competition between media outlets, the spread of digital platforms, and especially the role of social media, both amplifies provocative humor and makes it easier for people to react to it immediately.
In fact, many scandals revolve around sensitive issues, particularly when humor targets social groups defined by ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexuality. This shows a broader change in European societies, where people increasingly debate equality, representation, and respect, sometimes in conflict with ideas about freedom of speech.
Another important development is that humor scandals are no longer limited to comedians. Politicians are increasingly involved as well. In fact, some political actors, especially from populist or right-wing movements, tend to use provocative humor deliberately, as a way to attract attention, mobilize supporters, and dominate media coverage. In this sense, humor has become part of political strategy, not just entertainment.
Finally, these scandals tend to deepen divisions rather than resolve them. The same joke can be seen as funny by some and offensive by others, which reinforces opposing viewpoints and contributes to broader social and political polarization.
10. What other interesting conclusions have you reached within the project so far? Were there any results that surprised the researchers themselves?
At this stage of the project (which ends only on 31 December 2028), it would be premature to speak about results in any serious or conclusive way. The work is still firmly situated in the fieldwork, data collection, and coding phase, where the primary objective is to build a reliable and sufficiently rich data corpus rather than to draw interpretative conclusions.
For this reason, it may also be misleading to formulate even tentative or preliminary impressions, as these would not yet be grounded in a systematically analyzed dataset. Any observations at this point remain fragmentary and dependent on ongoing coding decisions, which are still being refined.
Meaningful conclusions, especially those that could address broader patterns or surprising findings, will only emerge at a later stage, once the material has been fully processed and subjected to consistent analytical procedures. At present, the project is best understood as laying the empirical and methodological groundwork for such future insights. So the real surprises are still something we are looking forward to.
11. In the age of social networks, the boundaries between satire, parody, disinformation and manipulation are sometimes blurred. What is the connection between humor and disinformation, and how can humor literacy help people better navigate the public environment?
This is a very pertinent question and one that clearly requires careful, dedicated research rather than a simple, definitive answer. The relationship between humor and disinformation is complex, because humor, especially satire and parody, often operates through exaggeration, distortion, and ambiguity, which are also features found in misleading or manipulative content. In the environment of social media, where content circulates rapidly and often without context, these boundaries can become blurred, making it difficult to distinguish between critical commentary and intentional deception.
At the same time, humor can function both as a vehicle for critique and, potentially, as a vehicle for spreading simplifications or misinterpretations, depending on how it is produced and received.
In this context, humor literacy becomes particularly important. Being able to recognize satirical intent, understand irony, and identify exaggeration or metaphor allows people to navigate public discourse more confidently and critically.
Overall, however, this remains an open and evolving area of inquiry, and it would be advisable to approach it with analytical caution.
12. You work with researchers, artists, museums, and cultural organizations from different countries. Are there universal themes that people laugh at regardless of cultural differences?
The assumption that there are fully universal themes in humor is likely to be biased and potentially misleading, as it may be heavily grounded in a Eurocentric or Western-centered perspective. While in the European context certain targets such as politicians, celebrities, or mothers-in-law often recur, these patterns cannot be uncritically generalized to all cultures.
What may appear “universal” is often shaped by shared social structures or communal environments. In smaller or more culturally specific communities, humor can focus on entirely different themes, rooted in local traditions, values, and experiences that may not be immediately accessible to outsiders.
It seems more accurate to say that humor tends to share certain mechanisms (such as incongruity or exaggeration) rather than fixed themes. These mechanisms allow humor to be understood across cultures, but the actual targets and references remain highly context-dependent.
People often laugh at what frightens them, what they seek to control, what they perceive as weakness, or what they perceive as troublesome but cannot simply eliminate. Humor helps create distance from these difficult aspects and gives a sense of control over them.
13. And now a more personal question. What place does humor occupy in your everyday life? Does it help you in your work and life?
In my everyday life, humor occupies a very practical position: somewhere between a coping mechanism, communication tool, and mild self-defense system. Humor can help tremendously, especially when things go wrong (which, statistically speaking, they do quite often, because as one of Murphy’s laws indicates: “If only anything can go wrong, it will go wrong, and at the worst possible time”). In work, humor is about the difference between “this is a problem” and “this is a problem, but at least it has narrative potential.” In life, it ensures that even my own mistakes occasionally qualify as entertainment. So, if I find myself completely perplexed that my Kaufland card doesn’t work in Lidl, at least it provides the whole family with a solid, high-quality moment of laughter. I wouldn’t say I use humor… I would rather say I rely on it like Wi-Fi: I become only fully aware of its importance when it suddenly disappears.
14. Has your sense of humor ever put you in an awkward situation or led to an unexpected misunderstanding?
Yes, my sense of humor has occasionally led me into situations where I had to quickly clarify that what I meant was, in fact, intended as a joke. Imagine a meeting when someone refers to a minor inconvenience as if it were a major crisis. And I casually say, with a bit of irony, “Well, yes, clearly this is the biggest problem we’re facing right now.” There is a brief silence. And then someone nods seriously. And suddenly I realized… they took it literally.
Another particularly memorable case is trying to tell a joke with great confidence only to realize halfway through that I have completely forgotten the punchline.
15. In a few years, how would you like society to change thanks to the results of the project? What would the success of this initiative mean to you?
In a few years, I would like society to become just a little more aware that humor is never “just a joke,” but a meaningful way of expressing ideas, promoting values, and alleviating tensions. At the same time, it would be encouraging to see humor used less as a source of division and more as a space for shared reflection, even though current trends in humor scandals, as I have pointed out, suggest a growing tendency toward conflict.
If the HUMLIT project can help people recognize this, that would already be a quiet but significant change.
Besides, the success of this initiative would also have to do with creating a space where disagreements about humor are better understood, more informed, and perhaps even a little more… good-humored.
16. Finally, what would you wish for the visitors of the Museum of Humor and Satire and the people who believe that laughter can be not only entertainment, but also a way to better understand the world around us?
In a typical Gabrovo-style way, I would wish them that they leave the museum a little lighter in spirit, but sharper in mind, and perhaps be a bit more suspicious of everything that looks too serious to be laughed at. May they discover that laughter is not a wasteful luxury (which in Gabrovo would be unacceptable anyway), but an economical tool: it costs nothing, yet reveals much. May each joke they encounter, however modest in appearance, carry just enough surplus meaning to illuminate the complexities of the world beyond the museum walls.
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