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Adapted from the SPEAKING MODEL (Hymes, 2009)

Social and political context:

Harris is the first female of colour in the position of vice president in America and is from the Democratic Party, which is mainly perceived as a progressive party.

Politicians are most aware that their discourse is aimed at influencing and impressing the wider audience. Hence, humour (associated with laughter) is usually a communicative strategy politicians employ to construct a widely disseminated positive self-image (Tsakona & Popa, 2013).

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Laughter is a meaningful mode of communication in social interactions, which can express friendliness, happiness, acceptance, and approval. Laughter serves multiple purposes, including maintaining social order, fostering connections, easing tension, and shaping one's identity. Nonetheless, depending on inflection, timing, and facial expression, laughter can also convey negative feelings like displeasure, sarcasm, or provocation.

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Kamala Harris Laughing at All the Wrong Moments

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Kamala Harris Laughing at All the Wrong Moments

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dr3tRna3t0U?feature=share

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CDA has assumed that language is inherently connected to society. It emphasises the linguistic elements within texts and delves into the societal frameworks that shape texts (Fairclough, 2013). CDA employs a three-dimensional model, examining language at macro, meso, and micro levels to describe, interpret, and explain texts comprehensibly. This approach encompasses textual analysis, the study of discourse practices, and the exploration of sociocultural practices within language (Fairclough, 1995, p. 98).

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4.3 Why Harris’s laughter has been criticised? (the exploration of socio-cultural practices within language)

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4.3 Why Harris’s laughter has been criticised? (the exploration of socio-cultural practices within language)

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Regarding negative viewpoints

Considering the nature of laughter, which can be either affiliative or disaffiliative depending on the context and the laughable (Clayman, 1992), Harris's laughter seemed to defy the established norms of institutional discourse, particularly in a press conference. The topic of Ukraine refugees is not typically laughable and is regarded as a sensitive political issue. Harris's laughter conveyed a lack of seriousness, which could suggest either an attempt to evade the issue or express anxiety. However, it occurred at an inappropriate time and place.

As the Vice President of the United States, a position that holds a role of authority in such conferences, Harris's laughter may be a signal of negotiating power by presenting a non-serious image to weaken the power structure between two presidents and audiences. However, the inappropriate laughter makes people question or judge America's policies on specific issues.

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4.2 How to Describe and Interpret the Laughter?

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4.2 How to Describe and Interpret the Laughter?

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In the highly structured press conference setting, the president was a "responder" to deliver information.
Her laughter is spontaneous and abrupt, deviating from the anticipated "Question and Answer" adjacency pair, and is not affiliative to the questioner who is talking. Instead of offering a direct response to a question as expected, her laughter unexpectedly takes its place, possibly as a strategy to avoid addressing sensitive topics and to present complex situations with a less severe tone.

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Negative viewpoint:

Her frequent bursts of laughter when facing severe issues are the "biggest, destructive, negative force" in American politics -The Daily Telegraph's Tim Blair.

Positive viewpoint:

"Vice President Kamala Harris is known for loving to laugh, but this could all be part of political strategy" (Payne, 2022).

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Question 1: When politicians laugh during public speeches, do you think this "laughter" has a positive or negative effect in this scenario? Why?

Question 2:  Is there a variation in this perception across different cultures and different settings?

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An Opposite Example： Laughter in Danish Parliament during Question Time.

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An Opposite Example： Laughter in Danish Parliament during Question Time.

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Retrieved from：https://youtu.be/xDTO5tWLlYo?si=Ik3AtgCU5NIRHpR-

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sparked a lighthearted moment in parliament that resonated with the parliament (Denmark, 2019). She described a government action to acquire four elephants from Cirkus Arena and Cirkus Trapez, one of which had a camel as a best friend, and they could not be separated from each other, so they bought the camel as well. The unexpected news prompted bursts of laughter from MPs, a rare moment of humour in the ordinarily solemn parliamentary session.

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（Fairclough, 1995, p.98）

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Regarding Positive Viewpoints

Appropriate use of non-verbal cues (e.g., eye contact, gestures, and other body movements）plays a significant role in effective communication and rapport management (Spencer-Oatey, 2008). When a reporter asked Kamala Harris a question, it was apparent that she required additional time to formulate her response carefully. Seeking to allow Duda to respond first, Harris employed a nonverbal signal, but Duda did not comprehend it, leading to Harris responding with anxious laughter. This form of laughter, as defined by Brown (2023), serves as a means for individuals to alleviate anxiety and stress in awkward or uncomfortable situations.

Furthermore, given that laughter is recognised as a political strategy capable of shaping, maintaining, and transforming contemporary social and political dynamics (Giamario, 2022), Harris's incorporation of laughter during the political conference could be considered a deliberate political strategy, which attempts to create a more relaxed environment and cultivate an amiable and compatible personal and even national image.

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Answer 1:
From my point of view, I believe that the original design of politicians' laughter was to gain positive influence. However, the complexity of the context led to various explanations. There are 2 benefits for this action.

Firstly, the politician might be hiding the authentic answer of the question. Based on REUTERS's report in April, though the US president promised to accept 100,000 Ukrainians refugees in March, the real number of settler was 12. As a result, it could be inferred that Kamala was not prepared for the answer of that question which fit the wishes at that time. In that situation, she tried to use physical behaviors to interrupt the journalist's question and transfer the subject to another person. For audience, she gave a vague response "a friend in need is a friend indeed" to prompt an assumption that the USA would give a hand, but without specific policy and numbers.

Secondly, it builds her an identity of a image of closing to people. I cannot guess what American people thought but it could be analyzed that accepting these refugees were not an advantageous event for oridinary people. The possibility of conflicting seemed obvious and few benefits were shown. For those who did not care about it, like me, a totally foreigner to the US event, there was no negative effect through this laughter. In addition, it strengthened the impression of laughter of Kamala, directing at protecting her native country's rights, confident, and humorous.

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WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said last month that the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, but lawmakers and advocates have urged the Democratic president to speed up refugee and visa processing.

While several thousand Ukrainians have entered the United States via the border with Mexico and some on legal visas, only 12 Ukrainians came through the U.S. refugee program in March.

WHY HASN'T THE U.S. TAKEN IN MORE UKRAINIAN REFUGEES?

More than 4 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24, according to United Nations data, opens new tab , touching off Europe's fastest-moving refugee crisis since the end of World War Two.

Top Biden officials said repeatedly last month that the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees would go to Europe during the conflict, which Russia calls a "special military operation."

But facing pressure from U.S. lawmakers and refugee advocates, the Biden administration said on March 24 that the United States would use "the full range of legal pathways" to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians. read more

The pathways include the U.S. refugee resettlement program, which provides a road to citizenship, as well as existing visa avenues and a relief program known as "humanitarian parole," which allows people into the country on a temporary emergency basis.

The effort could stretch beyond the current fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, the official said, signaling that it may not move quickly. Refugee resettlement can take years and there is a long backlog for U.S. visa processing.

COULD THE U.S. ACCEPT MORE UKRAINIAN REFUGEES?

The United States admitted 514 Ukrainian refugees in January and February during Russia's build up to the war, according to State Department data, with only 12 resettled in March as the war intensified and the number of Ukrainians fleeing skyrocketed.

A State Department spokesperson said it had paused refugee operations in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv but continued to process cases through an office in Chisinau, Moldova.

Many Ukrainian refugee applicants cleared for travel to the United States in March were set to depart from inside Ukraine, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last month. Those cases were stalled by flight cancellations related to the conflict, leading to the near-shutdown of admissions, the person said.

Lawmakers and advocates have urged the Biden administration to accelerate the processing of Ukrainian applications saying too little has been done so far.

Biden set the overall refugee ceiling for this year at 125,000 after his predecessor Donald Trump, a Republican, slashed admissions to a record-low 15,000, which gutted the program and led to processing delays already worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHAT HAPPENS TO UKRAINIANS WHO TRY TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES FROM MEXICO?

Thousands of Ukrainians and Russians have been traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum, a trend that could accelerate as the humanitarian crisis worsens. read more

Last week, about 3,000 Ukrainians deemed by U.S. authorities to be particularly vulnerable were allowed to cross the border into the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The circuitous route may be the most accessible pathway into the United States for Ukrainians at the moment, even as it requires them to enter Mexico on tourist visas and approach the border without assurances they will be allowed to enter.

As of Thursday, about 2,400 Ukrainians were in Tijuana, Mexico, waiting to cross into the United States, according to Enrique Lucero, the city's migration affairs director. read more

HOW ELSE ARE UKRAINIANS ENTERING THE UNITED STATES?

The U.S. State Department declined to provide statistics on visas issued to Ukrainians in March and DHS did not say how many Ukrainians entered the United States during that period.

About 200 Ukrainians were issued immigrant visas in February while nearly 1,500 were issued temporary non-immigrant visas, according State Department data, though most of those visas were likely approved before Russia invaded Ukraine on late February.

The State Department said that visa applicants in general may face longer wait times at some U.S. embassies and consulates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ukrainians, just like other applicants, can request faster processing if circumstances warrant it, the department said, stressing that refugees should not attempt to enter the United States on tourist visas or other temporary visas.

More than 350 Ukrainians have sought humanitarian parole to enter the United States from abroad since the start of the conflict, according to a person familiar with the matter. Separately, 28 applications were approved for entries related to medical care for children, the person said.

IF THE U.S. ISN'T ACCEPTING MANY UKRAINIAN REFUGEES, WHAT IS IT DOING?

The U.S. government is devoting significant economic aid to assist the European countries receiving refugees. read more

Biden pledged $1 billion in new humanitarian aid for those affected by the war during his visit to Europe in late March.

Earlier that month, Biden signed into law a spending bill that provides $13.6 billion to help Ukraine and European allies, including about $4 billion to aid people fleeing. read more

The U.S. government also announced in March that it will grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to an estimated 75,000 Ukrainians already in the United States but it would not apply to people who arrived after March 1. read more

In a bipartisan letter this week, 65 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives called on Biden to make a technical change to the TPS designation that would include more recently arrived Ukrainians.

Sign up here.

Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg in New York; Editing by Mica Rosenberg and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Ted Hesson is an immigration reporter for Reuters, based in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on the policy and politics of immigration, asylum and border security. Prior to joining Reuters in 2019, Ted worked for the news outlet POLITICO, where he also covered immigration. His articles have appeared in POLITICO Magazine, The Atlantic and VICE News, among other publications. Ted holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and bachelor's degree from Boston College.

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Explainer: Why did the United States resettle only 12 Ukrainian refugees in March?

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U.S. President Joe Biden said last month that the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, but lawmakers and advocates have urged the Democratic president to speed up refugee and visa processing.

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Laughter is considered an independent activity (Du, 2022) and a deliberate, systematic, and strategically deployed action within its sequential context (Glenn, 2003). Depending on the context and the laughable, laughter can be affiliative or disaffiliative and has various implications on meaning interpretation in different circumstances (Clayman, 1992; Warner-Garcia, 2014; Du, 2022).

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Analysed Text：Kamala Harris' Laughter regarding Ukrainian Refugee Crisis

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Analysed Text：Kamala Harris' Laughter regarding Ukrainian Refugee Crisis

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Available at: https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/kamala-harris-slammed-for-laughing-after-question-about-ukrainian-refugees/news-story/c2e21649a95f6fec1aa6924e0b09cea9

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The function of laughter is to mitigate face threat by expressing nonseriousness (Warner-Garcia, 2014; Chafe, 2007), serve as a signal for frame enactment/switch in delicate situations (Du, 2022)

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I think so. From my perspective, I believe that the tolerance of the behavior in America is bigger than in my hometown, China. I think Americans are not afraid of showing emotions in public. Based on my experiences of studying in America, it is imaginable that the politician made a serious situation more relaxing through humorous behaviors. However, Chinese leaders prefer to show no intense emotions on the screen to prove their credibility. It might be caused by the authoritarian thinking and what characteristics people think as an authority has.

In addition, if it is not a question and answer with a foreign president, but an unofficial forum to talk about the corresponding questions, the behaviors of Kamala may not receive so much critique.

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Answer from Seminar group 2, team 7 is written below question for discussion. If there is anything not clear or you wish me to add more, please email me. Lingyi Zhou.

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Based on Fairclough's three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (1995, p.98), this poster examines Kamala Harris's laughter during a press conference to explore the controversies surrounding it, particularly the negative perception of her laughter as a significant, detrimental influence on American politics.

By treating laughter as an independent form of communication, CDA allows us to analyze how laughter, as a type of discourse, is used for political purposes and uncover the underlying causes of the controversy from multiple angles.

While CDA is valuable for examining the various functions of laughter in specific contexts, such as a press conference, it provides a primarily descriptive and potentially objective interpretation.

Future suggestion

Consequently, there remains an opportunity for further research on laughter within institutional discourse, with a focus on broader socio-cultural contexts which might consider power dynamics, rapport management, im/politeness theory and gender stereotypes （Paltridge, 2012a; Paltridge, 2012b; Spencer-Oatey, 2008). This broader perspective will enhance our understanding of how laughter functions in interactions and provide detailed discourse analysis.

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Q1:

For me, it depends on one’s intention to laugh. For some people, laughter is a way to lend them time to think about the answer, while for some, they laugh to warm too serious situations, or maybe some people also laugh to convey their negative feelings. It also relates to one’s personality. For example, Vice President Kamala Harris likes to laugh, there could be many explanations for the laughter. This action can also be assumed as a political strategy to create less distance with her interlocutors and furthermore create a friendly situation in the conversation.

Q2:

While I admit that maybe some countries have different perceptions about politicians' laughter, in Indonesia, the presidents use laughter strategy to avoid distance in the conversation and create a positive image in the society. As Indonesia has many young citizens, laughter is seen as the strategy to engage with them because Indonesian people prefer one with a friendly attitude better than one with too serious image.

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This is a well-done padlet. The key concepts are explained well, the visual is beautiful, and the analysis is great. Well-done!

-Nuraini

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Brown, K. (2023). Nervous laughter: Why you do it & how to stop it. Science of People.

https://www.scienceofpeople.com/nervous-laughter/

Chafe, W. L. (2007). The importance of not being earnest: the feeling behind laughter and humor. Choice Reviews Online, 45(03), 45–124245–1242. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.45-1242
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FoxNews. (2022, Apr 10). Kamala Harris laughing at all the wrong moments: Hannity. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dr3tRna3t0U?feature=share
Giamario, P. (2022). Laughter as Politics. Taking on the Political.
Hymes, D. (2009) ‘Models of the interaction of language and Social Life’, The New Sociolinguistics Reader, pp. 583–597.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-92299-4_39.
Kolmorgen, K. (2019, Oct 26). Laughter in Danish parliament during question time.
https://youtu.be/xDTO5tWLlYo?si=Ik3AtgCU5NIRHpR-
Paltridge, B. (2012a). Discourse and Society. In Discourse Analysis: An introduction. Bloomsbury.
Paltridge, B. (2012b). What is Discourse Analysis? In Discourse Analysis: An Introduction.

Payne, O. (2022, December 17).  Kamala Harris laughs her way through vice presidency. Achona.

https://achonaonline.com/staff_name/photo-credit-olivia-payne-achona-online-canva/
Spencer-Oatey, H. (2008) Culturally speaking: Managing rapport in talk across cultures. London: Continuum.
Tsakona, V., & Popa, D. E. (2013). Confronting power with laughter. European Journal of Humour Research, 1(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.7592/ejhr2013.1.2.tsakona

Warner-Garcia, S. (2014). Laughing when nothing’s funny: the pragmatic use of coping laughter in the negotiation of conversational disagreement. Pragmatics, 24(1), 157–180.

https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.24.1.07war