The use of humour in socio-political commentary in mwalimu Andrew's staffroom diary

Abstract

This research project interrogates the use of humour in Mwalimu Andrew’s Staffroom Diary as a style of commentary on the socio-political concerns in Kenya. The project further interrogates the use of character and characterization in the Staffroom Diary to assess in the development of plot in the column. The project uses Michael Warner’s publics and counter publics, as well as literary stylistics of Michael Halliday as grounding theoretical framework. The research entails a close textual analysis of sixteen articles from the Staffroom Diary that focus on the pre and post 2013 General Elections, showing the convergence of national and institutional politics, collective and individual interests. Interviews with the Sunday Nation newspaper editors, teachers of the Loreto Msongari Convent and Mwalimu Andrew himself were also part of the methodology the study engaged itself into. The interviews conducted were also of great importance to the study since they added to the establishment of knowledge on the idea of the Staffroom Diary being popular. This research realizes that Mwalimu Andrew’s language is important because it is the language that establishes humour in his columns and that the different strategies that he employs, are a deliberate choice that has essentially allowed him to foreground the socio-political concerns. The research also identifies contexts of both the rural and urban settings as effective in addressing the socio-political concerns intended.