The Humor Prism in Twentieth-century America (Humor in Life & Letters) (Humor in Life and Letters) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814325971 ISBN 13: 9780814325971

Publisher: Wayne State University Press, 1997

Synopsis

Why do some jokes evaporate after the telling while others are transmitted to subsequent generations? Just what property of humor allows it to touch diverse members of a culture at a given time? As a penetrating and refracting angle of history, humor illuminates the expectations and contradictions of society, its anxieties and confusions, and permits perspective into any historic moment. The Humor Prism in Twentieth-Century America explores to what extent and in what ways American humor in the twentieth century reflects history, examining the dynamics and disguised messages behind humor. 

The first section of this volume concentrates on patterns of humor in the twentieth century. Section two looks at the power and politics of women's humor, and at multicultural humor. The final section presents and evaluates the major joke cycles from the post-World War II period to the 1990s as responses to profound social and economic change, such as Polish jokes and JAP jokes.

About this title

Review:

A useful, to say nothing of interesting and pleasant, way to look at history. The Humor Prism in 20th-Century American Society examines how various genres of American humor provide examples of how we reformulate, communicate, and understand culture in our society. Its historical, anthropological, and folklore focus gives The Humor Prism in 20th-Century American Society a unique perspective lacking in just about all other collections.--Lawrence E. Mintz "associate professor of American Studies at University of Maryland at College Park and editor of the anthology Humor in America "

About the Author:

Joseph Boskin is a professor of history and African American studies and director of the urban studies and public policy program at Boston University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and is the author of SAMBO: The Rise and Demise of an American Jester and Into Slavery.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0814325971
• ISBN 13: 9780814325971
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 270
• Editor: Boskin Joseph