Blind Men and Elephants: Perspectives on Humor

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Transaction Publishers, Dec 31, 2011 - Literary Criticism - 192 pages
In Blind Men and Elephants, Arthur Asa Berger uses case histories to show how scholars from different disciplines and scholarly domains have tried to describe and understand humor. He reveals not only the many approaches that are available to study humor, but also the many perspectives toward humor that characterize each discipline. Each case history sheds light on a particular aspect of humor, making the combination of approaches of considerable value in the study of social research. Among the various disciplines that Berger discusses in relation to humor are: communication theory, philosophy, semiotics, literary analysis, sociology, political science, and psychology. Berger deals with these particular disciplines and perspectives because they tend to be most commonly found in the scholarly literature about humor as well as being those that have the most to offer. Blind Men and Elephants covers a wide range of humor, from simple jokes to the uses of literary devices in films. Berger observes how humor often employs considerable ridicule directed at diverse groups of people: women, men, animals, politicians, African Americans, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, gay people, straight people, and so forth. The book also explains the risk factor in ridicule as a humorous device. Blind Men and Elephants depicts how one entity or one situation can be viewed in as many different ways as the number of people studying it. Berger also shows how those multiple perspectives, the Rashomon Effect, can be used together to create a clearer understanding of humor. Blind Men and Elephants is a valuable companion to Berger's recent effort about humor, An Anatomy of Humor, and will be enjoyed by communication and information studies scholars, sociologists, literary studies specialists, philosophers, and psychologists.
 

Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Mirrors on Mirth Making Sense of Humor
1
The Messages of Mirth Humor and Communication Therapy
21
The Problem of Laughter philosophical Approaches to Humor
35
The Rhetoric of Laughter The Techniques Used in Humor
49
The Structure of Laughter Semiotics and Humor
63
From Carnival Comedy Literary Theory and Humor
77
The Politics of Laughter A Cultural Theory of Humor Preferences
103
On Mind and Mirth Psychology and Humor
119
Seeing Laughter Visual Aspects of Humor
137
After the Laughter A Concluding Note
157
Bibliography
169
Name Index
175
Subject Index
179
Joke and Humorous Text Index
189

The Functions of Laughter Sociological Aspects of Humor
89

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About the author (2011)

Arthur Asa Berger is professor emeritus of broadcast and electronic communication arts at San Francisco State University. He is the author of numerous articles, book reviews, and books on media, popular culture, humor, and tourism, and he is the series editor of Transaction’s Communication and Mass Culture and Humor series.

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