Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 284
•
Trim: 6⅛ x 9¼
978-0-8420-2687-1 • Hardback • November 1998 • $136.00 • (£105.00)
978-0-8420-2688-8 • Paperback • November 1998 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-4616-2176-8 • eBook • November 1998 • $47.00 • (£36.00)
Nancy A. Walker is professor of English at Vanderbilt University.
Part 1 Part I
Chapter 2 Introduction: What Is Humor? Why American Humor?
Chapter 3 Suggestions for Further Reading
Part 4 Part II
Chapter 5 American Humorists in 1882
Chapter 6 The Requisites for American Humor
Chapter 7 The Great American Joke
Chapter 8 No End of Jokes
Chapter 9 The Violence of American Humor
Chapter 10 Urban Legends
Chapter 11 Southern Humor
Chapter 12 Women's Humor in America
Chapter 13 Comics as Culture
Chapter 14 Stand-up Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation
Chapter 15 Ethnic Huor: Subversion and Survival
Chapter 16 Comic Films
Chapter 17 Television Comedy
Chapter 18 Ideology in the Television Situation Comedy
The essayists in this volume chronicle a complex history and draw attention to the scope of multimedia humor—from the earliest glint of irony and humor in descriptions of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century exploration to the sharp comedy of contemporary film, television, and stand-up routines. The result is an undeniable argument for the central role that humor plays in the development of an American culture shaped by the diverse voices that gained attention through print and electronic media. We have a strong case here that comedy is neither easy nor slight. This collection helps set the foundation for a greater appreciation of humor's influence in American society.
— Michael J. Kiskis, Elmira College
What's So Funny? Humor in American Culture is the book we've all been waiting for, and Nancy Walker is the hbest possible person to give us this volume. She presents us with the essential collection of erudite essays—essays that are themselves witty and entertaining—so that we know where American humor originates and where it's going.
— Regina Barreca, author of They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted, editor of The Penguin Book of Women's Humor
The wide-ranging pieces of various scholars in What's So Funny provide fine answers to the frank question posed by the title, but the cogent and lucid introduction by Nancy Walker probably does it best.
— Cameron C. Nickels, James Madison University, editor of To Wit
The extracts are well-chosen, and provide a tantalizing but satisfying glimpse of the breadth and depth of the subject. They also provide a good sense of the way in which humorous forms have been integral to the American experience.
— American Studies In Europe Newsletter