Böcker av Elliott Oring

The Consolations of Humor and Other Folklore Essays unfolds as a series of questions, commentaries, and criticisms of the analysis, interpretation, and explanation of folklore. Can we confidently regard jokes as the catharsis of sexual and aggressive impulses? What is the basis for characterizing a joke as Jewish or Scottish or Japanese? What do we really know about "dirty jokes"? How is a text or behavior constructed so that it is perceived as humorous? Can we get a computer to reliably recognize jokes? What is the relevance of memetics and a Darwinian paradigm to understanding folklore change over time? Can we identify laws operating in the realm of folklore? How can the marginalization, extinction, or continuity of traditions be explained? In the course of addressing these questions, Elliott Oring identifies some fundamental problems, brings new evidence and observations to the discussion, and proffers some original and startling insights. While recognizing the study of jokes and other forms of folklore as a humanistic endeavor, Oring believes in the relevance of a scientific perspective to the enterprise. He values clear definitions, tests of hypotheses and theories, empirical evidence, experiment, and the search for laws. Written in a sophisticated yet accessible style, The Consolations of Humor and Other Folklore Essays stimulates both scholars and students alike and contribute to the creation of a more robust folkloristics in the twenty-first century.

Almost everyone tells and appreciates jokes. Yet the nature of jokes has proved elusive. This title offers a perspective on jokes and related forms of humor. Criticizing and modifying traditional concepts and methods of analysis, it delineates an approach that explains the peculiarities of various forms of humorous expression.

Almost everyone tells and appreciates jokes. Yet the nature of jokes has proved elusive. This title offers a perspective on jokes and related forms of humor. Criticizing and modifying traditional concepts and methods of analysis, it delineates an approach that explains the peculiarities of various forms of humorous expression.

Filled with examples of jokes and riddles that reveal humour to be a meaningful - even significant - form of expression, this title provides alternate ways of thinking about humorous expressions by examining their contexts - not just their contents.