Encyclopedia of Humor Studies
- Salvatore Attardo - Texas A&M University-Commerce
Arts & Humanities (General) | Communication and Media Studies (General) | Sociology of Culture
The Encyclopedia of Humor Studies explores the concept of humor in history and modern society in the United States and internationally. This work’s scope encompasses the humor of children, adults, and even nonhuman primates throughout the ages, from crude jokes and simple slapstick to sophisticated word play and ironic parody and satire. As an academic social history, it includes the perspectives of a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, child development, social psychology, life style history, communication, and entertainment media. Readers will develop an understanding of the importance of humor as it has developed globally throughout history and appreciate its effects on child and adult development, especially in the areas of health, creativity, social development, and imagination. This two-volume set is available in both print and electronic formats.
Features & Benefits:
- The General Editor also serves as Editor-in-Chief of HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research for The International Society for Humor Studies.
- The book’s 335 articles are organized in A-to-Z fashion in two volumes (approximately 1,000 pages).
- This work is enhanced by an introduction by the General Editor, a Foreword, a list of the articles and contributors, and a Reader’s Guide that groups related entries thematically.
- A Chronology of Humor, a Resource Guide, and a detailed Index are included.
- Each entry concludes with References/Further Readings and cross references to related entries.
- The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and cross references between and among related entries combine to provide robust search-and-browse features in the electronic version.
This two-volume, A-to-Z set provides a general, non-technical resource for students and researchers in such diverse fields as communication and media studies, sociology and anthropology, social and cognitive psychology, history, literature and linguistics, and popular culture and folklore.
Key Themes:
- Anthropology, Folklore, and Ethnicity
- Antiquity
- Components of Humor
- Culture
- Entertainment Industry
- History
- Literature and Major Literary Figures
- Performing Arts
- Philosophy and Religion
- Politics
- Psychology
- Clinical and Counseling Psychology
- Cognition
- Developmental Psychology
- General Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Motivation and Emotion
- Neuropsychology
- Personality and Social Psychology
- Tests and Measurement
- Professions
- Business World
- Education
- Law
- Humor Theory
- Linguistics
- Mathematics, Computer Science, and the Internet
- National, Ethnic, and Regional Humor
- Africa
- Americas
- Asia
- Europe
- Middle East
- Physiology and Biology
- Sociology
- Visual Humor
“Organized along the same clean lines as a number of other SAGE encyclopedias published recently and edited by a scholar of the linguistic theories of humor, this set is clearly most suited to academic libraries, but could also be useful for larger public libraries”
As a print book converted to an electronic incarnation, the product succeeds very well. The extensive, interrelated e-searching of subjects makes it easier to use, in a much more sophisticated way, than the print. And for this price it is a tremendous bargain. This reference will serve social science scholars who are serious about humor.
"A thorough survey of humor, Attardo's two-volume text defines and examines the far reaches of comedy. ...As a reference base, the work maintains multinational, multiethnic awareness ... A well-balanced study of the subject, Attardo's encyclopedia belongs in most academic and public libraries."
"Mark Twain famously said, "The truth is the funniest joke ever told." But this raises an important question: What the heck is so humorous about humor, anyway? Among the 300-plus signed entries in the far-ranging work are a triad of articles that attempt to answer that very query. ...Entries are uniformly well written and researched, each concluding with cross-references and a further reading list. ...VERDICT: Laughter is the best medicine, and there is a good deal present here, as examples abound. Entertaining as well as informative, this is one of those rare reference books that warrants reading from cover to cover. Strongly recommended for purchase by public and academic libraries."
