Author: Charles R. Gruner
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351482378
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Humor, wit, and laughter surround each person. From everyday quips to the carefully contrived comedy of literature, newspapers, and television we experience humor in many forms, yet the impetus for our laughter is far from innocuous. Misfortune, stupidity, and moral or cultural defects, however faintly revealed in others and ourselves, seem to make us laugh. Although discomforting, such negative terms as superiority, aggression, hostility, ridicule, or degradation can be applied to instances of humor. According to scholars, Thomas Hobbes's "superiority theory"?that humor arises from mischances, infirmities, and indecencies, where there is no wit at all?applies to most humor. With the exception of good-natured play, Charles R. Gruner claims that humor is rarely as innocent as it first appears.Gruner's proposed superiority theory of humor is all-encompassing. In The Game of Humor, he expands the scope of Hobbes's theory to include and explore the contest aspect of "good-natured" play. As such, the author believes all instances of humor can be examined as games, in terms of competition and keeping score?winners and losers. Gruner draws on a broad spectrum of thought-provoking examples. Holocaust jokes, sexual humor, the racialist dialogue of such comic characters as Stepin Fetchit and Archie Bunker, simple puns, and many of the author's own encounters with everyday humor. Gruner challenges the reader to offer a single example of humor that cannot be "de-humorized" by its agonistic nature.The Game of Humor makes intriguing and enjoyable reading for people interested in humor and the aspects of human motivation. This book will also be valuable to professionals in communication and information studies, sociologists, literary critics and linguists, and psychologists concerned with the conflicts and tensions of everyday life.
On Humour
Author: Simon Critchley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135199035
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
This is a fascinating and beautifully written book on what philosophy can tell us about humour and about what it is to be human. It will fascinate and intrigue anyone with a sense of humour.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135199035
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
This is a fascinating and beautifully written book on what philosophy can tell us about humour and about what it is to be human. It will fascinate and intrigue anyone with a sense of humour.
Humor, Seriously
Author: Jennifer Aaker
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0593135296
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0593135296
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.
Roy Blount's Book of Southern Humor
Author: Roy Blount
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 9780393036954
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 668
Book Description
A treasury of contemporary Southern humor includes more than 150 stories, sketches, essays, poems, memoirs, and song lyrics from William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Zora Neal Hurston, Dave Barry, and other contributors
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 9780393036954
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 668
Book Description
A treasury of contemporary Southern humor includes more than 150 stories, sketches, essays, poems, memoirs, and song lyrics from William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Zora Neal Hurston, Dave Barry, and other contributors
The Random House Book of Humor for Children
Author: Pamela Pollack
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780394880495
Category : Children's stories, American
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A humor collection for middle graders composed of thirty-four prose selections--short stories and chunks from novels.
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780394880495
Category : Children's stories, American
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A humor collection for middle graders composed of thirty-four prose selections--short stories and chunks from novels.
The Mammoth Book of Humor
Author: Geoff Tibballs
Publisher: Running Press
ISBN: 9780786707836
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
More than 10,000 stories and jokes, limericks and one-liners, put-downs and puns in the ultimate, most comprehensive compendium of humor ever compiled. From boners and groaners to classic shaggy-dog stories and jokes for roasts and toasts, virtually every form of verbal humor on a whole raft of topics is represented in this not totally politically correct but always devilishly diverting collection of ticklers and howlers for any occasion. Humorous quotations, epigrams and epitaphs, newspaper misprints, misleading headlines ("MAGISTRATES MAY ACT ON INDECENT SHOWS"), limericks, puns, and the darnedest things said by kids ("a fjord is a Scandinavian car") also appear among the volume's ten thousand entries, which are arranged by category and fully indexed by subject. This format makes the book an easily accessible as well as invaluable companion to speech-makers for events great and small. So it is that The Mammoth Book of Humor meets the needs of both the maiden aunt looking for a wholesome joke to relate at a golden wedding anniversary and the best man who needs a blue one for the bachelor party. The volume even offers would-be wolves on the prowl pick-up lines-at the same time that it provides some snappy comebacks and a few ribald ripostes for the reluctant or disinterested prey. Waggish, witty, wisecracking, or whimsical, the humor is as various as it is vigorous on every page of this endlessly entertaining collection.
Publisher: Running Press
ISBN: 9780786707836
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
More than 10,000 stories and jokes, limericks and one-liners, put-downs and puns in the ultimate, most comprehensive compendium of humor ever compiled. From boners and groaners to classic shaggy-dog stories and jokes for roasts and toasts, virtually every form of verbal humor on a whole raft of topics is represented in this not totally politically correct but always devilishly diverting collection of ticklers and howlers for any occasion. Humorous quotations, epigrams and epitaphs, newspaper misprints, misleading headlines ("MAGISTRATES MAY ACT ON INDECENT SHOWS"), limericks, puns, and the darnedest things said by kids ("a fjord is a Scandinavian car") also appear among the volume's ten thousand entries, which are arranged by category and fully indexed by subject. This format makes the book an easily accessible as well as invaluable companion to speech-makers for events great and small. So it is that The Mammoth Book of Humor meets the needs of both the maiden aunt looking for a wholesome joke to relate at a golden wedding anniversary and the best man who needs a blue one for the bachelor party. The volume even offers would-be wolves on the prowl pick-up lines-at the same time that it provides some snappy comebacks and a few ribald ripostes for the reluctant or disinterested prey. Waggish, witty, wisecracking, or whimsical, the humor is as various as it is vigorous on every page of this endlessly entertaining collection.
The Game of Humor
Author: Charles R. Gruner
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351482378
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Humor, wit, and laughter surround each person. From everyday quips to the carefully contrived comedy of literature, newspapers, and television we experience humor in many forms, yet the impetus for our laughter is far from innocuous. Misfortune, stupidity, and moral or cultural defects, however faintly revealed in others and ourselves, seem to make us laugh. Although discomforting, such negative terms as superiority, aggression, hostility, ridicule, or degradation can be applied to instances of humor. According to scholars, Thomas Hobbes's "superiority theory"?that humor arises from mischances, infirmities, and indecencies, where there is no wit at all?applies to most humor. With the exception of good-natured play, Charles R. Gruner claims that humor is rarely as innocent as it first appears.Gruner's proposed superiority theory of humor is all-encompassing. In The Game of Humor, he expands the scope of Hobbes's theory to include and explore the contest aspect of "good-natured" play. As such, the author believes all instances of humor can be examined as games, in terms of competition and keeping score?winners and losers. Gruner draws on a broad spectrum of thought-provoking examples. Holocaust jokes, sexual humor, the racialist dialogue of such comic characters as Stepin Fetchit and Archie Bunker, simple puns, and many of the author's own encounters with everyday humor. Gruner challenges the reader to offer a single example of humor that cannot be "de-humorized" by its agonistic nature.The Game of Humor makes intriguing and enjoyable reading for people interested in humor and the aspects of human motivation. This book will also be valuable to professionals in communication and information studies, sociologists, literary critics and linguists, and psychologists concerned with the conflicts and tensions of everyday life.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351482378
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Humor, wit, and laughter surround each person. From everyday quips to the carefully contrived comedy of literature, newspapers, and television we experience humor in many forms, yet the impetus for our laughter is far from innocuous. Misfortune, stupidity, and moral or cultural defects, however faintly revealed in others and ourselves, seem to make us laugh. Although discomforting, such negative terms as superiority, aggression, hostility, ridicule, or degradation can be applied to instances of humor. According to scholars, Thomas Hobbes's "superiority theory"?that humor arises from mischances, infirmities, and indecencies, where there is no wit at all?applies to most humor. With the exception of good-natured play, Charles R. Gruner claims that humor is rarely as innocent as it first appears.Gruner's proposed superiority theory of humor is all-encompassing. In The Game of Humor, he expands the scope of Hobbes's theory to include and explore the contest aspect of "good-natured" play. As such, the author believes all instances of humor can be examined as games, in terms of competition and keeping score?winners and losers. Gruner draws on a broad spectrum of thought-provoking examples. Holocaust jokes, sexual humor, the racialist dialogue of such comic characters as Stepin Fetchit and Archie Bunker, simple puns, and many of the author's own encounters with everyday humor. Gruner challenges the reader to offer a single example of humor that cannot be "de-humorized" by its agonistic nature.The Game of Humor makes intriguing and enjoyable reading for people interested in humor and the aspects of human motivation. This book will also be valuable to professionals in communication and information studies, sociologists, literary critics and linguists, and psychologists concerned with the conflicts and tensions of everyday life.
Humor Us
Author: Donald Capps
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 149829037X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 195
Book Description
This book addresses the fact that Americans tend to live under a considerable amount of stress, tension, and anxiety, and suggests that humor can be helpful in alleviating their distress. It posits that humor is a useful placebo in this regard; cites studies that show that humor moderates life stress; considers the relationship of religion and humor, especially as means to alleviate anxiety; proposes that Jesus had a sense of humor; suggests that his parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard has humorous implications for the relief of occupational stress; explores the relationship of gossip and humor; and suggests that Jesus and his disciples were a joking community. It concludes that Jesus viewed the kingdom of God as a worry-free existence.
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 149829037X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 195
Book Description
This book addresses the fact that Americans tend to live under a considerable amount of stress, tension, and anxiety, and suggests that humor can be helpful in alleviating their distress. It posits that humor is a useful placebo in this regard; cites studies that show that humor moderates life stress; considers the relationship of religion and humor, especially as means to alleviate anxiety; proposes that Jesus had a sense of humor; suggests that his parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard has humorous implications for the relief of occupational stress; explores the relationship of gossip and humor; and suggests that Jesus and his disciples were a joking community. It concludes that Jesus viewed the kingdom of God as a worry-free existence.
Linguistic Theories of Humor
Author: Salvatore Attardo
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3111280330
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
Linguistic Theories of Humor appeared thirty years ago. It attracted a lot of attention and ended up being one of the most quoted books in the linguistics of humor. Partly due to its broad coverage which includes both theoretical and socio-pragmatic aspects and partly due to the depth of its bibliography it remained an indispensable reference in many areas, despite the growth of the field. The original fully corrected text is supplemented by a long essay, in which the author revisits the topics of the book to discuss how three decades have shifted the perspective of the field.
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3111280330
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
Linguistic Theories of Humor appeared thirty years ago. It attracted a lot of attention and ended up being one of the most quoted books in the linguistics of humor. Partly due to its broad coverage which includes both theoretical and socio-pragmatic aspects and partly due to the depth of its bibliography it remained an indispensable reference in many areas, despite the growth of the field. The original fully corrected text is supplemented by a long essay, in which the author revisits the topics of the book to discuss how three decades have shifted the perspective of the field.
Humor and Children's Development
Author: Paul E Mcghee
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317839935
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
Here is the first book that is geared toward practical applications of humor with children. Health care professionals, counselors, social workers, students, and parents will find this to be a fascinating, instructive volume that illustrates how to effectively incorporate humor into children’s lives to produce enormously positive results. With a strong “how to” focus, this enlightening volume addresses the use of humor in the classroom--to promote learning and to foster higher levels of creative thinking. Experts who are on the cutting edge of humor and its benefits for children examine the importance of humor in fostering social and emotional development and in adapting to stressful situations. And for the scholarly reader, Humor and Children’s Development documents the major research trends focusing on humor and its development. This excellent resource--certain to spark further debate and research--offers an unrivaled opportunity to further understand children’s behavior and development.Humor and Children’s Development was featured in the February 1990 issue of Working Mother magazine in article titled “Let Laughter Ring!” by Eva Conrad.The chapter entitled “Humor in Children’s Literature” by Janice Alberghene was one of the finalists for the Children’s Literature Association’s Literary Criticism Award for the best critical article of 1988 on the subject of children’s literature.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317839935
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
Here is the first book that is geared toward practical applications of humor with children. Health care professionals, counselors, social workers, students, and parents will find this to be a fascinating, instructive volume that illustrates how to effectively incorporate humor into children’s lives to produce enormously positive results. With a strong “how to” focus, this enlightening volume addresses the use of humor in the classroom--to promote learning and to foster higher levels of creative thinking. Experts who are on the cutting edge of humor and its benefits for children examine the importance of humor in fostering social and emotional development and in adapting to stressful situations. And for the scholarly reader, Humor and Children’s Development documents the major research trends focusing on humor and its development. This excellent resource--certain to spark further debate and research--offers an unrivaled opportunity to further understand children’s behavior and development.Humor and Children’s Development was featured in the February 1990 issue of Working Mother magazine in article titled “Let Laughter Ring!” by Eva Conrad.The chapter entitled “Humor in Children’s Literature” by Janice Alberghene was one of the finalists for the Children’s Literature Association’s Literary Criticism Award for the best critical article of 1988 on the subject of children’s literature.
Humor and Life Stress
Author: Herbert M. Lefcourt
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461249007
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
This monograph reflects a culmination of influences. Over a decade ago, a graduate student at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Carl Sordoni, had worked with one of the present authors (H.L.) to develope a dissertation concerned with humor. At that time, the literature on humor was scanty. There was much that had been written by philosophers and scholars in literature. But in psychology, especially empirical research in psychology, there was not an overwhelming literature to give substance to the belief that humor was an important element in human affairs. Memories of that dissertation are fond. The findings were disappoint ing, but the execution of the research provided us with much hilarity. Though the dissertation research did not pan out as we had hoped, we had begun to look for the influence of humor in other investigations that we were conducting. Two published studies from that era are described in this book, one of which grew as an off-shoot of a dissertation by Dr. Paul Antrobus. In these studies not only did we find evidence that humor could be predicted and understood within particular contexts, but again we found enjoyment in doing the studies.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461249007
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
This monograph reflects a culmination of influences. Over a decade ago, a graduate student at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Carl Sordoni, had worked with one of the present authors (H.L.) to develope a dissertation concerned with humor. At that time, the literature on humor was scanty. There was much that had been written by philosophers and scholars in literature. But in psychology, especially empirical research in psychology, there was not an overwhelming literature to give substance to the belief that humor was an important element in human affairs. Memories of that dissertation are fond. The findings were disappoint ing, but the execution of the research provided us with much hilarity. Though the dissertation research did not pan out as we had hoped, we had begun to look for the influence of humor in other investigations that we were conducting. Two published studies from that era are described in this book, one of which grew as an off-shoot of a dissertation by Dr. Paul Antrobus. In these studies not only did we find evidence that humor could be predicted and understood within particular contexts, but again we found enjoyment in doing the studies.