The Rape Joke as Ur-Joke

In this paper I argue that the rape joke is the joke par excellence. The ur-joke. Jokes speak the truth like dreams and symptoms and errors. The rape joke does not simply speak a truth—the truth about rape, or rapists—its truth is oddly the truth of joking itself and the tragicomedic vicissitudes of human sexuality. This is one way to understand the importance of Vanessa Place’s work and its ethical stakes.     

Jokers wild: the importance of humour in the maintenance of organizational culture

Humour may have a number of different effects within organizations, but it is usually manifested in one of two major‘joke forms’: standardized/canned or situation/spontaneous. Using examples of each from fieldwork conducted in a large manufacturing bakery, it is argued that both forms depend for their effect on their appositeness to the‘joke in the social structure’Both forms share the capacity to enable the reversal, within the humorous framework, of problematic social relations, patterns of control, or customary mystifications. Humour may be used to create ambiguity or to promote closure: its impact on the organizational culture will depend on the extent to which the symbolic transformations achieved within its boundaries can be transposed into material,‘real-world’relationships.     

What is the Shortest Russian Joke? Communism. Russian Cultural Consciousness Expressed Through Soviet Humor

In an environment like Soviet Russia where it was difficult, if not impossible, to make assertions that contradicted the official Communist Party word, political humor can be used to challenge, subvert, or uphold official “truths.” The Russian Soviet anekdot—a politically subversive joke—provides an intimate view into the perspective of the Russian people living under Soviet rule. The anekdot serves as a discourse of “cultural consciousness,” connecting otherwise atomized people to a homeland, collective culture, and memory. In conducting a paired content and critical discourse analysis of 1,290 anekdoty collected from Russian archives, I explore how this oral folklore served to construct a Russian collective consciousness that (1) resists Party rhetoric, social policy, and ideology, but also (2) adopts and reifies social boundaries established by Soviet discourse by constructing particular groups as “other.” Those who are familiar with cultural folklore—and the historical context to which it refers—are taught who are the perpetrators responsible for injustices, who are the victims, and how we should feel about these different people; folklore also gives insight into the perspectives of those from the hegemonic '"center."     

Sardonic Atheists and Silly Evangelicals: the Relationship between Self-Concept and Humor Style

Humor is widely used as a means of supporting group solidarity, but what determines the direction that this humor takes (i.e. its quality and targets)? I suggest that the answer lies in an interaction between self-concept, perceptions of outgroups and micro group culture. Aspects of self-concept that are central for a group’s identity work, especially how the group imagines outsiders, open possibilities for certain types of humor while closing off others. Then micro-cultural processes, heavily dependent on the exact persons present in a given interaction, influence the humorous forms used. This process explains why groups in roughly similar structural positions often make use of humor to generate solidarity in strikingly different ways, as well as why styles of humor vary, within limits, within groups. I provide illustrations of this process in two religious minority groups with very different humorous styles: atheists in the Bible Belt and evangelical Christians in Chicago.     

Humor in therapy for the mentally ill.

There are many benefits of humor as a planned intervention for CMI patients. In addition to physiological, psychological, social, and communicative benefits for the patient are the benefits of humor for the nurse therapist. According to Keller (1984), another legitimate function of humor in therapy is as a source of rejuvenation for the therapist. Working with a population of clients whose progress is sometimes difficult to ascertain can sometimes be draining and may result in burnout if nurses are not periodically rejuvenated. Humor can act as an energizer for both clients and nurses, and can help nurses maintain their equilibrium. Areas for Further Research. Sullivan and Deane (1988) posed five potential areas for study in gerontological-oriented humor, but all of these areas are also applicable in the study of humor among the chronically mentally ill: Identification of any functional level changes and cognitive flexibility resulting from increased humor experiences. Development of humor assessment tools. Identification of environmental variables and barriers that affect the spontaneous occurrence of humor, especially in institutional settings. Exploration of differences in the effects of group and dyadic humor on mental health. Exploration of favorable and unfavorable environmental contexts and outcomes for using therapeutic humor.     

Sarcasm and Interactional Politics

In this article, I discuss some of the ways in which sarcasm may be used to accomplish interactional politics, and, in light of these observations, suggest a more appropriate conceptualization of both the overlaps between and the polarity of sarcasm and humor. First, I draw upon observations of routine interaction to illustrate some of the forms that sarcastic transactions may take: social control, declaration of allegiance, establishing social solidarity and social distance, venting frustration, and humorous aggression. I then suggest the analytical utility of regrouping these same observations according to their instrumental and expressive functions in interaction. Finally, I argue that sarcasm and humor, though structurally similar, have different implications for interactional politics. I propose a continuum model which better conceptualizes the relationship between these two communicative resources.     

Learning to laugh: humor as therapy

Use of humor may indicate a person's mental health status, may reveal psychosocial problems and conflicts, and may indicate ability to cope with those problems and conflicts. Humor may also be one way of helping people more effectively cope with the stresses and strains of living in a complex world. Humor may be incorporated into psychotherapy, either as part of the therapist-client relationship or as a humor program. The humor used by the author in a humor program with chronically mentally ill clients is the laughing with, not the laughing at, type. It deals with problems of life and of people living life. The stories, jokes, comic strips, and songs selected show how people perceive and laugh at the ironies and absurdities in their predicaments and are able to cope with, and frequently transcend, them.     

Interrupting a joke validates thoughts and polarizes attitudes towards a recycling company / La interrupción de un chiste puede potenciar su efecto de validación del pensamiento y cambiar las actitudes hacia una empresa de reciclaje

Positive emotions can validate either positive or negative thoughts. Previous research has demonstrated that people use their thoughts more when they recall past episodes of happiness and when they are induced to smile. This study was designed to evaluate whether a new induction of a happy mood (a joke) can influence thought use in response to a persuasive proposal. Two versions of the same joke were compared: a version that included an interruption before the punchline and another that did not include an interruption at that point. The aim was to examine whether this interruption increased or decreased the use of previously generated thoughts towards a persuasive communication. The results indicated that the participants who were interrupted before the punchline relied more on their own thoughts in forming their attitudes than did those who were in the control group. In consequence, an interruption during a pleasant experience (e.g., a joke) increased persuasion when thoughts were positive but decreased persuasion when thoughts were negative.     

visualizing white‐collar crime

This study examines how film‐makers construct images of white‐collar crime in genre film. Data consist of twenty‐four white‐collar films in two genres: thrillers and comedies. Results indicate that images of white‐collar crime vary significantly by genre. Thrillers contain few visuals of white‐collar crimes and white‐collar offenders. Instead film‐makers use more familiar images of violence to create thrills. Comic film‐makers use standard sight gags to make images of white‐collar offenders and their crimes funny. When comic film‐makers find humor in the content of the subject matter, they construct images of white‐collar criminals and their crimes to clearly communicate the structure of each joke to the audience. Visual images of victims are not predominant in these films, especially in white‐collar comedies. The analysis reveals more than film‐making techniques. It begins to uncover cultural codes that frame white‐collar crime and illuminate its relative unimportance in the public arena, especially when compared to other crimes.     

Humor and Social Movements

At first glance, humor and politics may appear oppositional. Politics is often understood as serious, important, and grave, while humor is perceived as lighthearted and frivolous. Beneath the surface, however, it is evident that humor and politics are actually inextricably linked and have been throughout political history. This paper interrogates the tensions between humor and seriousness, importance and frivolity, and legitimate and dismissible to examine the manifestations of humor in social movement protest. I discuss how humor is used as a communicative and emotional strategy for social movement activists and organizations and focus on two constellations of movement humor: humor directed outside the group in the forms of tactics and frames, which I term external humor, and the role of humor in leadership, collective identity, and emotional labor, termed internal humor. To illustrate the role of humor in protest, I integrate examples from scholarly research, media depictions, and participant observation data to provide examples of how humor is manifest as an external tactic, social movement frame, and its potential role in strengthening ties to leadership and collective identity. The essay concludes by highlighting some potential paths for future study about the relationship between humor, ideology, identity, and power.     

Laughter,the Best Mediation: Humor as Emotion Management in Interaction

Recent work in emotions and emotion management suggests that humor is a social phenomenon and serves an important purpose in interaction. That is, humor can be viewed as interpersonal emotion management, whose purpose is to manage the emotions of others as well as of the self. This article offers the following definition as an analytical tool: humor as emotion management is an expert cultural performance; which strengthens or restores the feeling norms of the situation and creates amusement in the self and others; generating positive sentiments among members of an interacting group by bonding them and/or reducing an external threat; often at the expense of some excluded person(s), event(s), or object(s).     

What Do we Learn About Rape Jokes From Rape Jokes About Rape Jokes?

This piece takes as its subject rape jokes in which the rape joke itself is thematized. Taking up the functions of condensation, pleasure, and consent in Vanessa Place’s performance piece Rape Joke and Patricia Lockwood’s poem Rape Joke, I consider the proximity of rape to joke in contemporary culture as well as the shifts in address through which joke can become critique.     

The roles of humour and laughter in youth focus groups on school food

The article examines young people's group interaction and the roles of humor and laughter in relation to school food and school lunch situations. The analysed focus group discussion data is drawn from a broader case study (2012?2013) with 9th grade students (15–16 years old; 62 pupils; 25 boys and 37 girls; 14 groups; 4?6 pupils per group) in a Finnish secondary school. The analysis is based on existing interpretations and classifications of humor in literature, which is complemented by notions drawn from the study's data set. It is argued that an analysis of humor and laughter can provide valuable notions of how collective attitudes towards school food are constructed, enforced and distributed among students, while also providing insight regarding what kinds of issues around school lunch practices are considered important and worthwhile in the context of students' informal peer cultures. The results illustrate how humor and laughter functioned for the students as a space for (1) Constructing ‘us’ versus ‘them’; (2) Negotiating social order; and (3) Engaging in fun and safe interaction. Results are discussed in the light of how humor and laughter uphold or divide social groups, as well mediate shifts between formal conventions and students' informal worlds.     

The situations of culture: humor and the limits of measurability

This article develops a theory of humor and uses it to assess the attempt to measure meaning-structures in cultural sociology. To understand how humor operates, researchers need to attend to two layers of cultural competencies: general typifications and situation-specific know-how. These cultural competencies are then invoked in ways that define humor as a specific form of experiential frame—the bi-sociation of meaning, its condensation, and resonance with experienced tensions in the social world. I show the usefulness of this theorization through the empirical case of AIDS humor in Malawi, a small country in South-East Africa. Using conversational diaries, everyday interactions, and newspaper cartoons, I argue both that such humor is widespread and that it reveals important facets of life in a country ravaged by the pandemic—what it means for the shadow of AIDS to be ever-present. Through this case, I then turn back to the question of measurement, arguing that although measuring tools may be able to identify large-scale semantic shifts, they necessarily miss forms of interaction such as humor, that are based on allusion, condensation, and what is left unsaid.     

The empathic use of sarcasm: Humor in psychotherapy from a self psychological perspective

A case is made for the therapeutic benefits of well-timed, prudently ventured sarcastic comments directed at persons in the patients'llives, including the therapist, who are experienced as failing them. Literature on use of humor in therapy is reviewed. The circumstances under which humor may be experienced empathically are suggested, as well as instances in which it may be contraindicated.     

A chuckle a day keeps the doctor away: therapeutic humor and laughter

There are several beneficial efforts attributed to humor and laughter, including improved immune function, increased pain tolerance, and decreased stress response. Humor therapy, laughter therapy, laughter meditation,and laughter clubs all have unique implications as group programs and as self-management techniques. For practitioners to implement credible programs and effectively teach self-management techniques, further empirical research on the physical, psychosocial, debonafide, and the placebo effects of humor and laughter needs to be conducted.     

The Greatest Veneration: Humor as a Coping Strategy for the Challenges of Aging

One hundred and thirty million Traditionalists and Baby Boomers are tackling the reality of aging. It may be captured by the lyrics to the Alan Menken–Tim Rice song “A Whole New World.” The salient characteristics and experiences of these two generations are examined along with a few of the mental and physical challenges they are encountering. Then the research on and applications of humor and laughter to these challenges are reviewed. Particular attention is given to the psychological, physiological, and medical studies that have specific implications for seniors. Coping strategies to deal with daily life challenges are described in terms of detachment from crises and problem situations and coping with interpersonal conflict. The Coping Humor Scale is provided for readers to assess their own coping skills. Then a list of techniques seniors can use to improve their own coping skills, including how to search for humor opportunities, is provided. Despite the potential research-based benefits of humor and laughter, their application to the lives of seniors are not well known. Those benefits should be part of the trend toward complementary or alternative medical treatments over the past two decades. It does not get any more “alternative” than “humor.”     

Process Recording: It's More than You Think

Abstract

Process recording has been used in social work field education for many years. The traditional format for a process recording is a written verbatim report of the transaction between worker and client. This article argues that it may be useful to reconceptualize process recording as a continuum of techniques. The proposed continuum is outlined, strengths and weaknesses of the various methods are described, suggestions are made for incorporating a range of techniques into an enhanced learning experience for social work students, a model for training field instructors in these methods is described, and the article concludes with a recommendation for ongoing renewal of teaching methodologies.     

One does not simply meme about organizations: Exploring the content creation strategies of user-generated memes on Imgur

This study explores how online publics are engaging with organizations by creating and sharing brand-related content online, outside corporate-controlled communication environments. This research employs a quantitative content analysis of memes shared on the social networking site Imgur to reveal how user-generated content conveys meaning about organizations. The analysis reveals brand-centric memes are generally classified as orphan memes, or memes that have distinct textual and visual characteristics separating them from established or emerging meme families. Memes about organizations are neither an overwhelming reflection of biting criticism or support, but rather a reflection of online public engagement with organizations that primarily use humor and textual brand features (or quiddities) to convey their commitment and satisfaction with the organization and unite meme families.     

IT'S NOT JUST A JOKE

Sexism is a recurrent part of women's everyday lives. One understudied area within gender scholarship is the content and implications of sexist humor as a form of sexism. In this article, we explore the sexist content of 153 Internet jokes. Our analysis demonstrates that sexist jokes offer portrayals of misogyny that serve many functions, some of which include the sexual objectification of women, devaluation of their personal and professional abilities, and support of violence against women. Implications of such humor are discussed as well as future research possibilities in this area.