Frontmatter

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter I
2. Acknowledgements VII
3. Contents IX
4. List of tables X
5. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
6. Chapter 2. Fooltowns: Traditional and modern Local, regional and ethnic jokes about stupidity 11
7. Chapter 3. From the Milesians to the Milesians: The Irish-Pontian joke, its history and its absence in China and Japan 27
8. Chapter 4. The Protestant ethic and the comic spirit of capitalism 43
9. Chapter 5. Stupidity and rationality: Jokes from the iron cage 63
10. Chapter 6. Humour for the future and a future for humour 85
11. Chapter 7. Ethnic jokes about alcohol: A study of the humour of ambivalence 101
12. Chapter 8. "Nasty" legends, "sick" humour and ethnic jokes about stupidity 137
13. Chapter 9. Making fun of work: Humour as sociology in the humorous writings of H. G. Wells 151
14. Chapter 10. Conclusion 165
15. Notes 193
16. References 205
17. Index 229