Between cant and Kant: Christie Davies and the (im?)possibility of seriousness in humor studies
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Giacinto Palmieri
Giacinto Palmieri completed a PhD at the University of Surrey on whether and how bilingual comedians translate their material. He is currently working as a Lecturer in Translation at the London Metropolitan University. He is also a stand-up comedian, whose solo shows have been judged as “too academic” by some critics. Now that he is in academia, he is still firmly committed to blurring the borders between his activities.
Abstract
This paper discusses Christie Davies’ recommendation for seriousness in the investigation of jokes and contrasts it with several instances of humorous discourse in his own writings. After arguing that a taste for both the production and the appreciation of humor played an important role in Davies’ research, and that humor can be used productively in humor research, the article raises the question of whether the need for a separation between humor as a subject of study and as a style of discourse about it has not been overstated in humor studies.
About the author
Giacinto Palmieri completed a PhD at the University of Surrey on whether and how bilingual comedians translate their material. He is currently working as a Lecturer in Translation at the London Metropolitan University. He is also a stand-up comedian, whose solo shows have been judged as “too academic” by some critics. Now that he is in academia, he is still firmly committed to blurring the borders between his activities.
References
Chapman, Graham, et al. 1999. Monty Python’s flying circus: Just the words. Volume 1. London: Methuen.Search in Google Scholar
Davies, Christie. 1975. Permissive Britain: Social change in the sixties and seventies. London: Pitman.Search in Google Scholar
Davies, Christie. 1990. Ethnic humor around the world: A comparative analysis. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Davies, Christie. 2002. The mirth of nations: A comparative and historical study. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.Search in Google Scholar
Hay, Jennifer. 2001. The pragmatics of humor support. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research 14(1). 55–82.10.1515/humr.14.1.55Search in Google Scholar
Miller, Jonathan. 1988. Jokes and joking: A serious laughing matter. In J. Durant & J. Miller (eds.), Laughing matters: A serious look at humor, 5–16. Harlow: Longman.Search in Google Scholar
© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Introduction: Special Issue dedicated to Christie Davies
- Oppositions, overlaps, and ontologies: The general theory of verbal humor revisited
- Tearing up the sanity clause: A class action
- Was it you who died, or your brother?
- Between cant and Kant: Christie Davies and the (im?)possibility of seriousness in humor studies
- Early Titanic Jokes: A disaster for the theory of disaster jokes?
- Christie Davies at the Humor Summer School
- The Chinese as targets in Polish humorous discourse
- Racism in recent Greek migrant jokes
- Lessons learned about humor from J.C.H. Davies and examples in his home collection
- America’s faith in the laugh resistance – popular beliefs about political humor in the 2016 presidential elections
- Select bibliography of Christie Davies’ works
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Introduction: Special Issue dedicated to Christie Davies
- Oppositions, overlaps, and ontologies: The general theory of verbal humor revisited
- Tearing up the sanity clause: A class action
- Was it you who died, or your brother?
- Between cant and Kant: Christie Davies and the (im?)possibility of seriousness in humor studies
- Early Titanic Jokes: A disaster for the theory of disaster jokes?
- Christie Davies at the Humor Summer School
- The Chinese as targets in Polish humorous discourse
- Racism in recent Greek migrant jokes
- Lessons learned about humor from J.C.H. Davies and examples in his home collection
- America’s faith in the laugh resistance – popular beliefs about political humor in the 2016 presidential elections
- Select bibliography of Christie Davies’ works
