Jokes and targets [electronic resource] / Christie Davies.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davies, Christie.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wit and humor--Social aspects.

Wit and humor.

Wit and humor--Psychological aspects.

Wit and humor--Political aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (328 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bloomington [Ind.] : Indiana University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Jokes and Targets takes up an appealing and entertaining topic -- the social and historical origins of jokes about familiar targets such as rustics, Jewish spouses, used car salesmen, and dumb blondes. Christie Davies explains why political jokes flourished in the Soviet Union, why Europeans tell jokes about American lawyers but not about their own lawyers, and why sex jokes often refer to France rather than to other countries. One of the world's leading experts on the study of humor, Davies provides a wide-ranging and detailed study of the jokes that make up an important part of everyday conversation.

Contents:

Introduction : why study jokes and targets?

Mind over matter: a general theory of jokes about the stupid and the canny

Blondes, sex, and the French

Jewish women and Jewish men

Sex between men : places, occupations, and classes

The great American lawyer joke cycle

The rise of the Soviet joke and the fall of the Soviet Union

Conclusion.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

OCLC:

747432454