The Senses of Humor by Daniel Wickberg

The Senses of Humor by Daniel Wickberg

Why do modern Americans believe in something called a sense of humor, and how did they come to that belief? Daniel Wickberg traces the relatively short cultural history of the concept to its British origins as a way to explore new conceptions of the self and social order in modern America. More than simply the history of an idea, Wickberg's study provides new insights into a peculiarly modern cultural sensibility. The expression "sense of humor" was first coined in the 1840s, and the idea that such a sense was a personality trait to be valued developed only in the 1870s. What is the relationship between medieval humoral medicine and this distinctively modern idea of the sense of humor? What has it meant in the past 125 years to declare that someone lacks a sense of humor? Why do modern Americans say it is a good thing not to take oneself seriously? How is the joke, as a twentieth-century quasi-literary form, different from the traditional folktale? Wickberg addresses these questions among others and in the process uses the history of ideas to throw new light on the way contemporary Americans think and speak about humor and laughter. The context of Wickberg's analysis is Anglo-American; the specifically British meanings of humor and laughter from the sixteenth century forward provide the framework for understanding American cultural values in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The genealogy of the sense of humor is, like the study of keywords, an avenue into a significant aspect of the cultural history of modernity. Drawing on a wide range of sources and disciplinary perspectives, Wickberg's analysis challenges many of the prevailing views of modern American culture and suggests a new model for cultural historians.

Using a vast range of materials (jokes, jests, and gags) and writers of every ilk (Carlyle, Chaplin, Freud, Twain), Wickberg charts the development of the modern sense of humorThe book suggests a great deal about American society and its values, and leads readers to recognize the socially constructed nature of reality. Because of its intriguing topic and engaging writing, this book will interest a broad variety of readers—from undergraduates through faculty—in many disciplines. Highly recommended.

* Choice *

Wickberg adds a new dimension to our knowledge of contemporary cultural sensibility. He also does what surely all good cultural historians do; he redraws the boundaries of what lies within history, and makes us look again at social habits and assumptions that we had perhaps taken for granted.

* Times Literary Supplement *

Daniel Wickberg is Associate Professor of the History of Ideas at the University of Texas at Dallas.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780801456664
ISBN 10	0801456665
Title	The Senses of Humor
Author	Daniel Wickberg
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cornell University Press
Year published	2015-06-18
Number of pages	280
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable