{"product_id":"engaging-humor","title":"Engaging Humor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExploring the structure, motives, and meanings of humor in everyday life\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eEngaging Humor\u003c\/i\u003e, Elliott Oring asks essential questions concerning humorous expression in contemporary society, examining how humor works, why it is employed, and what its messages might be. This provocative book is filled with examples of jokes and riddles that reveal humor to be a meaningful--even significant--form of expression. \u003cp\u003e Oring scrutinizes classic Jewish jokes, frontier humor, racist cartoons, blonde jokes, and Internet humor. He provides alternate ways of thinking about humorous expressions by examining their contexts--not just their contents. He also shows how the incongruity and absurdity essential to the production of laughter can serve serious communicative ends. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eEngaging Humor\u003c\/i\u003e examines the thoughts that underlie jokes, the question of racist motivation in ethnic humor, and the use of humor as a commentary on social interaction. The book also explores the relationship between humor and sentimentality and the role of humor in forging national identity. \u003ci\u003eEngaging Humor\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates that when analyzed contextually and comparatively, humorous expressions emerge as communications that are startling, intriguing, and profound. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Illinois Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54245176082776,"sku":"9780252075933","price":26.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780252075933.jpg?v=1778907663","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/engaging-humor","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}