The Year's Work in American Humor Studies, 2013

Abstract

“The Year's Work in American Humor Studies,” an annual feature of Studies in American Humor since 1999, reviews humor scholarship and related materials published during the specified year from many disciplinary perspectives, including humor theory. The review gives special emphasis to studies of humor in American culture, broadly conceived.

Laugh With Me: Effects of Shortcoms on Students' Motivation, Confidence, and Cultural Understanding in the French Classroom

“…The audience for each type of humor differs by age and social class, and consumers of humor may move from one type to another depending changes in their life situation. Humor in the United States emerged after the American Revolution as a form of identification and separation from British humor (Limon, 2009;Michelson, 2013). Krefting (2014) says that defining "the 'American' sense of humor" is "mired in the contested terrain of who counts as American and far too many gross generalizations" (p. 9).…”

“…There are major categories of humor that can be distinguished in the United States. The first type is Puritan Humor, defined as 'Calvinist Humor' by Michelson (2013) even though the term is seen as an oxymoron by many, as Calvinists do not appear to tolerate any humor. (Dunne, 2007.…”