Humor, Psyche, and Society: A Socio-Semiotic Analysis

Humor, Psyche, and Society: A Socio-Semiotic Analysis PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648890458
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
It is the age-old saying that “laughter is the best medicine”. Scientific research has substantiated the claim made by this proverb by verifying the positive effects it has on both our mind and body, but what is it about a good joke, comic, or sitcom that makes us laugh? Humor, Psyche and Society is a compilation of Berger’s previously published articles and new chapters on the nature of humour, its importance for our psyches, and its social and political significance. Written in an accessible style, it uses semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory, as well as other theories of humour to explore the multifaceted nature of humour, various styles of jokes and sitcoms. Using Berger’s typology of forty-five techniques found in all forms of humour, developed to explain what makes us laugh, this book analyses a variety of humorous texts. Balancing theory, entertaining jokes and other humorous texts, as well as the author’s illustrations, the chapters in this book delve into a diverse range of topics such as humour and the creative process, humour and health, and visual humour; along with an examination of the sitcoms Frasier and Cheers; and finally, the exploration of jokes including Jewish jokes, and jokes on Russia and Communism, and Trump. This book will be of particular interest to university students studying courses in humour, comedy, popular culture, applied semiotics, American politics and culture, and cultural studies. Due to the accessible nature of this book, the general public may find it to be both a fascinating and entertaining read.

Humor, Psyche, and Society: A Socio-Semiotic Analysis

Humor, Psyche, and Society: A Socio-Semiotic Analysis PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648890458
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Get Book

Book Description
It is the age-old saying that “laughter is the best medicine”. Scientific research has substantiated the claim made by this proverb by verifying the positive effects it has on both our mind and body, but what is it about a good joke, comic, or sitcom that makes us laugh? Humor, Psyche and Society is a compilation of Berger’s previously published articles and new chapters on the nature of humour, its importance for our psyches, and its social and political significance. Written in an accessible style, it uses semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory, as well as other theories of humour to explore the multifaceted nature of humour, various styles of jokes and sitcoms. Using Berger’s typology of forty-five techniques found in all forms of humour, developed to explain what makes us laugh, this book analyses a variety of humorous texts. Balancing theory, entertaining jokes and other humorous texts, as well as the author’s illustrations, the chapters in this book delve into a diverse range of topics such as humour and the creative process, humour and health, and visual humour; along with an examination of the sitcoms Frasier and Cheers; and finally, the exploration of jokes including Jewish jokes, and jokes on Russia and Communism, and Trump. This book will be of particular interest to university students studying courses in humour, comedy, popular culture, applied semiotics, American politics and culture, and cultural studies. Due to the accessible nature of this book, the general public may find it to be both a fascinating and entertaining read.

Humor, the Psyche, and Society

Humor, the Psyche, and Society PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description


USA Pop

USA Pop PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 152755998X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
This book, written in an accessible style and illustrated with drawings by the author and numerous photographs, uses semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, and other cultural studies disciplines to analyze pop culture and everyday life in America. Each chapter contains numerous quotations of interest from writers and thinkers of all kinds, giving the book a documentary quality. Among the topics discussed are the social, psychological, and cultural significance of blue jeans, women’s handbags, hairstyles, hip hop fashion, nudism, wrestling, Donald Duck, and many other aspects of popular culture and everyday life in America. The book will be of use as a secondary text for courses in pop culture, cultural studies, fashion studies, American culture and society, material culture, and, since it is written in a lively and entertaining style, for the general reader.

The Positive Psychology of Laughter and Humour

The Positive Psychology of Laughter and Humour PDF Author: Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1837538360
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Drawing on the authors’ diverse backgrounds and expertise, this is the first academic volume dedicated to the rarely discussed topic of laughter and humour in positive psychology.

The Making of a Dialogical Theory

The Making of a Dialogical Theory PDF Author: Ivana Marková
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009294997
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
An exploration of the theory of social representations and communications as a case in the making of a dialogical theory.

Living the Independence Dream: Ukraine and Ukrainians in Contemporary Socio-Political Context

Living the Independence Dream: Ukraine and Ukrainians in Contemporary Socio-Political Context PDF Author: Lada Kolomiyets
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 365

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Book Description
For many Ukrainians, 1991 was a crucial point when their long-held dream of independence came true. The image of the future life in independent Ukraine was then almost identical to folklore images of Ukraine as the land of milk and honey. "Living the Independence Dream" takes a multi-dimensional look at the period of regained independence as a time of advancement towards the realization of collective dreams shaping the post-Soviet nation, even through everyday disappointments, anxiety, and uncertainty. The collection features personal accounts of several generations of Ukrainians who found themselves displaced by political upheavals in foreign lands, as well as the voices of recently displaced people who left the Donbas or other regions of Ukraine following the outbreak of the Russian aggression. It revisits the legacy of Soviet dissidents and explores the ideologies of Ukrainian language revival and the ways that memory and language construct Ukrainian identity and generate vital energy amidst war. The collection "Living the Independence Dream" aims to analyze the agency of contemporary Ukrainian people and the role of media, literature, and digital folklore in creating new messages, meanings, and values formed during the Independence decades.

The Social, Psychological and Cultural Significance of Westerns

The Social, Psychological and Cultural Significance of Westerns PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527502546
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
This book is about cowboy Western books and two important Western films, Shane and High Noon. Its focus is on the psychological, social, and cultural significance of Westerns, a narrative genre of major importance in American popular culture. What you will find, as you read this book, is that while the stories may have relatively simple plot lines, compared to classic novels, and are based on certain formulas, their psychological significance and cultural importance is a very complicated matter. Fans of Westerns read them to entertain themselves but, as will be shown—in considerable detail—there’s more to reading Westerns, or any novel, than meets the eye. This text presents the idea that people read Westerns because these stories provide certain psychological and social pleasures, payoffs, and benefits.

Shakespeare's the Comedy of Errors

Shakespeare's the Comedy of Errors PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781839984983
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Arthur Asa Berger's Shakespeare's Comedy of Errorsuses semiotics along with a psychoanalytic approach to offer a granular analysis of one of Shakespeare's funniest and most interesting comedies. It is distinctive in that it offers a discussion of the basic techniques found in comic literature of all kinds and applies these techniques to events in the play. It also offers a discussion of the basic theories of humor and a syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis of the play. It provides an overview of the theories of humor, what the author calls why theories, to provide a general understanding of how humor works. This is contrasted with his 45 techniques which deal with what makes people laugh.

The Languages of Humor

The Languages of Humor PDF Author: Arie Sover
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350062316
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Why are things funny? How has humor changed over the centuries? How can humor be a political force? Featuring expert authors from across the globe, The Languages of Humor discusses three main types of humour: verbal, visual, and physical. Despite the differences between them, all have a common purpose, showing us in different ways the reality that we live in, and how we can reflect on that reality. To this end, the book shows how humor has been used to address such topics as the Holocaust and the Soviet Union, and why it has been controversial in cases including Charlie Hebdo. The Languages of Humor explores a subject that is of interest in a wide range of intellectual disciplines including sociology, psychology, communication, philosophy, history, social sciences, linguistics, computer science, literature, theatre, education, and cultural studies. This volume features contributions from world-leading academics, some of who have professional backgrounds in this field. This unique research-led book, which includes over 20 illustrations, offers a top-down analysis of humor studies.

Blind Men and Elephants

Blind Men and Elephants PDF Author: Arthur Asa Berger
Publisher: Transaction Pub
ISBN: 9781412811057
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
In Blind Men and Elephants, Arthur Asa Berger uses case histories to show how scholars from different disciplines and scholarly domains have tried to describe and understand humor. He reveals not only the many approaches that are available to study humor, but also the many perspectives toward humor that characterize each discipline. Each case history sheds light on a particular aspect of humor, making the combination of approaches of considerable value in the study of social research. Among the various disciplines that Berger discusses in relation to humor are: communication theory, philosophy, semiotics, literary analysis, sociology, political science, and psychology. Berger deals with these particular disciplines and perspectives because they tend to be most commonly found in the scholarly literature about humor as well as being those that have the most to offer. Blind Men and Elephants covers a wide range of humor, from simple jokes to the uses of literary devices in films. Berger observes how humor often employs considerable ridicule directed at diverse groups of people: women, men, animals, politicians, African Americans, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, gay people, straight people, and so forth. The book also explains the risk factor in ridicule as a humorous device. Blind Men and Elephants depicts how one entity or one situation can be viewed in as many different ways as the number of people studying it. Berger also shows how those multiple perspectives, the Rashomon Effect, can be used together to create a clearer understanding of humor. Blind Men and Elephants is a valuable companion to Berger's recent effort about humor, An Anatomy of Humor, and will be enjoyed by communication and information studies scholars, sociologists, literary studies specialists, philosophers, and psychologists.