With an ongoing international conference, Jewish humor in recent
years has been a subject of serious scholarly inquiry. Most
academic publications, however, have been individual works
representing a particular thesis or viewpoint, generally on
literary aspects. The present collection of essays by scholars from
England, France, the United States, Denmark, Israel, and Australia
explores characteristics of Jewish humor from a variety of
perspectives, including anthropology, literature, psychology,
sociology, and religion.
Geographically, the work distinguishes between the Jewish humor
of Israel and that of the diaspora; historically, it traces Jewish
humor to the Bible. The linkages with Judaism and the Yiddish
language are explored. Essays deal with the Jewish use of humor in
stressful and tragic situations, with self-disparagement in Jewish
humor, with anti-semitism and stereotyping, and with Jewish women
as the objects of humor. The contributions to world culture of
humorists Sholom Aleichem, Woody Allen, Philip Roth, Charlie
Chaplin, and numerous contemporary performers are discussed as are
the Jewish theorists of humor, including Sigmund Freud, Henri
Bergson, and Arthur Koestler. An interdisciplinary book, it will be
of interest to students and researchers of Jewish tradition and
folklore, Jewish-American literature, American studies, and humor,
popular culture, anthropology, psychology, and sociology.
General
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