Week # 14 - November 24, 2010

“Q: What did the blonde name her pet zebra? A: Spot.”
Hate and absurdity humor. Social inequality and stereotyping.
Diversity focus: Sexism and racism...
• From BYU to blonde jokes to hate jokes.
• Self-stereotyping and stereotyping others.
• Stereotyping stereotypes (e.g., Chris Rock) as effective means to overcome social inequalities?
• Hate humor as instigation of violence (e.g., White Aryan Resistance, Amazing Racist): a matter of law or of freedom of speech and artistic expression?
• The case for and against Borat.


Readings for Week #14:
Berger, Arthur Asa: Huckleberry Finn as a Novel of the Absurd: Making Sense of an Existential Hero. In An Anatomy of Humor. Transaction Publishers. 1998. Pp. 145-154.
Gruner, Charles, R.: Drollery in Death, Destruction and Disaster. In The Game of Humor. Transaction Publishers. 1997. Pp. 41-73.
Oring, Elliott: The Senses of Humor. Joke Thoughts. The Humor of Hate. Blond Ambitions and Other Signs of the Times. In Engaging Humor. University of Illinois Press. 2003. Pp. 13-70.