The Encyclopedia of Humor: A Social History explores the concept of humor in history and modern society in the United States and internationally. This work’s scope encompasses the humor of children, adults, and even nonhuman primates throughout the ages, from crude jokes and simple slapstick to sophisticated word play and ironic parody and satire. As an academic social history, it includes the perspectives of a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, child development, social psychology, life style history, communication, and entertainment media. Readers will develop an understanding of the importance of humor as it has developed globally throughout history and appreciate its effects on child and adult development, especially in the areas of health, creativity, social development, and imagination. This two-volume set is available in both print and electronic formats. Features & Benefits: The General Editor also serves as Editor-in-Chief of HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research for The International Society for Humor Studies. The book’s 335 articles are organized in A-to-Z fashion in two volumes (approximately 1,000 pages). This work is enhanced by an introduction by the General Editor, a Foreword, a list of the articles and contributors, and a Reader’s Guide that groups related entries thematically. A Chronology of Humor, a Resource Guide, and a detailed Index are included. Each entry concludes with References/Further Readings and cross references to related entries. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and cross references between and among related entries combine to provide robust search-and-browse features in the electronic version. This two-volume, A-to-Z set provides a general, non-technical resource for students and researchers in such diverse fields as communication and media studies, sociology and anthropology, social and cognitive psychology, history, literature and linguistics, and popular culture and folklore.

By comedian with 20 years of experience, including work with minstrel shows.

Review: "This unique encyclopedia treats the concepts, persons, themes, and media of 20th-century American humor and humor studies. More than 100 alphabetically arranged entries highlight a broad range of humor-related topics from wit, understatement, and ambiguity to late-night talk shows and the Internet."--"Outstanding Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2001

Laughter is meant to inspire and heal, not belittle and harm. This new collection provides abundant good clean fun, whenever you need inspirational slices of life, bracing quips, quotable wisdom, or a refreshing dose of nonsense. Church quirks, or corporate perks? From family life to the afterlife, Lowell has it covered.Best of all, to find the pertinent anecdote, you don't have to read the whole book (though you'll want to). Each of these jokes is categorized and indexed so you can find it on demand. Perhaps you're a public speaker who wants plenty of sparkling witticisms to hone your point. Or maybe you (and your family) simply want to enjoy thousands of fresh jokes. Either way, let An Encyclopedia of Humor help you find the good in good hearty laugh CD-ROM features: - Contains over 2,000* stories, jokes, and one-liners - Add your own jokes - Browse by topic or title - Search by word or phrase - Fast copy and paste - Rate each story on a scale of 1 10 - Works with other titles in the Stories for Teachers & Preachers series*For ease of use, many one-liners are grouped together in a single entry by topicRequires Windows 98, 95, NT or later, 16 MB RAM, minimum 7MB hard disk space, CD-ROM drive.

By comedian with 20 years of experience, including work with minstrel shows.

On This Day in Comedy is not just an encyclopedia, but a celebration of comedy. In humorous prose the book takes readers through the often-neglected subcultures of comedy in America, acknowledging the inclusiveness of the performers as well as shows and films that made this art form so vital to comics of all backgrounds. It's artistically criminal that a search for Native American or Asian comedy information yields a virtually blank slate. Look for Middle Eastern comics and you'll be provided information on the region's comic book revolution, and search results for Latin comedy are confined to a series of outdated articles. This encyclopedia will offer rare and in some cases never-before-seen photos and obscure facts, making it an indispensable comedy essential.