Free standard shipping on all orders

The Routledge Comedy Studies Reader book cover

1st Edition

The Routledge Comedy Studies Reader

Edited By Ian Wilkie Copyright 2020
    442 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    442 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    442 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge
    VitalSource Logo Learn about VitalSource eBooks Opens popup
    Also available as eBook on:

    The Routledge Comedy Studies Reader is a selection of the most outstanding critical analysis featured in the journal Comedy Studies in the decade since its inception in 2010.

    The Reader illustrates the multiple perspectives that are available when analysing comedy. Wilkie’s selections present an array of critical approaches from interdisciplinary scholars, all of whom evaluate comedy from different angles and adopt a range of writing styles to explore the phenomenon. Divided into eight unique parts, the Reader offers both breadth and depth with its wide range of interdisciplinary articles and international perspectives.

    Of interest to students, scholars, and lovers of comedy alike, The Routledge Comedy Studies Reader offers a contemporary sample of general analyses of comedy as a mode, form, and genre.

    Acknowledgments

    Ian Wilkie: an introductory foreword chapter by the editor of　Comedy Studies　Journal

    　

    Section 1

    Back to Basics: What is Comedy and Where Does It Come From?

    1. Chris Ritchie　Against comedy　(1:2)

      2. 　

    2. Peter Marteinson　Thoughts on the current state of humor theory (1:2)

      3. 　

    3. Ian Wilkie and Matthew Saxton　The origins of comic performance in adult-child interaction　(1:1)

      4. 　

    4. Caspar Addyman and Ishbel Addyman　The science of baby laughter(4:2)

      5. 　

      Section 2

      Old Comedy: Taproots and Tropes　

    5. Rachel Kirk　The time travelling miser　(2:1)

      6. 　

    6. Louise Peacock　Conflict and slapstick in commedia dell' arte　(4:1)

      7. 　

    7. Richard Talbot and Barnaby King　Clowns do ethnography　(5:1)

      8. 　

      Section 3

      Class, Gender, Race: Reading Comedy’s Issues　

    8. Isaac Hui　Hamlet, comedy and class struggle　(4:2)

    9. David Huxley and David James　Race, class and gender in British music hall　(3:1)

    　

    1. Gilli Bush-Bailey　Women like us?　(3:2)

      2.

      　

      Section 4

      Doing Comedy: Giving, Receiving, Causes and Effects　

      　

    2. Hannah Ballou　Pretty Funny　(4:2)

      3. 　

    3. Tim Miles　No greater foe? (audience and stand ups)　(5:1)

      4. 　

    4. Lloyd Peters　The roots of alternative comedy?　(4: 1)

      5. 　

    5. Christopher Molineux　Life memory archive (documentation in stand up)　(7:1)

      6. 　

      Section 5

      New Comedy? Interviews with Practitioners

    6. Oliver Double interview with Ross Noble (1:1)

      7. 　

    7. Tony Moon interview with Stewart Lee (2:1)

      8. 　

    8. Tony Moon interview with Barry Cryer (2:2)

      9. 　

    9. Gary Turk interview with Charlie Hanson (3:1)

      10. 　

    10. Tony Moon interview with Tiffany Stevenson (3:2)

      11. 　

    11. Sam Friedman interview with Russell Kane (4: 2)

      12. 　

    12. Sam Friedman interview with Les Dennis (4:2)

      13. 　

    13. Kara Hunt on Chris Rock (5:2)

      14. 　

    14. Tony Moon interview with John Lloyd (8:1)

      15. 　

    15. Ian Wilkie interview with Kate Fox (8:2)

      16. 　

      Section 6

      Critical Angles: Essays on a Joan Rivers’ Routine

    16. Sharon Lockyer　From toothpick legs to dropping vaginas　(2:2 )

      17. 　

    17. Louise Peacock　Joan Rivers - reading the meaning　(2:2)

      18. 　

    18. Brett Mills　Humour theory and Joan Rivers　(2:2)

      19. 　

      Section 7

      The World of Comedy: Culture and Satire

      　

    19. Debra Aarons and Marc Mierowsky　Obscenity, dirtiness and licence in Jewish comedy　(5:2)

      20. 　

    20. Grant Julin　Satire in a Multicultural World: A Bakhtinian Analysis (9:2)

      21. 　

    21. Mark Harmon, Barbara Kaye, Amanda Martin -　When Silly Meets Serious　(9:2)

      22.

    22. Ian Reilly　The comedian the cat and the activist　(6:1)

      23. 　

    23. Cate Blouke　Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen and seriousness of mock documentary　(6:1)

      24. 　

      Section 8

      New Comedy? Emerging Platforms and Forms of Expression　

      　

    24. Kyle Meikle　A　book and a movie walk into a bar　(6:2)

      25. 　

    25. Peter Kunze　Kidding around: children, comedy and social media　(5:1)

      26. 　

    26. Rebecca Krefting and Rebecca Baruc　Social media and comedy　(6:2)

      27. 　

    27. Jillian Belanger　Comedy meets media　6 2

      28. 　

    28. Lucien Leon　The animated moving image as political cartoon　(9:1)

      29. 　

    29. Matthew Mckeague　Is vlogging the new stand up?　(9:1)

    　

    Index

    Biography

    Ian Wilkie is a Lecturer in Performance at the University of Salford, specialising in the Comedy Writing and Performance degree. His PhD is in Comedy and he is the author of Performing in Comedy: A Student’s Guide. Wilkie has been articles editor of Comedy Studies since 2013 (becoming main editor in 2015), and occasionally works as a comic actor.

    Praise for A Comedy Studies Reader, ed. Ian Wilkie

    An important resource for those bent on taking comedy seriously, this collection gathers disparate studies from the innovative Journal of Comedy Studies and elsewhere to illuminate contemporary performative comedy. It should prove invaluable for students in Comedy Studies and also remind many in Humour Studies about the importance of the relationship between a piece of humour and its mediator, whether professional or or amateur, as a creator of amusement and laughter.

    Jessica Milner Davis FRSN, University of Sydney
    Add to Cart