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The Muhammad cartoons and humor research: A collection of essays
No full textAt the 2006 conference of the International Society for Humor Studies (Danish University of Education, Copenhagen), several panels addressed issues raised by the Muhammad cartoon story. Among these, a colloquium organized by Paul Lewis and decorously titled "Transnational Ridicule and Response" focused on the implications for humor research of the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons. Along with other materials, panelists were encouraged to review summaries of and timelines for the story available from the BBC and Wikipedia. Of the questions considered by panelists, the following drew interesting and, at times, provocative responses: Were the cartoons humorous; if so, did they represent a distinct or new kind of humor? Were the modes of global transmission of the cartoons new? Does the story have implications for ongoing humor research and advocacy? The goal was to approach the controversy not as partisans with particular political outlooks but as students of humor. The brief essays collected here were written following the conference by members of the panel (Christie Davies, Giselinde Kuipers, Paul Lewis, and Victor Raskin) and by two others who attended the colloquium (Elliott Oring and Rod A. Martin). After reviewing the essays, HUMOR editor Salvatore Attardo suggested that each of the participants be invited to read what the others had written and submit a brief response. Responses included here were received from Davies, Kuipers, Lewis, Oring, and Raskin
Humor styles and symbolic boundaries
No full textHumor is strongly related to group boundaries. Jokes and other humorous utterances often draw on implicit references and inside knowledge; they tend to refer to sensitive topics which may offend people; and they ideally incite laughter, one of the strongest markers of social solidarity and emotional attunement. Hence, a shared sense of humor is generally a sine qua non for sustained relationships. Inversely, people who do not share one's humor are often shunned (Kuipers, Good Humor Bad Taste: A Sociology of the Joke, 2006). Laughing together, therefore, is a sign of belonging: those who join in the laughter, are part of the group; those who don't join expose themselves as outsiders. This essay explores the mechanisms through which humor is related to social boundaries: how does humor differ between groups? What are the consequences of such differences? How do humor styles emerge and change, and what happens when different humor styles »meet«? Theoretically, the essay draws on insights from cultural sociology (Bourdieu, La Distinction: Critique Sociale du Jugement, 1979; Elias, Über den Prozess der Zivilisation: Sociogenetische und psychogenetische Untersuchungen, 1939; Lamont 1992; Lamont/Thevenot, Rethinking Comparative Cultural Sociology, 2000; Lahire 2004; Molnar/Lamont, Annual Review of Sociology 28: 167-195, 2002), the sociology of emotions (Collins 2005; Goffman 1959)., as well as humor scholarship (Davies, The Mirth of Nations, 2002; Oring, Engaging Humor, 2003; Raskin 2008). The discussion will be organized around empirical examples both from my own sociological research on humor in various European countries and the US, and from examples of humor in literature and popular culture. The essay will discuss the following mechanisms: Humor draws on implicit and culture- or group-specific knowledge. Moreover, it requires considerable linguistic aptitude. In other words: humor needs to be decoded. Humor touches on sensitive topics and taboo issues, which obviously differ strongly between groups. Hence, what is funny to some is offensive to others. Humor requires, and leads to specific emotional responses (laughter, mirth) that are strongly connected with emotional closeness, solidarity and trust. Hence, humor requires specific social bonds to flourish. On the other hand, humor may also generate such social bonds, if used wisely. Humor has generic conventions and markers that may differ between groups. As a result, people may not recognize attempts at humor as such, or they may object to a specific form. Also, a specific form may require specific skills (e. g. appreciating Shakespearean comedies requires considerable background and training, which is not related to humor appreciation as such but still may be an impediment. Alternatively, educated Europeans often distrust the joke form to the extent that they will not be open to it even though they might rather like the content of the joke). Finally, and most importantly: Different groups often have different notions of what good and bad humor is. In other words: they have different stylistic criteria and standards, and different ideas of what humor is, or should »do«. This may lead to different evaluations of the same humorous utterances and genres. Such stylistic factors are hardest to grasp, but probably account for most of the difference in appreciation of humor, especially within one culture or society (Kuipers, Good Humor Bad Taste: A Sociology of the Joke, 2006). These five mechanisms by and large account for the emergence of »humor styles«. Such humor styles are often related to social boundaries, and they often demarcate what sociologists refer to as »symbolic boundaries«: social boundaries that become salient, meaningful, and often imbued with status differences (Molnar/Lamont, Annual Review of Sociology 28: 167-195, 2002). Such stylistic differences are expressed in the use of humor in everyday life, but also in standardized and mediated forms of humor - such as literary humor. Literary humor reflects, but also contributes to, the humor style of a specific place, time, and group. Moreover, innovation in literary humor, as well as other forms of mediated humor, often implies adaptation or even transgression of the current humor styles
Medium is the Message
No full text"The medium is the message" is a phrase coined by Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964). In this book, McLuhan examines the impact of media on societies and human relations, arguing for the primacy of the medium - understood broadly as any "extension of man" - over overt content. According to McLuhan, each medium has a specific logic and nature, which embeds itself in the content. The medium itself has more fundamental and long-lasting effects than the more overt content to which people direct their attention. Consequently, the dominant medium of a particular age and place, like print, radio or television, profoundly affects human relations
Mediascapes
No full textThe term "mediascape" was coined by anthropologist Arjun Appadurai in his widely cited and anthologized article, "Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy" (1990; 1996). Mediascape denotes both "the distribution of the electronic capabilities to produce and disseminate information" and "the images of the world created by these media." The spatial "scape" metaphor highlights the fluid and fragmented nature of people's (media) surroundings as a result of intensifying global flows
Evolutionary Approaches to Beauty
Get PDFIn Evolutionary Psychology, it is sometimes claimed that certain traits are universally considered as beautiful. In both sexes, these alleged universals have included having symmetrical facial and body traits, smooth, blemish-free skin, and sex-typical (masculine vs feminine) traits. In men, ‘beautiful’ traits may include having a strong jawline, being tall, and possessing a muscular physique with broad shoulders. In women, youthful and feminine features are claimed to be preferred, such as large eyes, full lips, and a curvaceous yet slim body shape. According to evolutionary scholars, humans have evolved attraction to such traits because they signal important information about the individual’s biological condition; for example, that this individual is particularly healthy or fertile. While early research—primarily conducted in Western cultures—seemed to support this notion, more recent research has challenged this. For example, emerging cross-cultural research from non-Western cultures has demonstrated that, rather than being universal, beauty perceptions are malleable and vary considerably between cultures. Furthermore, when researchers test whether these traits are truly associated with health or fertility, we find that the evidence is weak and inconsistent. In this chapter, we therefore review extant evidence for evolutionary-derived hypotheses about the universality of beauty. We also discuss how narratives arguing that perceptions of beauty are fully evolved—rather than malleable—are sometimes misused in the public domain by, for example, promoting ideas of biological determinism and justifying appearance-based discrimination, and we make recommendations for future research into this area
Beauty and distinction? The evaluation of appearance and cultural capital in five European countries
No full textTo what extent do tastes in the field of beauty demarcate symbolic boundaries? This article analyzes social differences in the evaluation of the beauty of female and male faces in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK. Combining Q-methodology and open interviews (N = 150), it presents a quantifiable comparative measurement of ‘beauty tastes’, and a qualitative analysis of the underlying ‘repertoires of evaluation’. Four types of repertoires were found: aesthetic repertoires; subjectification versus objectification; gender-normative; and racial repertoires. Aesthetic and objectifying evaluations are typically applied to women, whereas evaluative repertoires for men are more subjectified, less aestheticizing, more overtly gendered and racial. Aesthetic repertoires reflect the opposing popular and highbrow logics well-known in cultural sociology. These repertoires resonate with the aesthetics of cultural institutions, notably fashion modeling and pornography. Regression analysis shows that these aesthetic repertoires demarcate boundaries along lines of education, age and urbanity, suggesting that they function as ‘emerging cultural capital’, applying highbrow logics beyond traditional high art fields. While nationality hardly affects the evaluation of female beauty, significant national differences are found in evaluations of male looks. Long-standing traditions of female depictions have produced more transnational stylistic conventions and repertoires. The evaluation of male facial beauty, on the other hand, appears to be shaped by more nationally specific racial and gender norms and ideologies
Communicative Figurations: Towards a New Paradigm for the Media Age?
Get PDFThis chapter discusses the theoretical contributions made in this volume, asking three questions. First, does the figurational approach introduced here allow us to see things that we previously did not? Secondly, how does the new figurational approach relate to the figurational approach as developed by Elias and his followers? Thirdly, is this the beginning of a new paradigm that bridges media and social theory? The chapter concludes that the ‘communicative figurations’ approach shows great promise as this paradigm successfully integrates media studies and social theory. It coins a number of useful concepts, and provides a coherent methodological framework. Compared with current figurational approaches in sociology, its theorization of power is rather weak; but the notions of mediation, frames of relevance and nested figurations are important innovations
Schadenfreude and social life: a comparative perspective on the expression and regulation of mirth at the expense of others
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