Sean Zwagerman's Books

Wit's End

Women's Humor as Rhetorical and Performative Strategy

By: Sean Zwagerman

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Wit's End

Women's Humor as Rhetorical and Performative Strategy

By: Sean Zwagerman

In Wit’s End, Sean Zwagerman offers an original perspective on women’s use of humor as a performative strategy as seen in works of twentieth-century American literature. He argues that women whose direct, explicit performative speech has been traditionally denied, or not taken seriously, have often turned to humor as a means of communicating with men. The book examines both the potential and limits of women’s humor as a rhetorical strategy in the writings of James Thurber, Zora Neale Hurston, Dorothy Parker, Edward Albee, Louise Erdrich, and others. For Zwagerman, these texts “talk back” to important arguments in humor studies and speech-act theory. He deconstructs the use of humor in select passages by employing the theories of J. L. Austin, John Searle, Jacques Derrida, Shoshana Felman, J. Hillis Miller, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. Zwagerman offers arguments both for and against these approaches while advancing new thinking on humor as the “end”—both the goal and limit—of performative strategy, and as a means of expressing a full range of serious purposes. Zwagerman contends that women’s humor is not solely a subversive act, but instead it should be viewed in the total speech situation through context, motives, and intended audience. Not strictly a transgressive influence, women’s humor is seen as both a social corrective and a reinforcement of established ideologies. Humor has become an epistemology, an “attitude” or slant on one’s relation to society. Zwagerman seeks to broaden the scope of performativity theory beyond the logical pragmatism of deconstruction and looks to the use of humor in literature as a deliberate stylization of experiences found in real-world social structures, and as a tool for change. Zwagerman contends that women’s humor is not solely a subversive act, but instead it should be viewed in the total speech situation through context, motives, and intended audience. Not strictly a transgressive influence, women’s humor is seen as both a social corrective and a reinforcement of established ideologies. Humor has become an epistemology, an “attitude” or slant on one’s relation to society. Zwagerman seeks to broaden the scope of performativity theory beyond the logical pragmatism of deconstruction and looks to the use of humor in literature as a deliberate stylization of experiences found in real-world social structures, and as a tool for change.

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Page Count

252

Publisher

University of Pittsburgh Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0822973774

ISBN 13

9780822973775

Wit's End

Women's Humor as Rhetorical and Performative Strategy

By: Sean Zwagerman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Wit's End

Women's Humor as Rhetorical and Performative Strategy

By: Sean Zwagerman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

252

Publisher

University of Pittsburgh Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0822973774

ISBN 13

9780822973775

Health and Inequality in Standup Comedy

Stories That Challenge Stigma

By: Sean M. Viña

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Health and Inequality in Standup Comedy

Stories That Challenge Stigma

By: Sean M. Viña

In Health and Inequality in Standup Comedy: Stories That Challenge Stigma, Sean M. Viña explores the power of open conversations in reducing stigma. Using standup comedy as a lens, the book delves into the experiences of ninety-nine diverse comedians, revealing how they disclose their stigmas in public and what prevents some from having open conversations. The author argues that the scope of stigma resistance is defined by the prejudice of those who stigmatize, making it an unequal endeavor that requires structural change to truly make a difference. Through the voices of these comedians, Health and Inequality in Standup Comedy challenges us to reconceptualize our approach to fighting stigma and discrimination and highlights the importance of implementing policies that decrease segregation. A compelling and eye-opening read for anyone interested in understanding the power of social contact through the unequal, standup comedy world.

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Page Count

251

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1666940836

ISBN 13

9781666940831

Book's by Sean Zwagerman

Wit's End

Wit's End

Wit's End

Wit's End

Health and Inequality in Standup Comedy

Health and Inequality in Standup Comedy

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