Taking Humor Seriously

Each day most people participate in humorous exchanges. We seek out movies, television programs, and books that make us laugh. Cross-culturally societies appreciate a good “sense of humor.” Few would argue that humor is not highly valued. This presentation will focus on theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding humor. It will cover traditional and contemporary theories of humor, along with social psychological, developmental, and cognitive perspectives on humor. Despite E.B. White’s admonition that, “analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: nobody’s much interested and the frog dies”, the talk will leave the frog unscathed.

Speaker Details

Bob was close to earning a PhD in psychology when he finally admitted that cartooning was his true calling. He developed his distinctive “dot” style as a vehicle for his heady sense of humor, had his first cartoon published in the New Yorker in 1977, and has been serving as the magazine’s cartoon editor since 1997. He started The Cartoon Bank, a business devoted to licensing cartoons for use in newsletters, textbooks, magazines, and other media. He has edited multiple volumes of cartoon collections, including “The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker.” Lectured on humor at the University of Michigan. More than nine hundred of his cartoons have been published in The New Yorker, including one of the most popular New Yorker cartoons of all time.

Series:
Microsoft Research Talks
Date:
Speakers:
Bob Mankoff
Affiliation:
The NewYorker

Series: Microsoft Research Talks