Book Review. Oring, Elliot (2016). Joking Asides: The Theory, Analysis and Aesthetics of Humour. University Press of Colorado.

Abstract

Joking Asides: The Theory, Analysis and Aesthetics of Humour is a collection of twelve essays on humour, and more specifically on jokes, written by Elliot Oring, professor emeritus of anthropology and folklorist. In this review, I try to present his work, briefly sketching the author’s main positions and critiques about others’ work and the state of the art on humour research. I would strongly recommend such reading both to scholars and students willing to acquire a broad perspective on humour research and to be exposed to exemplary and acute critical reasoning ideal for inspiring new paths that humour research could take trying to solve the many questions still open after thousands of years.

Keywords

• review
• oring
• appropriate incongruity
• gtvh
• incongruity theory
• relief theory
• freud
• blending theory
• framing humour
• bening violation theory
• evolution
• art