More Than a Good Laugh
Dr. Joanne Gilbert, Alma College associate professor of
communication and co-director of the Women's Studies program, takes her
experience as a professional stand-up comedian and combines it with
scholarly analysis in her book, Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender and Cultural Critique (Wayne State University Press, 2004).
Gilbert's research recognizes the problems that arise from assumptions made about the genres of "female" and "feminist" humor and ultimately suggests that these are part of a larger genre she calls "marginal humor."Performing Marginality provides a historical overview of female comic performance and offers a taxonomy of comedic postures assumed by contemporary female comics, providing a useful way to categorize this often overlooked genre. Performing Marginality also examines problems in existing studies on the subject, the politics involved with marginal humor, and the role of audience in comic performance.
Contact Dr. Joanne Gilbert at (989) 463-7054 or gilbert@alma.edu
Posted: Tue, October 5th, 2004 at 6:10PM
