Humor: A Stepping Stone to Social Change
At the core of merely every financial, social, and political system exists the picture of the ways in which human lives develop. Inevitably humans as flawed beings create defective systems which lead to a myriad of consequences. Through multiple perspectives anthropologists attempt to identify and record such occurrences in ethnographic writings. In the article “On Ethnographic Sincerity” by John L. Jackson Jr the author communicates some of the different ways anthropologists incorporate humor and sincerity to bring originality to their work. In “The Encryption Theory of Humor: A Knowledge-Based Mechanism of Honest Signaling” Thomas Flamson and Clark Barrett dig further into the intentionality behind humor. Through the use of humor anthropologists are able to understand and improve public policy by gathering and publishing reliable data regarding a particular milieu making anthropology pivotal in advocacy.
To begin with, “On Ethnographic Sincerity” presents humor and sincerity as the basis for
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He states, “[t]hese are gifts that produce the very possibility of data acquisition and political praxis in an ethnographic context” (2010: S284). Here he makes note of the value of reliable ethnographic knowledge transmission in retrospect to the political potential that ethnographies possesses. What better way to ensure that the data being gathered is reliable than through the means of humor? Furthermore, anthropologists engage in the writing culture via ethnographies in many cases to collaborate in shaping political processes. By doing so professionals are able to recognize the problems that exist within a particular milieu. Only by recognizing implications can such concerns be addressed. This may be the reason why anthropologists tend to play a key role as political partners or even
Shane the Lone Ethnographer is an introduction guide to ethnography for beginners. This book is displayed in an innovative way of cartoons very similar to a comic style book. The main character Shane, demonstrates how ethnographers work through the process of completing an ethnography. The author used a cartoon like format to provide a new and interesting approach to understanding the art of ethnography. This book walks you through how Shane embarks on her very first research project and we also get to see the theories, methods, and skills used by ethnographic researchers.
In Jenny Aleen's essay "The Trouble With Nature" humor is utilized in order to inform the reader that nature does what it wants even though people may think their having a perceful week in nature. The two paragraphs inform the reader about the writer's purpose because she starts by talking about how people want to enjoy getting away from the city and going to live in nature for a while. " A lot of people who live in the city like tio visit the country to get close to nature " (Allen 1). She goes on to talk about how once you get into the nature life you instantly start to regret it.
Rhetorical Analisis of “Why Funny Animal Videos Are Good for You” In “Why Funny Animal Videos Are Good for You” author Elizabeth Heath argues that funny animal videos help our society with problems such as negativity and mental health issues. Heath examines how funny videos exhibit positive emotions, and allows a better flow in societies day to day life. As the article continues Heath shows how negative feelings such as anger, fear, and disappointment may also benefit us in our daily lives. Heath's primary purpose for this article is to inform the audience of the positives about funny videos and show that finding ways to bring out positive emotions may be the thing we need in order to help our society improve overall.
Humor is the ingredient that keeps it all moving, holds the bigger picture, inspires and brings a sense of gratitude for life. Aspiring to these qualities illuminates the lack of them at times. When I hit this kind of wall or low, I turn to the smile and humor to elevate my
With an anthropological approach on the other hand,
Since archaic times the concept of humanity has intrigued scholars. Eventually this curiosity led to the formation of what is now known as Anthropology, the study of humans. In the article “On Ethnographic Sincerity” by John L. Jackson Jr the author discusses how different anthropological perspectives incorporate humor and sincerity to ensure original findings. Another article, “Social Responsibility and the Anthropological Citizen” by Barbara Rose Johnston brings attention to praxis issues while at the same time she puts emphasis on the power of discourse. Both articles politicize the discipline by establishing ethical codes.
Humor relates to the Super-Ego through the acknowledgment of oneself being ridiculous. “Superego has gone under ‘maturation’ maturity that comes from learning to laugh at
(p. 70). I agree with Berger that humor is a human trait, but I do not think we are born with it. I want to focus on when humans start using humor in a form of distraction Berger describes and why Berger thinks we do this. Berger’s thinking that humor can only be linked to humans is interesting to me and not a concept I have ever thought of. There are videos of animals doing all kinds of human like actions, but other than monkeys, there is little evidence that animals recognize humor.
An outcome of cruelty is conveyed while addressing the harsh treatment of slaves and the manipulation of unsuspecting people for money. Satirical references expose prejudice mentalities and materialistic people; ultimately, this contributes to a substantial goal of conversation amongst humans that focuses on people’s drawbacks. If humanity wishes to remain peacefully, preventing the pitfalls of racism and greed, people must stop limiting themselves to one mindset and listen to every opinion with an open
Liu Lei (2010: 7) states that "humor is shared by people from every nation. However, different nations have different kinds of sense of humor, closely related to religion, ideology, society, politics and culture. Therefore, although humor has been studied for a very long time, most are from the perspective of literature, art, sociology, psychology pragmatics or linguistics. Some scholars doubt that humor can be fully translated into another language because humor is language-specific and culture-specific. Only a few scholars study the translation of humor."
One of the most valuable aspects of personality is humor – we value one’s sense of humor and make friends often based on finding certain things funny. But how and why do we consider things to be funny at all? Human beings have strived to uncover fundamental truths about human nature for centuries – even millennia – but humor itself is still yet to be pinpointed. Henri Bergson is only one of many who has attempted this feat, and his essay Laughter: an essay on the meaning of the comic from 1911 breaks down comedy into what he believes to be its essential forms and origins. While Bergson makes many valid points, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times that was brought to screens only twenty years later seems to contradict many of Bergson’s theories, while Bergson seems to contradict even himself over the course of his essay.
The initial step is to identify this tradition which is again "self-identification" of the tales with respect to the country they are being collected While talking about identification, the article “Objects of Ethnography" by Barbara Krishenblatt-Gimblett, has to be mentioned. It talks about the circumstances and surroundings being taken into consideration by the ethnographers before concluding about the context or story related to the object regarding its identity with respect to the site it has been found. " In considering the problem of the ethnographic object, it is useful to distinguish in situ from in context, a pair of terms that calls into question the nature of the whole, the burden of interpretations, and the location of meaning." (Kirshenblatt-Gimblett 388). This line clearly says that the meaning of the objects is derived from the fragments of the object and from the place from where it has been acquired.
In the case of Rose, humor also has a subversive power, as exemplified in Dong’s fart which is “linked to the body, especially to those functions which are officially tabooed and not allowed to manifest themselves.” I damn near puked, with
Ethnographic observation consisted of participant observation at each of the three identified sites (community-based, HIV/AIDS medical center, community service board) and the local rural community. The researcherphysically observed each site. Activities observed included patient flow, staff/patient interactions, the layout of the physical space, wait times, local hangouts, and the layout and distance of the health organization from the community. Field notes were takenduring the entire duration of the project. Upon completion of ethnographic observations of all three study sites (e.g. community-based, HIV/AIDS medical center, community services board) a geographic assessment was mapped to determine the relationship between organizational location, other organizations that the three organizations refer to and the communities served.
For Grossberg, the task is to "construct a vision for cultural studies out of its own intellectual and political history." (Cultural Studies vs Political economy. P. 3). His book is an attempt to set an agenda for cultural studies work in the present and into the future and to produce a cultural studies capable of responding to the contemporary worlds and the struggle constituting them. For Hartley, the task is to reform Cultural Studies; so that it takes into account digital media and the dialogic model of communication.