Humor may surface in numerous and diverse contexts which at the same time determine how humor
works its form and its functions and consequences for interlocutors. Adopting a
sociolinguistic and discourse analytic perspective this study is aligned with approaches to
humor exploring the variety of humorous genres the wide range of sociopragmatic functions of
humor and the more or less dissimilar perceptions speakers may have concerning what humor is
what it means and how it works. The chapters of this book propose a new theoretical approach
to the analysis of humor by bringing context into focus. Furthermore the study explores how we
can teach about humor within a critical literacy framework creating classroom space for
everyday humorous texts that are part of students' social realities and simultaneously taking
into account that humor may yield multiple disparaging and often conflicting interpretations.
This book is intended to appeal to humor researchers from various disciplines (such as
linguistics media studies cultural studies literary studies sociology anthropology
folklore) as well as to professionals or researchers in education.
