Download or read book Engaging Humor written by Elliott Oring and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elliott Oring asks essential questions concerning humorous expression in contemporary society, examining how humor works, why it is employed, and what its messages might be. This provocative book is filled with examples of jokes and riddles that reveal humor to be a meaningful--even significant--form of expression. Oring provides alternate ways of thinking about humorous expressions by examining their contexts--not just their contents. Engaging Humor demonstrates that when analyzed contextually and comparatively, humorous expressions emerge as communications that are startling, intriguing, and profound.