Five theses on humor literacy in the public sphere

Bibliographic Data

ID6428047
AuthorsJonas Nicolaï (0000-0001-8000-2935, KU Leuven, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume38
Issue4
Pages495-515
Publication date2025-08-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumor - International Journal of Humor Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0933-1719 • E-ISSN: 1613-3722
PublisherDe Gruyter Mouton (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/humor-2024-0111
OpenAlexW4413594737
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited62

With humor increasingly at the center of social conflict, debates over the boundaries of subversive humor have moved to the forefront of public discourse. As a result, there is a growing need for a more grounded understanding of public humor literacy – understood as the ability to engage with humor in the public sphere in a way that is informed, reflective, and supportive of democratic discourse. By discussing five theses on the nature of publicly mediated humor, this article formulates a programmatic starting point for a framework on public humor literacy, and contributes to the growing academic and societal acknowledgement that humor increasingly functions as a politicizing form of public discourse and a tool for political engagement

Literacy · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Public sphere · Sociology · Education Practices and Challenges · Humor Studies and Applications · Literacy, Media, and Education · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access