Introduction to Sociology Through Comedy

Questioning society and one’s place in it is a common theme in both comedy and sociology. Understanding and subverting hierarchies and norms, exploring deviance and taboos, and relating lived experience to broader questions all hold a crucial place for them both.

Introduction to Sociology Through Comedy teaches foundational sociological concepts using comedy, first considering the history of sociology before employing examples from comedians - including standalone comedy bits, sketches, characters, and scenes - to illustrate a specific theory, concept, or social phenomenon. The profession of comedy is then used as a case study for the application of sociological concepts, such as impression management, social stratification, racial segregation, deviance, and stigma, allowing readers to gain familiarity with the concepts while simultaneously practicing their application.

This book explains why we laugh by applying theories of humor, which will bolster students’ understanding of sociological principles by forcing them to question their own assumptions - helping them to put why they laugh into sociological terms.

Julie Morris is a sociologist and statistician living in Anchorage, Alaska. She earned a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, WA. Her sociological research focuses on the relationship between social support and mental and physical health, and her work has been published in academic journals including Birth, Journal of Women’s Health, and The Lancet. As an instructor and research lab director, she teaches courses on sociology, statistics, and demography at UW and Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, WA.