Disparagement Humor in Social Life: Competition vs. Subjugation

This book critiques the superiority theory of disparagement humor, rooted in Hobbes’s definition of laughter. Nathan Miczo offers the agōn (Greek for contest) as a metaphor to demonstrate how within- and between-group dynamics shape the creation and reception of disparagement humor.

Nathan Miczo is professor of communication in the Department of Communication at Western Illinois University.