Because I Tell a Joke or Two: Comedy, Politics and Social Difference

Because I Tell a Joke or Two explores the complex relationship between comedy and social difference. In provocative essays, the contributors consider issues of class, ethnicity, age, gender, and sexuality and reveal the ways comedy has been used to sustain, to challenge and to change power relationships in society. Spanning a wide range of genres, texts, and performers, from the Marx Brothers to Lea DeLaria, and from Ozzie and Harriet to Friends, Because I Tell a Joke or Two promises to make you think the next time you laugh along with a joke. Contributors: Maggie Andrews, Frances Gray, Dave Huxley, C.P. Lee, Jane Littlewood, John McCallum, Mike Pickering, Laraine Porter, Mark Simpson, Stephen Small, Stephen Wagg, Paul Wells, and Frances Williams.