Humor in the teaching of writing: A microethnographic approach

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.5.72

Keywords:

HUMOR IN THE CLASSROOM, COLLEGE COMPOSITION, MICROETHNOGRAPHY, FIELDWORK, CRITICAL THINKING

Abstract

This paper presents the content of a critical thinking and writing course, along with similar courses derived from it, designed around the topic of humor and culminating in a microethnographic investigation of humor in students’ lives. The aims of the paper are threefold: to offer a general rationale for using humor in the writing classroom; to illustrate different types of potentials and dangers of such an approach; and to suggest extensions of the findings to the second-language writing classroom. The paper offers texts, writing prompts, and activities for instructors teaching classes that focus on the writing process in a first or second language.

Author Biography

Christian F. Hempelmann, Texas A&M University-Commerce

Christian F. “Kiki” Hempelmann is an Assistant Professor of Computational Linguistics in the Department of Literature and Languages of Texas A&M University-Commerce. He has worked on humor from a multidisciplinary perspective for both his Master’s Degree and his Ph.D. on the phonosemantics of puns completed at Purdue University in 2003. Apart from concentrating on computational semantics and the linguistics of humor, he is a consultant and former Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Research in the search engine industry.

Published

2016-12-31

How to Cite

Hempelmann, C. F. (2016). Humor in the teaching of writing: A microethnographic approach. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 3(2), 42–55. https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.5.72

Issue

Section

Research Articles - Regular Issue

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